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.
RIBS
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.
WHISKEY BBQ SAUCE FOR RIBS
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.
BROIL YOUR RIBS
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.
If you’re a fan of the Instant Pot, check out my Instant Pot Chicken Shawarma!
HOW TO REMOVE MEMBRANE FROM BABY BACK RIBS
I must admit I don’t always do this, but in case you want to, here’s how.
- 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.
RIB RECIPES:
Instant Pots Available
Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs
Ingredients
For Dry Rub
- 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
For Ribs
- 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
For BBQ Sauce
- 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
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.
Video
Notes
- 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.
Nutrition
Loved the chicken noodle soup. I am going to try the baby back ribs next.
Is there a slow cooker alternative since I don’t have an IP?
For the same fall-off-the-bone results that we got, you can cook these for 4-5 hours on high or 9 hours on low. Enjoy!
I tried the Chicken Noodle Soup in my new Instant Pot and found it so quick and delicious. It was good to know that your recipe was for a 6 quart. I simply cut the recipe in half for my 3 quart pot. Thank you so much for your pictures, videos and easy directions and I look forward to seeing more recipes!
Thanks for letting me know it worked in a 3 quart pot. Glad you enjoyed it!
So simple,and so good! Thanks Jo, this was the second meal we made in our Instant Pot purchased about 4 months ago, and we now enjoy these ribs about three times a month!!
We are loving our “pot” and these ribs:)!
Instant Pots are the best! We’re glad to hear it’s been a success so far 🙂
We love your blog, you present your recipes so nicely.
We are new to Instant Pot and would like to see you add which size IP the recipe is designed for and any additions or reductions in ingredients that should be made for a smaller or larger IP.
Thank you
This is a great recipe. Not complicated at all Ive made it 3 times now with delicious results..We finished our on the Barbq.
I like it so much that I printed it out and put it in my to go book….
These ribs were perfect. I didn’t use smoke and everything still came out great. I am very impressed with the ease of making these ribs and the flavor.
Is it really necessary to use 4 cups of apple juice? There was a lot of liquid to be disposed after the dinner. I will try doing this again using half that quantity unless you give me a good reason why I should not.
You can definitely experiment with a bit less. The apple juice is what creates the steam and pressure for this recipe. Make sure there’s enough liquid so that nothing burns.
I only use 1 cup of liquid. I can’t wait to try your sauce!
I’ve made this a few times now with a few adjustments and it’s a favorite!! Great ribs!
So glad you like them!
I don’t have an instant pot, can I use a crockpot instead? i know itll probably be longer but i can be patient??
I haven’t tested the recipe myself in a crockpot, but I don’t see why not. It will probably take 8 hours on low. I would still pop them under the broiler for about 5 minutes.
Really great recipe. I tried a few different instant pot ribs recipe and it has left me pretty disappointed because it lacked flavour. Your recipe is so good and worth the effort to make. Is my go to ribs recipe now. Thanks for publishing.
I love hearing this! So glad you enjoyed the ribs!
These were SO good and super easy! They were fall off the bone so delicious! Will definitely be making these again! A little too sweet for my taste so I’ll probably cut the brown sugar in half next time. Thanks!!
Can this be done with tenderloin to make pulled pork
I haven’t tried tenderloin in the instant pot yet, so I’m not sure if the timing would be different, however tenderloin is not the best meat for pulled pork. You’ll want something like pork shoulder or pork butt.
The best ribs I have ever had.
That’s fantastic to hear, we’re so glad you love them!
Maybe this is a stupid question but I’m not much of a whiskey drinker. Is there a certain type of whiskey that works best? Jack over jamerson?
If you’re not much of a whisky drinker then just go for the cheapest bottle!