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Pressure Cooker Barbecued Baby Back Ribs

With a pressure cooker, these Barbecued Baby Back Ribs are tender, falling off-the-bone, in 15 minutes. It takes an extra ten minutes to make the most delicious "scratch" BBQ sauce you've ever tasted, while your ribs are cooking. This recipe can be adapted to a slow cooker, only it will take you 6 to 8 hours to achieve what I did in 15 minutes!
Course main
Cuisine American
Keyword Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs, Pressure Cooker Baby Back Ribs
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 4 people
Author Debby - www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Equipment

  • Pressure Cooker
  • Slow Cooker (it just takes longer)

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 to 2 pounds baby back ribs cut into 2-rib sections

DRY RUB:

  • 3 tablespoons paprika I reduced to 2-1/2 tablespoons
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar packed
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

SAUCE:

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 onion chopped fine
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Instructions

Rub:

  • Combine the ingredients and rub mixture evenly over the ribs.

Sauce:

  • Heat oil in the pressure cooker pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
  • Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  • Stir in ketchup, water, molasses, vinegar and mustard. Stir to combine. Cook for one minute (my additional step)
  • Measure out and reserve one cup of the sauce.

Pressure cook:

  • Arrange the ribs upright in the pot, with meaty sides facing outward, then pour reserved sauce over the ribs.
  • Lock the pressure cooker lid in place and bring to high pressure over medium-high heat. As soon as the pot reaches high pressure, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 30 minutes adjusting heat as needed to maintain high pressure.
  • Note: I set my electric pressure cooker to medium-high for 15 minutes, then let it do a natural pressure release for 15 minutes. Our ribs turned out perfectly.
  • For a slow cooker, cook for 6 to 8 hours.

Before serving:

  • Preheat the broiler with the rack 6-inch below the flame.
  • Remove ribs (meaty side up), with tongs, onto a foil-lined baking sheet with a baking rack set on top.
  • Skim off the excess fat from the sauce, in the pot.
  • Simmer the sauce until it is thickened, about 10 minutes, to equal about 2 cups.
  • Brush the ribs with some of the sauce, flipping them over and brushing both sides.
  • Starting with the meaty side up, broil until browned and sticky, for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Watch closely, as the sauce has sugar and can burn!
  • Turn over a few times, adding additional sauce-- for a total of 10 to 15 minutes.

Notes

Recipe source: America's Test Kitchen's cookbook, "Pressure Cooking Perfection".