During one hasty shopping trip in the early days of COVID-19 lockdowns, I bought a slab of baby back ribs. As I recall, it was one of the only available pork products in the meat department, and it came in cryo-vac packaging, allowing a fairly long shelf life for fresh meat.
There was one issue for me in preparing the ribs in the RV park where we were at the time. The park didn’t allow the use of charcoal grills. While my method for preparing ribs for grilling up until this point was slow baking ribs first, I knew that cooking the ribs on the grill was crucial for achieving the best barbecue ribs. Only grilled ribs get that crispy edge of rendered fat.
We generally prefer dry-rubbed bbq ribs that aren’t overly saucy, hold their shape when putting them on the grill, and fall off the bone when eating them. We moved locations last week and are now in a park where we can use our charcoal grill. Good news since the package on the ribs indicated that the use or freeze by date had arrived. Now it was just a matter of how to cook them without over-heating our rig and limiting the total cooking time. They turned out great and took a lot less time than my usual oven-baked and grilled ribs.
Table of Contents
Removing Membrane from Ribs
Most ribs need to have the thin membrane on the bone side removed. Every once in a while, I find ribs that have had this removed for me. It won’t hurt you to eat it, but it does have a weird paper-like texture if you don’t remove it. You can see how easy it is to remove the membrane from a slab of baby back ribs in the video below.
How to pressure cook ribs before grilling?
One of the benefits of the foil-wrapped ribs recipe that I had been a longtime fan of was the amount of flavor that was baked into the rib by applying a dry rub before wrapping them in foil and baking them in the oven. I knew I wanted a recipe that would include this flavor. I also wanted to have some juice from the cooked ribs to blend with the barbecue sauce before grilling. Like I said we don’t want sauce with our ribs we want ribs with a hint of sauce!
I accomplish both of these things by seasoning the ribs with my favorite grill rub and putting aromatics of onion and celery in the pot with some water before steaming the ribs in the Instant Pot.
How long to pressure cook ribs before grilling?
Whether you cut the ribs in sections or you put a whole slab(s) in your pressure cooker, you only need 20 minutes on high pressure. As with pressure cooking any meat, you want to do a natural release to keep the meat from being rubbery. Ten minutes of natural release before releasing the rest of the pressure has worked well for me.
How far in advance can you cook the ribs?
From no time to several days in advance. I prefer to refrigerate the ribs for a few hours so I put cold ribs on the grill. I find the ribs less likely to fall apart when moving them around with tongs if they are cold. One way to develop more flavor in your ribs is to refrigerate them for a day or two after pressure cooking and before grilling. And the fact that you can cook the ribs ahead of time makes them a great meal for the campground! All you need to do is reheat them on the grill when you are ready.
What wine will pair with these barbecue ribs?
Wondering what wine to drink with these full-flavored ribs? You might try Malbec from Argentina or red Zinfandel from California. Both of these have loads of fruit to pick up on the sweetness of the barbecue sauce and the caramelized edge of the meat. Plus, they are bold enough to hold up to the richness of the pork.
Just remember that the rule about serving wine at room temperature started when home’s were kept at about 60 degrees, not 70-80 that is more likely today and certainly NOT at 95-100 that it might be outside. Feel free to put your red wine in the cooler with a little ice. On a hot summer day, it won’t take long to warm up in the glass.
Instant Pot BBQ Ribs
- Instant Pot or Other Electric Pressure Cooker
- Wire Rack for Pressure Cooker
- Charcoal or Gas Grill
- 1 slab Baby Back Ribs (membrane removed, cut in sections (optional))
Dry Rub
- 3/4 tbsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Mustard Powder
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
Aromatics
- 1 medium Yellow Onion (roughly chopped)
- 1 stalk Celery (roughly chopped)
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1 cup Prepared Barbecue Sauce (we like Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet & Spicy)
In a small bowl prepare the dry rub by mixing the salt and other spices.
Season generously the meat side of the ribs. If you have any extra rub, season the bone side.
Prepare the Instant Pot by placing the onion, celery, and water in the bottom of the large pot and placing the wire rack on top.
Arrange the ribs on the wire rack — if in sections, place meat side up. If cooking a full slab(s), wrap in a ring around the outside of the pot.
Cook on manual high pressure for 20 minutes and natural release for 10 minutes.
Release remaining pressure.
Place rib sections on a sheet tray and refrigerate.
Strain the liquid in the pot, discarding solids.
Return the liquid to the Instant Pot and cook on high sautee until reduced in half (about 10 minutes).
Mix the reduced liquid with the prepared barbecue sauce.
Prepare grill for medium – medium-high heat.
Cut ribs in sections of 2-3 bones if you haven't already.
Dip rib sections in the barbecue sauce mixture and place bone side down on the grill until heated through (time will depend on how long the ribs were refrigerated).
Turn ribs over to the meat side and cook for about ten minutes, being careful not to burn the meat.
When the ribs are hot and have crisped to your preference, remove them from the grill and serve with your favorite side dishes
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