Pressure Cooker BBQ Baby Back Ribs

Pressure Cooker BBQ Baby Back Ribs

Happy New Year, CPE family! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season filled with sweet memories spent with family and friends. What did Santa bring you? I couldn’t resist the allure of the newest kitchen appliance, the pressure cooker, so I asked Santa to bring me one. Immediately after it arrived under the Christmas tree, I wasted no time getting to know it! One of the first meals I made were Pressure Cooker BBQ Baby Back Ribs and they did not disappoint! 

With all the craze of the Instant Pot, and constantly seeing recipes while scrolling through Pinterest, I decided it was time to jump on the Instant Pot bandwagon! I was so excited when I saw that Crock-Pot® recently came out with their version of the pressure cooker called the Crock-Pot® Express Crock Multi-Cooker (affiliate link). Of course, with the name of my blog and my obsession with the Crock-Pot® Slow Cooker (affiliate link), I naturally went with the brand I trust the most.So far, I have made our favorite crockpot pork chops, hard boiled eggs, baby back bbq ribs, and sautéd meatballs, all of which turned out delicious. I had to experiment with the recipes to make sure they were to our liking, and I will say that we are still big fans of the slow cooker. It will definitely not be replaced, because nothing beats a crockpot in my opinion, but the coolest part is that it also has a slow cooker setting! The best of both worlds in one pot!

The beauty of the pressure cooker is that you don’t have to wait all day for it to cook and you still get a tender meat. Plus, it has multi-functions, so you can do everything from steam to sauté or even make yogurt! If you need a quick dinner you can plan last minute and get it on the table still with minimal effort, because it does most of the work for you all in one pot might I add!

I cooked the ribs for 25 minutes with a 15 minute natural pressure release, and I still could have increased the time for both meats to make them fall off the bone like they do after being in the crockpot all day. However, they were still very tender and close to falling off, but still with a little chew. Most people prefer their ribs like that, but Fred wants them literally falling off the bone. I recommend if you like them falling off the bone you need to cook for 40-45 minutes with a natural pressure release of 10 minutes. It all depends on how thick your ribs are.So, let’s cook these ribs together! First, you want to remove the membrane from the back of the ribs or you can have your butcher do it for you. Next time, I will ask them to do it for me, because I will be honest in saying that I’ve never found this as easy as people say it is. The film never pulls off in one piece in the pictures you see on the internet. I got a nice piece on one rack, but it’s a little time consuming and isn’t perfect.Using a knife, slide it under the membrane and over the bone at one end of the rack, loosen and pull up the membrane until it tears. With a paper towel grab ahold of the membrane and pull it off. Like I said, I usually have to pull them off in pieces, but you may have better experience getting it to come off in one piece. Then generously season the ribs. I decided to use a different dry rub than I normally do in this crockpot ribs recipe, and I really liked it. Bobby Flay is the grill master and his dry rub recipe certainly didn’t disappoint either! You can get his rib dry rub recipe here or down below in the print out recipe card. I halved the recipe, because it makes a lot, but you can always store it in an airtight container.

Now it’s time to learn how to use the Crock-Pot® Express! Place the trivet that came with it in the bottom and add one cup of apple juice and a few drops of Liquid Smoke to the pot. Add the ribs and lay them against one another standing up in a teepee formation. Secure the lid and lock it securely, select Meat/Stew, set pressure to HIGH and set time to 25 minutes. Make sure the Steam Release Valve is in the “Seal” closed position and press Start/Stop. During cooking time, preheat the oven to Broil. Once cooking has completed, and the pressure is released the lid will unlock and you are able to open. Place on a baking pan lined with foil and baste ribs with your favorite BBQ sauce. Broil under the broiler meat side up for 5 minutes to get a nice caramelized crust.   Have you gotten an Instant Pot or Crock-Pot® Express Crock for your kitchen yet? I’ll be posting lots of recipes this year, so I hope you join the Empire and expand your Crock-Pot collection with us! Here’s to lots of good recipes and many blessings in 2018!

5 from 2 votes

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Pressure Cooker BBQ Ribs

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Author Kimberly Bishop

Ingredients

• 1-2 racks pork ribs about 1.5-3 lbs.
• 1 cup apple juice
• One bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
• Aluminum foil for broiler pan

For the Dry Rub (recipe by Bobby Flay)

• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
• 1 tablespoon granulated onion
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon white pepper

Instructions

1. Trim any access fat and remove membrane, if still intact
2. Mix dry rub ingredients together and generously rub into Ribs
3. Cut rack(s) in half to fit on the trivet in the Crock-Pot Express
4. Add 1 cup of apple juice to the bottom of the pot

5. Cook on Meat/Stew setting for 45 minutes (it will take a few minutes for the crock to heat up once you press start)

6. After 45 minutes, do a “natural pressure release” for 10 minutes and then release the pressure manually (refer to your instruction manual)

7. Remove ribs from pot using tongs and place on foil lined baking sheet
8. Baste with BBQ sauce on both sides
9. Broil for 5 minutes until browning and caramelized
10. Add more BBQ sauce if desired before serving

For the Dry Rub (recipe courtesy of Food Network)

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
2. Store in an airtight container.
3. Pack on the dry rub onto your next rack of ribs.