Instant Pot BBQ Ribs
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
These Instant Pot BBQ Ribs are fall off the bone tender, delicious, and super sticky from a delicious Whiskey BBQ sauce. But most importantly they will be on your dinner table in under an hour!
The Best Instant Pot BBQ Ribs Recipe
I spend all day today fantasizing about fall off the bone tender pork ribs, slathered in a tangy whiskey BBQ sauce, paired alongside some creamy coleslaw. As you all know, my dreams (when they involve food) are always attainable. I decided to pop these pork ribs in my Instant Pot to speed the process along and I’m glad I did because I didn’t have to wait long at all before digging in.
I usually hold off on making ribs at home, they just take too long after a full day of work. But not anymore! Your trusty Instant Pot will develop so much flavor and cut your cooking time in half. I slathered these meaty treats in a homemade whiskey BBQ sauce that had just the right amount of kick after rubbing them all over with a gorgeous rub. Enough chatting, lets get BBQing!
Why You’ll Love These BBQ Ribs
- Fall Off The Bone Tender! It’s amazing what 20 minutes in the pressure cooker can do to some baby back ribs.
- Quick And Easy! Make a quick and delicious rub for the ribs, pop them in the Instant Pot with some apple juice and let our favorite appliance do all the work for us.
- Perfect For Picnics, BBQs and Get Togethers!
Ribs
- Ribs – Baby back pork ribs are what we’re using today. About 2 racks worth.
- Apple Juice – We need some liquid in our pressure cooker to ensure it actually works. Don’t worry about the juice washing off your dry rub!
- Apple Cider Vinegar – We need some tang and apple cider vinegar is the best thing for it. It will also chemically tenderize your meat while it cooks. If white vinegar is all you have that is more than fine as a substitute.
- Liquid smoke – This ingredient is optional if you can’t find any at your supermarket, but I definitely recommend it in terms of achieving that smokey flavor that all good BBQs have.
Dry Rub
- Sugar – We want to be sure our rub has a bit of sweetness, and that complex molasses flavor that we get from brown sugar is what we want most of all.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper! Savory and rubbed in well.
- Spices – Dry mustard, onion powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper all mixed up well. These ingredients are key to achieving our scrumptious flavor so do your best to hunt them down!
Whiskey BBQ Sauce
- BBQ sauce – We’re using some store bought sauce as our base, any kind will do as we’re going to improve upon it!
- Ketchup – Some sweetness, some acidity, plain old ketchup is perfect for a pork rib BBQ sauce.
- Whiskey – The star of this sauce will offer some beautiful depth and vanilla notes. Any kind will do so don’t worry about picking up anything that’s too fancy.
- Brown sugar – We want to carry that sweet molasses flavor through our entire BBQ Pork Rib recipe.
- Worcestershire sauce – This will give our ribs some savory umami flavor.
- Liquid smoke – Since we aren’t actually smoking these ribs, we want to ensure that faux smoke flavor is incorporated in every step.
Cook The Ribs
Before starting anything, you want to prep the ribs first by removing the rib membrane. Next, you’ll want to combine all the dry rub ingredients together and generously rub this into the baby back ribs.
Place the seasoned ribs in the Instant Pot, standing up and wrapping around the inside of the pot. Pour in the apple juice, apple cider vinegar and liquid smoke, then close the Instant Pot. You’ll want to pressure cook these on the Meat/Stew setting for 20 minutes. If your IP doesn’t have this setting, just use the Manual setting for the same amount of time. Once complete, wait until the natural release cycle is complete, should take about 15 minutes.
Make The Barbecue Sauce
While the ribs are cooking, you can get started on the BBQ sauce. All you have to do is add all the BBQ sauce ingredients to a small saucepan, stir to combine and simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. The sauce should reduce a bit.
Brush Ribs With BBQ Sauce And Broil
Carefully remove the ribs from the Instant Pot and place them onto a baking sheet. Brush them generously with the prepared BBQ sauce on both sides and place under the broiler for about 5 minutes. Keep the door to your oven open while broiling the ribs and keep an eye on them, because they could burn quickly. Serve with additional BBQ sauce and enjoy!
How To Remove Membrane From Baby Back Ribs
- Slide a dinner knife under the membrane and over a bone starting at one end of the rack.
- Lift and loosen the membrane until it tears.
- Grab the edge of the membrane with a paper towel and pull it off.
- The membrane should come off in one whole piece.
Other Ways To Cook BBQ Pork Ribs
Slow cooker
Follow all the above instructions just the same, but instead set the slow cooker to LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4. Follow it up with a good broil session and enjoy with additional BBQ sauce.
Oven
Combine the apple juice with apple cider vinegar and liquid smoke and marinate the ribs in this mixture for an hour to overnight. Preheat your oven to 325°F degrees. Remove the ribs from the marinade and rub well with our dry rub mix. Wrap your dry rub encrusted ribs in some heavy duty foil. Bake for about 2 hours or until tender. Remove and slather in your homemade whiskey BBQ sauce before broiling as instructed above.
How To Serve BBQ Ribs
Mexican Street Corn Salad
Classic Potato Salad
KFC Coleslaw Recipe
Air Fryer French Fries
Storing Leftover BBQ Ribs
If stored properly in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in aluminum foil, these ribs will last 3 – 4 days in the fridge. You can also freeze this recipe, for 2 – 3 months wrapped tightly in foil before thawing in the microwave or in cold water. Reheat in the oven and slather in sauce.
Craving More BBQ? Try These Delicious Recipes
- Korean BBQ Ribs
- Greek Pork Loin Ribs and Potatoes Sheet Pan Dinner
- Beer And Honey BBQ Chicken Skewers
- Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork
- Maple BBQ Glazed Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
- Baked Honey Glazed Pork Ribs
- BBQ Baby Back Ribs
- Oven Baked BBQ Ribs
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instant Pot BBQ Ribs
Video
Ingredients
For Dry Rub
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 1½ tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin (ground)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon black pepper (ground)
- 2 teaspoon salt
For Ribs
- 2 racks baby back pork ribs ((about 3 to 4 lbs))
- 4 cups apple juice
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon liquid smoke
For BBQ Sauce
- ½ cup bbq sauce (store bought)
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup whiskey
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Prepare the dry rub by combining all the dry rub ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs with a paper towel. Season the baby back ribs with the dry rub generously on both sides.
- Place the ribs inside the Instant Pot, standing up and wrapping around the Instant Pot.
- Pour the apple juice, apple cider vinegar and liquid smoke inside the Instant pot, no need to stir. Close the lid (follow the manufacturer’s guide for instructions on how to close the instant pot lid). Set the Instant Pot to the Meat/Stew setting and set the timer to 20 minutes.
- Once the Instant Pot cycle is complete, wait until the natural release cycle is complete, should take about 15 minutes. Follow the manufacturer’s guide for quick release, if in a rush. Carefully unlock and remove the lid from the instant pot.
- While the ribs are cooking prepare the BBQ sauce. In a small saucepan add all the BBQ sauce ingredients and stir to combine. Simmer on low heat for about 20 to 25 minutes, the sauce should reduce a bit.
- Carefully remove the ribs from the Instant Pot and place them onto a baking sheet. Brush them generously with the prepared BBQ sauce on both sides and place under the broiler for about 5 minutes. Keep the door to your oven open while broiling the ribs and keep an eye on them, because they could burn quickly.
- Serve with leftover BBQ sauce.
Equipment
Notes
- I strongly recommend reading the manufacturer’s guide for instructions on how to use your Instant Pot before attempting this recipe.
- If stored properly in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in aluminum foil, these ribs will last 3 – 4 days in the fridge. You can also freeze this recipe, for 2 – 3 months wrapped tightly in foil before thawing in the microwave or in cold water. Reheat in the oven and slather in sauce.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
