I used to only make ribs during the cooler months because I don’t own an outdoor grill or smoker, and would slow bake the ribs in an oven at 275 F for 2 hours to get that fall off the bone result.
Well, I finally got an instant pot (IP) two years ago for my birthday. Thanks Sis! So one of the first things I made in the IP were ribs. I googled “instant pot ribs” and read through the advice on optimal cook time, natural vs quick release, cooking directly in the liquid vs on a trivet in the IP, etc, and ultimately decided on cooking on a trivet in the IP for 30 min with quick release. (Amy + Jacky’s pressure cook recipes.com linked here has wonderful in depth details on their rib outcomes after testing all the variables noted above if you are interested).
The results were pretty amazing for under an hour of total cooking time-- so yup, I’m jumping on the IP bandwagon—at least for ribs. Now I can have ribs any time of the year and don't have to worry about heating up the house during the summer!
UPDATED NOTE: If you don't have an instant pot, omit steps #4-6, and bake the ribs at 275 F for 2.5 hours in a baking tray covered with foil.
Yields 3-4 servings
Ingredients:
1 rack of Saint Louis style ribs (about 3.5 lbs)
Dry Rub ingredients:
- 1 ½ t salt
- ½ t pepper
- 1 t sweet paprika
- 1 t garlic powder
- ½ t ground ginger
- ¼ t Chinese 5 spice powder
- 1 t sugar
Asian BBQ Sauce ingredients:
- ½ c ketchup
- ¼ c soy sauce
- ¼ c honey
- 1 T rice vinegar
- 1 t garlic powder
- ½ t ground ginger
- pinch of 5 spice powder
Procedures:
- Cut the rack of ribs into 3 equal portions (about 4 ribs in each portion).
- Mix the dry rub ingredients together in a small bowl and rub into the 3 portions of ribs.
- Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours; overnight would be better.
- Fill the IP with 1 c water. Place trivet in IP, then place marinated ribs on the trivet, standing each of the ribs up. See photo.
- Close lid to IP, and turn vent knob to seal. Set the IP to pressure cook for 30 min.
- After timer is up, wait 5 min and then Quick release. Carefully open lid and take out the ribs and place them on a foil lined baking sheet and set aside.
- In a bowl, mix together the ingredients for the Asian BBQ sauce. Brush onto the ribs.
- Broil for about 3 to 5 minutes each side, until the ribs have a nice char and the sauce becomes bubbly and sticky. Watch this step very carefully, as the high sugar content makes it is very easy to burn. One additional minute could mean the difference between perfection vs black inedible carbon.
- Allow to rest for 10 min before cutting. Enjoy.