The Best Instant Pot BBQ Ribs

In the summer, we smoke or grill ribs outside, but the dead of winter calls for the best Instant Pot BBQ ribs instead.

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Before I had my Instant Pot, ribs would be in my slow cooker for hours on end, and the smell of them cooking would permeate our entire house. With the Instant Pot, I seal the cooking valve, so no smells emit until the pressure is released. I can also cook an entire rack of ribs in under an hour in the Instant Pot and they still come out tender. I’ve also made plenty of soups, like my butternut squash, in it. No wonder it’s such a staple in our kitchen!

How to Make These Tangy, Smoky Instant Pot BBQ Ribs

Thankfully, beyond the Instant Pot and the ribs, few ingredients are needed to make these delicious ribs.

• your preferred meat rub
• 1 cup of water
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• your favorite barbeque sauce
• liquid smoke (optional, but a great addition if you want to capture that smoky taste)

I usually make my own rub using a tablespoon of kosher salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons of brown sugar, 3/4 teaspoon of sweet paprika, and 1/8 teaspoon of chili powder. But if you don’t typically do a lot of cooking and don’t want to buy spices you won’t use, I like this A-1 rub as an alternative. Many grocery stores carry it, but so does Amazon; see links at the bottom of this post.

I’ve also made homemade barbeque sauce in the past, but I like the thickness of bottled brands. I’m especially partial to Montgomery Inn sauce, made right here in Ohio.

If you’re ever in the Cincinnati area, I highly recommend checking out their barbeque restaurants. It’s some of the best BBQ I’ve ever had!

Liquid smoke gives the ribs that smoky, cooked in the outdoors taste.

Preparing the Ribs

I have to be honest, I really hate handling meat of any kind, especially raw. If you ever saw a camera shot of my face while I’m preparing it, you would know!

• Start by rinsing the ribs under running water and using a few paper towels to blot the extra water off.
• If the ribs have a white membrane still on them, you need to remove it. I take a knife and slide it underneath the membrane. It’s pretty easy to tear off from there.
• Coat the ribs liberally with the dry rub on both sides.
• Insert the rack that comes with your Instant Pot into the bottom of it.
• Carefully insert the ribs, standing them up vertically along the sides of the Instant Pot. This is the easy part since ribs have a natural curve.
• Add the water, apple cider vinegar, and liquid smoke.
• Put the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the steam valve is set to sealing.
• Turn the Instant Pot on and set it to manual pressure for 25 minutes.

Finishing Off the Ribs

• Once the Instant Pot timer goes off, let the pressure decrease naturally for 10 minutes or so, then release the rest of the steam by twisting the steam valve to venting. Now you’ll be able to smell those ribs!
• Line the bottom of a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil.
• Remove the ribs from the Instant Pot. They’re not going to look super delicious at this point, but don’t worry!
• Carefully place the ribs on the foil-lined pan and coat generously on both sides with barbeque sauce.
• Place the ribs under your oven broiler for 5 minutes or so to get that nicely browned finish.

Enjoy! If you’ve been making lots of recipes with your Instant Pot lately, I’d love to hear about them.

Shop the Post:

• Instant Pot
• A-1 Rub
• Montgomery Inn Sweet & Tangy Sauce
• Wright’s Liquid Smoke