PRESSURE COOKER RIBS

Pressure Cooker Ribs

These pressure cooker ribs, which are ideal for the Instant Pot, are gonna radically revolutionize the way you cook pork spare ribs. We’re talking 30 minutes to knee-wobbling, lip-smacking, fall-off-the-bone tenderness.

We confess, until we tried this pressure cooker ribs recipe, we’d always been a little leary of pressure cookers. We’d just never imagined you could turn out anything like ribs that are fall-off-the-bone tender in 30 minutes or less. We were wrong. So spectacularly wrong. This pressure cooker ribs recipe made believers out of us. One taste and it’ll convert you, too. Originally published December 4, 2015.–Renee Schettler Rossi

PRESSURE COOKER RIBS

• Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

• 
  1/2 rack (about 1 1/2 pounds) spare ribs
• 
  1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 
  Freshly ground black pepper
• 
  1 cup Beef Stock or low-sodium broth
• 
  3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 
  3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

DIRECTIONS

• 
  1. Cut your 1/2 rack of spare ribs into 2 or 3 pieces so all the ribs will fit in the pressure cooker. Sprinkle the ribs on both sides with the kosher salt and season with pepper. Pour the beef stock into the pressure cooker and place the steamer insert in the cooker. Place the ribs on the steamer insert. Rather than stacking sections of ribs, place the rib sections on end and sort of curl them around the pot so the pieces aren’t touching to ensure even cooking.
• 
  2. Lock the lid in place and bring the pot to high pressure (15 psi for stove top or 9 to 11 psi for electric). If using a stove-top pressure cooker, maintain the pressure for 20 minutes for tender ribs or, if you prefer that the ribs be falling-off-the-bone tender, cook for 30 minutes, adjusting the burner as necessary.
  
  If using an electric pressure cooker, such as an Instant Pot, cook at high pressure for 20 minutes for tender ribs or, if you prefer ribs that are falling-off-the-bone tender, cook for 30 to 25 minutes. When the timer goes off, turn the cooker off. Do not let the pressure cooker automatically switch to the “warm” setting.
• 
  3. Use the natural method to release the pressure in the cooker. Unlock and remove the lid. Using tongs, transfer the ribs, bone-side up, to a rack placed on an aluminum foil-lined sheet pan. Let the cooking liquid in the pressure cooker rest for several minutes to allow the fat to rise to the surface.
• 
  4. Meanwhile, preheat the broiler and adjust an oven rack to the top or second position.
• 
  5. While the broiler heats, spoon off and discard the fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Place the stove-top cooker over medium heat or turn the electric cooker to “brown” and bring the stock to a vigorous simmer. Cook until the stock is reduced to 1/3 of the original volume, 8 to 10 minutes.
• 
  6. Stir in the mustard and brown sugar, and continue simmering for about 6 minutes more, or until the sauce resembles a thick syrup. Remove from the heat.
• 
  7. Baste the bone side of the ribs with some of the mustard sauce. Slide the ribs under the broiler until the sauce is bubbling, about 4 minutes. Remove the sheet pan from the oven, turn the ribs over, and baste with the remaining glaze. Return to the broiler until warmed through, about 6 minutes. Cut the ribs into 1- or 2-rib sections and serve.

HOW TO MAKE THESE RIBS USING YOUR OWN BARBECUE SAUCE

• The barbecue sauce that someone chooses to slather on one’s ribs is quite the personal thing. We understand and respect this. While we like the simple mustard barbecue sauce in the above pressure cooker ribs recipe, we understand if you prefer to substitute a barbecue sauce that’s already near and dear to your heart. Just follow the recipe above through Step 4 and then discard the broth and use your barbecue sauce to baste the ribs in place of the mustard, brown sugar and broth mixture.