We love ribs in our house. I mean really love. I love the smell of them on the grill, the pull off the bone, the delightful mess, everything about them. Except the meat in my teeth. Seriously, as soon as the meal is done I’m in the bathroom flossing away.
But, ribs on a weeknight? No way, they take too long.
Well then, friends. Today we are going to blow your mind. You can have delicious, fall off the bone ribs on a weeknight!
And just how do you accomplish this task in the middle of a busy week you ask? The Instant Pot with a total time of about 40 minutes!
I’ve vowed to use this pressure cooker/slow cooker/rice maker appliance thingy and let me just tell you, I can’t believe I let it sit in the cupboard for so long. We break it out at least once a week now.
I’ll admit to being a little skeptical. When we were first married, we parboiled ribs before finishing them on the grill. They were okay, not great. For me, boiling sucked out all the flavor. That changed when we bought our Weber BBQ. Low and slow was a game changer in my rib world.
So there I was, staring into the freezer working on the week’s meal plan when I saw the freezer bag of ribs waving at me. I swear they were saying, “Hey! Cook us!” This recipe was one of the first ones I saved when we got our Instant Pot, it was way past time to try it.
Let’s break out the Instant Pot and get ribbing!
Start with your assembled pot; put the trivet in and one cup of water.
Remove that pesky membrane on the back side of your ribs by gently sliding a butter knife under it until it’s loose, gently pulling it away. Break out your favorite dry rub and generously rub all parts of your ribs. Most times we make our own rub but I always have Traeger Dry Rub in the pantry just in case I’m out of paprika, like now.
Stand your ribs inside the pot, even curling them around if you need to. This way, you’re getting maximum cooking and fall off the bone goodness.
Close the lid and turn vent to SEALING. Press time for 20 minutes and pressure to HIGH. It’s about 15 minutes to come to pressure, depending on how much you have in the pot. You’re going to need to heat your grill or broiler, depending on which way you want to finish the ribs, so get that heated while the ribs are cooking in the Instant Pot.
When the timer dings, carefully do a manual pressure release. Remove lid and lift ribs out using tongs. Place ribs on a baking sheet, flat and meat side up. Brush with your favorite sauce and continue cooking them on the grill or under the broiler until sauce is brown and sticky, about 4-5 minutes.
That’s it friends! Tender, juicy fall off the bone ribs on a weeknight!
Instant Pot Ribs
Recipe Credit: Kitchn
Serves 4-6 – We half this
- 2 baby back ribs, about 4 pounds
- 1 cup water
- Dry rub of choice
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- Place trivet and one cup water into Instant Pot.
- Generously rub all sides of ribs with dry rub.
- Place ribs on trivet standing up, curling if needed. If doing full recipe, start with one rack making a circle around the inside of the pot and making a tighter circle for the second rack.
- Close lid, set vent to sealing. Select high pressure manual cook for 20 minutes. Depending on how much you’re cooking, it may take 15 minutes to come to pressure.
- When timer dings, do a manual pressure release, remove ribs and place flat on a large plate or baking sheet.
- Brush with BBQ sauce and cook 4-5 minutes on broiler or grill until done to your liking.