Pork ribs are the flagship of barbecue, a Titian masterpiece on steel grates, the Citizen Kane seasoned by smoke and by all accounts … delicious! Every patio warrior has at least attempted to tenderize this unforgiving rack of enjoyment. From my experience working with novice grill technicians, the success rate for succulent ribs is about 50/50.

Therefore, I present to you the most thorough Instant Pot Ribs recipe on preparing the best ribs ever seen. This monstrous recipe about ribs is made possible by the long list of rib recipes on cable TV selling its viewers empty promises of tender, juicy ribs. Similarly, details for cooking pork spare ribs have been underserved and shrouded in smoke in numerous blog recipes dedicated to the swine slabs. Lastly, the best cooking recipe doesn’t always reveal all its secrets.

Rib selection

I love beef ribs and they can be cooked in the Instant Pot very well, but for most of us barbecued ribs mean pork. Pork ribs just seem to have the right amount of meat per bone and the right amount of marbling to cook beautifully on the grill, smoker or Instant Pot. The taste of pork is just right with the barbecue flavors of a good rub mixed with a little smoke and glazed at the end with a tasty sauce. Beef ribs play a respectable second fiddle and I’ve given you some good tips for them here, but when we’re talking barbecued ribs it’s really all about the pork. Pork ribs don’t get a USDA grade for quality like beef does. The reality is, pork in America is almost all good quality and consistent. There are, however, heritage breeds of pork showing up in the stores these days such as Berkshire and Duroc. These are similarly good quality but have a unique taste, look, and texture. It’s about personal taste. Give them a try and see if you like them.

cuts of ribs

Although they come from the same animal, not all pork ribs are alike. So, before jump to the Instant Pot Ribs Recipe let’s take an idea about the Ribs types:

• Spareribs: (St. Louis–Style): are the original ribs. The word spareribs always refer to ribs from pigs (the word is never used for beef or lamb). They come from the sides of the hog and you come to a section of ribs that are bigger, fattier, and tougher than top loins.

• Pork Baby Back Ribs: Cut from the loin or back section, pork baby back ribs are the Rolls- Royce of ribs. With more meat and less fat than most ribs, baby backs are great smoked, grilled, roasted, or braised.

• Country-Style Spareribs: These are meaty pieces from the rib end of the pork loin, and each piece contains a small bone. Boneless country-style spareribs are cut from the pork butt.

• Beef Back Ribs: It’s fun to refer to this beef back ribs as “dinosaur bones,” because it’s impossible to display them or, for that matter, to eat them in a refined manner. From slabs cut from the loin and containing five or six bones.

• Beef Short Ribs: Beef short ribs are cut from two areas of the steer. The most tender come from the bottom end of the rib cage, which curves under the belly (called the “plate”), and also from the chuck area.

• Lamb Ribs: Many markets sell lamb “riblets.” Each side weighs approximately 16 to 20 ounces. Because lamb ribs have so little meat.

How to Make the Instant Pot Ribs?

Trim the ribs:

Trimming is the initial step of the process in preparing ribs. The ribs we see in the store these days are trimmed pretty well, they’ll come already trimmed. If you see any large lumps of fat, sinews, or loose pieces of bone, cut them off with a paring knife.

REMOVE THE MEMBRANE:

All ribs have a tough membrane that covers the underside (the nonmeat side) of the ribs. For this Instant Pot Ribs recipe, I recommend removing this for a couple of reasons. It impedes the absorption of spice and smoke flavors, and it’s tougher than the rest of the rib meat. Two good tools to help you get under the membrane so you can pull it off are a butter knife or the tip of a meat thermometer. You’ll find detailed instructions for removing the membrane in each recipe.

Marinating:

For best taste of this Ribs dish, marinate the ribs in the refrigerator for 8 hours. The meat will be juicy and the marinade flavor will penetrate deeply into the rib meat. However, even if you marinate the ribs for just five minutes, the ribs will have a marvelous flavor if, during cooking, you baste them periodically with the marinade. Be sure not to brush any more marinade on the ribs during the last fifteen minutes of grilling, roasting or oven in your instant pot, so that any bacteria that the marinade absorbed from the raw meat will be killed. If you want to use the marinade as a sauce to accompany the ribs, reserve a portion of the marinade so that it never comes in contact with the raw meat or boil the meat marinade for one minute to kill any bacteria.

Ingredients:

Directions:

1-Remove the membrane:

Most markets sell the ribs without removing the membrane. If a butcher is available, politely ask him to remove the membrane for you.

2-Marinating:

Season the ribs over both sides with a dry spice rub. Make sure to marinate ribs in the refrigerator marinate for 8 hours. Avoid reactive metal containers, unlined aluminum, for example, or cast iron—for marinating.

3-Liquid Smoke:

Place metal trivet in the bottom of your instant pot. Add water, apple juice and the liquid smoke into the instant pot.

4-Curl the ribs around your instant pot.

5-Set your Instant Pot to “manual” function or “pressure cook” and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes.

6-Alow the pressure to release manually for 15 minutes. Remove the ribs from the pot, then slather them in BBQ sauce.

7-Place into oven and broil for about 3 minutes to caramelize the BBQ sauce. (optional)

8- Serve and Enjoy!

WHAT The Best SIZE INSTANT POT FOR INSTANT POT RIBS?

To cook good the ribs, I recommend you to use 6 quart or larger instant pot!