Name: Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 rack Baby Back Ribs; 2 cups Orange Juice; 4 Tablespoon BBQ Dry Rub; BBQ Sauce; 8 cups Water; 1 rack Baby Back Ribs; 12 oz Orange Juice - Concentrated (/ or apple juice); 6 Tablespoon BBQ Dry Rub; ⅔ cup BBQ Sauce - Recipe in the Notes section below

⬇️ Table of Contents

Instant Pot Rib Tips
Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs Instruction
💭 The Pork Rib Membrane
🔪 How To Remove Pork Rib Membrane
Instant Pot Ribs 2 Ways
📖 Setup & Settings
⏲️ Rib Cook Time
⛑️ Safety Tips
👪 Faqs
📖 Recipe Card
VIDEO

If you love ribs but don't have the time to cook them, these Instant Pot pressure cooker baby back ribs are the perfect solution. These tender, meaty pork ribs are fall-off-the-bone tender in just one hour and save you valuable time!

This is the most amazing recipe for pressure-cooked baby back ribs. They are so tender and fall off the bone that you won't believe they were cooked in an hour! This recipe is so easy, too, and it's perfect for busy weeknights or when you need to get dinner on the table fast.

Instant Pot ribs finished on smoker plated on cutting board. — Instant Pot ribs finished on the smoker for presentation.

Instant Pot Rib Tips

Natural Release / Natural Pressure Release

- When the timer goes off, do nothing further.
- The exhaust valve will be set on "Sealing."
- The pressure will calm down on its own. The pressure pin will fall back into the lid and it will be safe to open at the point.
safely opening the instant pot

Quick Release / Quick Pressure Release

- The process of moving the exhaust valve from "Sealing" over to "Venting." --- Take note: hot steam will be forced out of the valve. I use a long tool like a knife to move the valve.
- The steam will calm down, and the valve pin will drop back into the lid. Moving the release valve to the setting sealing on the instant pot lid to sealing.

Moving the release valve to the setting sealing on the instant pot lid to sealing.

Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs Instruction

A package of baby back ribs still in the sealed plastic being held up to the camera.

When shopping for the Baby Back Ribs, buy a " Meaty " rack of ribs.” The thicker Baby Back Ribs will end up being juicier and offer a more tender bite.

The baby back ribs being held up to the camera showing the side view displaying the thickness. Which is 1 and 1 half inches think.

Key Step – Make sure to season the Baby Back Ribs 10 minutes before going into the instant pot. You can go up to 8 hours overnight, which is best.

Steps

First, rinse the ribs underwater and pat dry with a paper towel.
If you choose to remove the membrane, now would be the time before adding the BBQ dry rub.
Cover the ribs with a good bit of seasoning. Use your favorite dry rub seasoning. I like to add a small amount of sea salt to the ribs before adding the dry rub.
Allow the ribs to sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes. This will allow the seasoning to penetrate the ribs better.

💭 The Pork Rib Membrane

This is a topic of great discussion. Do you take the membrane off or leave it on?

Backyard BBQ, the membrane comes off. The membrane will not break down while cooking at low temperatures and will stay chewy.

With Instant Pot pressure cooked ribs, the pressure "handles" the membrane to the point where it is not chewy. I found this hard to believe until I tried it. With pressure-cooked ribs, you can leave the membrane on. Shocking, I know.

Not convinced? I don't blame you one bit. I created a video showing the different ways to cook Instant Pot ribs.

Test 1 - Membrane ON & OFF - you can see the results for yourself.
Test #2 - Water/liquid levels - high volume & low volume.

Here's the link to our test video: Ribs Instant Pot Style Cooked 4 Different Ways

🔪 How To Remove Pork Rib Membrane

To begin, have the rack of ribs facing the presentation side down on a cutting board and pat dry with a paper towel. The membrane is the white cover on the backside of the rack of ribs.

To remove the membrane, I used the back of a spoon handle. Look along the edge of the ribs for a location to get underneath the membrane. Once you find a spot, the spoon handle will tuck underneath the membrane. The idea is to get enough to grip.

Use a paper towel to grip the membrane and pull the membrane from one end to the other. Pulling the length of the ribs.

Removing the rib membrane using a paper towel. — To remove the membrane, pull across the length of the ribs.

Instant Pot Ribs 2 Ways

There are two different methods for cooking Instant Pot ribs.

Method 1# Using a lower amount of water with a shorter cook time

Method 2# Using a higher amount of water with a longer cook time

The question to ask yourself? What finished texture would you like?

Method 1# = will come out tender but with chewier ribs.
Method 2# = will turn out tender, to the point they fall off the bone.

📖 Setup & Settings

Place the seasoned ribs into the Instant Pot in a curve. Or you can cut the rack in half.

Tip: Make sure to insert the included wire rack into the bottom first.

Placing the entire rack of ribs into the instant pot.

The Liquid Amounts

Method 1# - Add 2+ cups of orange juice to the Instant Pot (Apple juice works great too). Plus 1 Tablespoon of BBQ dry rub.

Open Instant Pot with wire rack in the bottom with seasoned rack of ribs cut into 2 pieces inside. 2 Cups of orange juice added underneath the ribs. — Method #1 Low Liquid

Method 2# - Add 8 cups of water, plus one frozen orange juice can (12oz). Mix together with 3 tablespoons of dry rub seasoning.

Pouring 8 cups of water into the Instant Pot. — Method #2 High Liquid

Settings

Secure the lid and move the exhaust/release valve on the top of the Instant Pot to the “Sealing” setting.

Tip: Make sure the plastic seal ring is installed on the underside of the lid. This part is removable and needs to be washed between uses. Dishwasher safe!

Click the “Meat/Stew” option, this is the best pressure cooker setting for ribs.

Selecting the setting use meat and stew option on the front panel.

The Instant Pot will turn ON shortly, in 1 minute. The pressure cooker button will also turn ON. (lower right corner of the control panel).
Set the pressure to "HIGH" pressure.
Set the heat to "Normal," as shown in the picture below.

Important To Know: The "Less," "Normal," & "More" equals temperature settings

⏲️ Rib Cook Time

Method 1#

Timer settings: If you have normal-sized baby back ribs, use a timer of 25 minutes. Thin ribs would take 20 minutes for thin ribs. 30 minutes for large ribs.
Next, the Instant Pot will pressurize. You will see the timer switch over to the word “ON.” The pressurization will take about 7 to 10 minutes to build up.
From there, the timer will reappear on the front display, and the clock countdown will begin.
Once the timer goes off, use natural release for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, switch the valve on the lid to "Venting" and allow the rest of the pressure to escape. The pressure pin on the top of the lid will fail back into the lid when the pressure is gone. Which means it is now safe to open the lid.

Method 2#

Timer setting: for large ribs, use a timer of 40 to 45 minutes. Thin Ribs would be anywhere between 30 minutes to 35 minutes.
The Instant Pot will now pressurize. The timer will switch to the word “ON.” The pressurization will take about 10 to 15 minutes. (Longer time due to more liquid to pressurize.)
From there, the timer set will reappear, and the clock countdown will begin.
Once the timer goes off, use the quick release method.
I place a knife right underneath the exhaust valve, and the steam escapes.

⛑️ Safety Tips

This is the central part of pressure cooking that scares everyone. “How to remove the food from the pressure cooker”?

- Photo Below - What Does The Pressure Pin Look Like?

The key safety tip to pay attention to is the release pin/exhaust valve. Ensure the small valve pin falls back into the instant pot lid.

The pressure inside the Instant Pot causes the valve to push up. Once it falls, the pressure is low enough to open the lid.

Once the lid is off, remove the ribs and pour out the cooking liquid. Then place the ribs back into the Instant Pot to cool off for about 3 minutes. This will make handling the ribs a lot easier.

Place the ribs on a cookie sheet with a roasting rack on top and paint on the BBQ sauce. Recipe below.

adding bbq sauce to the instant pot ribs

Finishing the Ribs

In The House/Oven: Under the broiler for 5 minutes or so. The key is to ensure your oven rack isn’t too close to the broiler, or the sugars in the BBQ sauce could burn.

In The Backyard Smoker: Have the smoker going at 225 degrees. You will want to place the ribs on the smoker using a wire rack. See the photo above. This will make sure moving the ribs will be easy.

Paint on bbq sauce and allow the natural sugars to caramelize and create a beautiful presentation.

👨‍🍳 Chef's FREE Secret Texas BBQ Dry Rub Recipe

⭐ Special offer to our followers ⭐

Click the image below for the recipe. You will find it pinned under the description at the top, First Comments

🔥 Free Dry Rub Recipe 🔥

👪 Faqs

What If We Use Spare Ribs?

Spare ribs work great in the Instant Pot. The best part is you need to change nothing. Simply follow the same instructions above and below. st louis spare ribs cleaned and trimmed up

st louis spare ribs cleaned and trimmed up

How Much Water To Use? Can I Change That Amount?

Yes, there are two ways to make Instant Pot ribs.

1) Method 1 uses less water and often less time. You can add water or liquid to the level right below the wire rack at the bottom of the Instant Pot. The settings use the meat/stew option and set a timer of 25 minutes. The ribs will stay together and have more bite to them.

2) Method 2 (Higher liquid) - longer cook time.
This method is more like a pressurized-braising technique for real fall-off-the-bone ribs.

Rib Seasoning Tip

For more flavorful ribs, be sure to season the ribs 10 minutes before cooking.
Yes, you can go longer. Up to 8 hours/ overnight.

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📖 Recipe Card

Instant Pot ribs fresh off smoker on wooden cutting board.

Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs

Steven Pennington

Ribs cooked in the Instant Pot, the perfect weeknight dinner meal. From start to finish, all done within one hour.

4.69 from 16 votes

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 40

Total Time 45

Course Instant Pot

Cuisine American Quick

Servings People

Calories 784 kcal

Suggested Equipment

Instant Pot

Cookie Sheet

Roasting Rack

Ingredients

Ingredients: Method #1 - Low Liquid /

▢ 1 rack Baby Back Ribs
▢ 2 cups Orange Juice
▢ 4 Tablespoon BBQ Dry Rub
▢ BBQ Sauce

Ingredients: Method #2 - High Liquid

▢ 8 cups Water
▢ 1 rack Baby Back Ribs
▢ 12 oz Orange Juice - Concentrated / or apple juice
▢ 6 Tablespoon BBQ Dry Rub

BBQ Sauce

▢ ⅔ cup BBQ Sauce - Recipe in the Notes section below

Instructions

Preparing The Ribs

Remove the ribs from the package and rinse the ribs off under cold water and pat dry.
Membrane: if you choose to remove it, now would be the time. See directions in the article above for the technique.
Yet, you might not want to remove it with pressure-cooked ribs. Read why in the post.
Sprinkle a small amount of sea salt on both sides of the ribs.
Next cover the ribs with honey. Pour enough to cover. This will act as glue to help the dry rub stick. Then sprinkle on 4 Tablespoons of BBQ dry rub. Work it into the ribs.
The ribs need to sit for at least 10 minutes with the dry rub. This will act like a quick cure allowing the dry rub to penetrate the meat. Longer is better, up to 8 hours or overnight.

Method #1 - Low liquid

Place the included wire rack into the bottom of the Instant Pot.
Add 2 cups of orange juice or apple juice.
Add the ribs on top of the wire rack.
Inspect the Instant Pot lid. Make sure the plastic sealing ring is installed.
Secure the lid.
Set the exhaust valve on the lid to "Sealing"

Cooking & Settings: Method #1 - Low Liquid

Control Settings:
Use the "Meat/Stew" setting.
Temperature setting: "Normal". Explanation on the temperature settings in the post above.
Pressure setting: "High Pressure".
Timer Setting:
Normal sized ribs = 25 minutes.
Large sized ribs = 30 minutes.
Thin sized ribs = 15-20 minutes.
e expires switch over to "Venting" and allow the remaining pressure to escape.

Pressure Release Setting: Method #1 - Low Liquid

Use natural release.
After 15 minutes of natural release, then switch to "Venting" on the exhaust valve on the lid.
Tip: Using natural release requires you to do nothing once the timer goes off. Look at the front display panel and you'll see a new clock timer appear and starts to count upward. This is your timer for how long you are using natural release. Once the 15 minutes expires switch over to "Venting" and allow the remaining pressure to escape.
Once the pressure pin in the lid drops back down into the lid it will then be safe to open the lid.

Cooking & Settings: Method #2 - High Liquid

Control Settings:
Use the "Meat/Stew" setting.
Temperature setting: "Normal".
Pressure setting: "High Pressure".
Timer Setting:
Normal sized ribs = 40 minutes.
Large sized ribs = 45 minutes.
Thin sized ribs = 30-35 minutes.
Pressure Release Setting:
The method to use is Quick Release.
On the lid, move the exhaust valve from "Sealing" to "Venting" to use the Quick Release.
WARNING: the steam inside wants to escape. You could get burnt. To protect yourself, use a tool like a knife to move the exhaust valve to "Venting".
Allow all the steam to leave the Instant Pot.
Note: You will know it is safe to open when all the steam was escaped. Look for the pressure pin located on the top of the Instant Pot lid to drop back into the lid.

Finishing The Ribs

Remove the lid and pour out all the cooking liquid and place the ribs back into the Instant Pot or a cookie sheet for a few minutes to cool down.
Once cool enough add a roasting rack to the cookie sheet.
Cover the ribs with BBQ sauce.

Presentation Finishing

House/Oven:
Under the broiler for 5 minutes or so. The key is to make sure your oven rack isn’t too close to the broiler or the sugars in the BBQ sauce could burn.
Backyard Smoker:
Have the smoker going at 225 degrees. Place the ribs on the smoker using a wire rack. This will make sure moving the ribs will be easy.

Video

VIDEO

Notes

Secret BBQ Dry Rub Recipe - Get It Here - Looking at the top pinned comment for the recipe.

Special Texas BBQ Sauce with a KICK...

1 cup Ketchup Hunts Brand – No High Fructose Corn Syrup Helpful with controlling the sweet level yourself.
2 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
2 teaspoon Honey Mustard - Use what you like
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Favorite hot sauce - add all ingredients first then taste season and adjust before adding more hot sauce
TOP Secret Ingredient:
Wasabi Sauce – Wasabi is not HOT but is spicy with a floral and fragrant similar to horseradish. Making this a secret flavor weapon. The hot side of Wasabi is upfront then quickly calms down. Not like spicy peppers that have capsaicin, which is an oil. Once the oil from a pepper touches your tongue that spiciness isn’t going away quickly as Wasabi does.
1 Tablespoon Wasabi paste
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt & Cracked Black Pepper - to taste
Texas Style Ingredient: ½ teaspoon Liquid Smoke

Start with the tomatoes, then add the remaining ingredients. I like to cook the sauce on the stovetop at a low temperature to develop a deep flavor profile.

Nutrition

Serving: 3RibsCalories: 784kcalCarbohydrates: 27.4gProtein: 21.5gFat: 16.8gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2.8gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 117mgSodium: 110mgPotassium: 410mgFiber: 0.07gSugar: 14.3gVitamin A: 247IUIron: 5mg

Keyword Instant Post Baby Back Ribs

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