These Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs are fall off the bone tender, delicious and super sticky from a delicious Whiskey BBQ sauce, but most importantly can be on your dinner table in under an hour!
I’ve been using my Instant Pot for about a month now and I’ve been sharing some recipes with you guys and I really really hope that you bought or are planning on getting one, because it’s seriously one of the best pots you could have in your kitchen. Why? Because it’s like 7 pots in one. That’s why. You can throw away your slow cooker, throw away your pressure cooker, rice cooker, you name it, this pot will do it all. Which is why I’m in love with it.
Everything I’ve made in it so far has been outstanding. Which brings me to these ribs. I usually don’t make a lot of ribs because I always think they’re too much work or they take too long which is why I usually order them at a restaurant.
Not anymore!
These baby back ribs only take 20 minutes in the pressure cooker and they are fall off the bone tender. They were so tender, you really have to be careful when you take them out of the pot because they could break on you.
My biggest dilemma with this recipe was whether or not to put a dry rub on them and in the end the dry rub won. I was afraid that once I added all the liquid to the Instant Pot my ribs would wash out in all the apple juice. Thankfully they didn’t and they retained all those wonderful flavors from the dry rub, which is great because that dry rub just give the ribs that much more flavor.
I also made an incredible Whisky BBQ sauce, because let’s face it, is there any other kind? If you haven’t had Whiskey in your BBQ sauce yet, you haven’t lived, so I strongly urge you to make this and try it. It’s finger licking good.
The hardest part about this entire recipe is to wait for the pressure cooker to release all of that pressure from the inside, which is why this recipe takes about an hour, but most of the time is just waiting around, which is really hard, trust me. Your house will smell amazing and your neighbours will come knocking.
Once you can finally open the Instant Pot you will want to brush these baby back ribs generously with some of that BBQ sauce and then you must place them under the broiler for just about 5 minutes. Make sure you keep your oven door open, otherwise your fire alarm might go off. It’s like I’m speaking from experience or something.
Hey, all that’s left to do is eat and be merry. You’ll have plenty of BBQ sauce leftover to use as a dipping sauce. Trust me, these will be some of the best baby back ribs you’ll ever have.
Check out the video!
If you guys love this recipe, and most importantly make it yourselves, please let us know. Take a picture and tag it #jocooks on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!
Instant Pots Available
These Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs are fall off the bone tender, delicious and super sticky from a delicious Whiskey BBQ sauce, but most importantly can be on your dinner table in under an hour!
- 1 tbsp dry mustard
- 1 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp cumin ground
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp black pepper ground
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 racks baby back pork ribs (about 3 to 4 lbs)
- 4 cups apple juice
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp liquid smoke
- 1/2 cup bbq sauce store bought
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup whiskey
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp liquid smoke
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Prepare the dry rub by combining all the dry rub ingredients together in a small bowl.
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Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs with a paper towel.
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Season the baby back ribs with the dry rub generously on both sides.
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Place the ribs inside the Instant Pot, standing up and wrapping around the Instant Pot.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Serve with leftover BBQ sauce.
I strongly recommend reading the manufacturer's guide for instructions on how to use your Instant Pot before attempting this recipe.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
More delicious recipes from my kitchen
Stout Meatballs with BBQ Sauce
Honey Glazed Rack of Pork Ribs
Did I read your instructions for the quick release correctly? You said to do a quick release on the Instant Pot and it would take about 15mins. Did you mean the natural release? I am new with my IP but the couple of times I tried it, the quick release was just that, quick. Not being picky but I am new to the IP and am still learning how to use it.
P.S.
Looks yummy
Stu
Yes, you’re correct, fixed it!
So I open my Jo Cooks email this morning and I say to myself….. Huh those ribs look really good… and what, wow I do have all of the ingredients… AND I have ribs in my fridge? When does that happen? It must be destiny! I do not have an instant pot so I am using the slow cooker. My picky eaters don’t like when I change a recipe too much so right now I am only doing the rub (I did not use any of the apple ingredients, I will when picky eaters are not around) … but hmmm that sauce does look good… ok I will make the sauce too!
Lol 😂 you have to make the sauce!
Had the ribs today!
The Rub
It really flavored the ribs. Before I only would put salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder and then broiled with sauce. The flavor was nice and smokey and not overpowering
The Sauce
So few ingredients but together they were fantastic.
My picky eater did not even notice I changed up the recipe so I guess it is approved!
I would definitely use this recipe again. It works well in slow cooker and I cooked to internal temp of 200.
Thanks Jo!
My pleasure!
These ribs look delicious! I haven’t jumped on the Instant Pot train yet, but after my mother in law cooked four delicious pork roasts for a wedding, I was seriously impressed! What size Instant Pot do you recommend for a family of four who loves to have leftovers?
They have 3 sizes, I think the biggest one is the 8 quart, but I think the 6 quart which is what I have and what you see in the video should be more than enough for a family of 4.
Hey, thank you for the quick reply and suggestion. The six quart seems to be the go-to for most people. Now I’m wondering if it’s worth it to wait for Black Friday sales! Thanks again.
I got the 8-quart size because it was the deal of the day this past July (?) for Amazon Prime day. The year before it was the 6-quart size. You may want to wait a bit for it to go on sale. OR do the black Friday route, as you suggested…..:)