Commentary

I get it. You’re asking yourself, “why in the world would anyone make their ribs NOT in a smoker??” My answer is the is more than one way to do them and do them right. Flavors vary, tenderness varies, your time allowance varies. If you’ve found yourself in a time crunch for making dinner and you love super tender, fall off the bone, fork-and-knife ribs, then this is the method for you.

For this meal, I picked up a package of (unseasoned) baby back pork ribs from Kroger. Using this same method, you can make one rack or two. Baby back ribs are surprisingly low calories so depending on your needs, you may get full before you reach your calorie goal.

The supplies you’ll need are pretty simple so I’ll list them here: Instant Pot (8 QT), apple juice, liquid smoke, yellow mustard, a rub (or seasoning) of your choice, baking sheet, some foil, and a bottle of bbq sauce. If you don’t have apple juice, try water and apple cider vinegar. If you don’t have yellow mustard, try olive oil or mayonnaise — really anything will do because it is the binder to keep the rub on the ribs and you won’t actually taste the binder in the end. For the rub, I tend to select whatever I already have in my cabinet and you can do that as well. You can also use this opportunity to spice things up as well by adding a little cayenne powder or Tony’s to your rub.

What’s in my kitchen

• Instant Pot 8QT
• Colgin Natural Liquid Smoke
• Gordon’s Grub Rub (based in Katy, TX)

Recipe

• 1 pkg — baby back pork ribs
• 2 Tbsp — Yellow Mustard
• 1 1/2 cup — Dry rub, or whatever seasonings you decide
• 1 cup — Apple juice
• 1 Tbsp — liquid smoke
• 1/4 cup — BBQ sauce

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1. Set up your ribs on a large cutting board and trim off any strange ends and cartilage you might find
2. Flip the ribs meaty side down and using a paper towel, grab the thin membrane layer that is connected across the entire rack and pull it off. The paper towel will help you grip it as you pull it. It may prove difficult to get started, but once it starts, the process is easy.
3. Coat the underside with a thin layer of the yellow mustard, then season generously, flip and repeat on the meaty side
4. Open your Instant Pot and leave the wire rack in the bottom
5. Add the apple juice to the bottom of the pot, or use apple cider vinegar and water, then add the liquid smoke
6. Take the ribs and curl them up like a tight C-shape to allow them to sit sideways in the pot and place on the rack in the pot
7. Return the lid to the pot, set it in the lock position, then check the vent knob to make sure it is set to Seal
8. Set to Pressure Cook for 27 minutes. It is normal for it to take 4-5 minutes to build up pressure before it starts counting your 27 minutes. That is fine.
9. When you have 5 minutes remaining, preheat your oven to Broil at 450 degrees.
10. Grab a baking sheet and lay down a sheet of aluminum foil
11. As soon as the instant pot finishes the 27-minute cycle, do a manual release of the pressure.
12. Once pressure is released, remove the lid and grab two pairs of tongs. You’ll need both pairs to have any chance of getting these super tender ribs out whole.
13. Pull the ribs from the pot and don’t worry if they break apart a little. Lay the parts of the ribs on the baking sheet meaty side up.
14. pour the barbeque sauce on the top side of the ribs and evenly distribute with a bbq brush or the backside of a spoon.
15. Put the baking sheet in the oven for 5-8 minutes — this will carmelize the bbq sauce
16. Pull from oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.
17. ENJOY!!

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