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This recipe for Smokey Pressure Cooker Ribs requires two things: a pressure cooker and a smoker. Get perfectly tender, smoked ribs in under 2 hours,with minimal hands-on time. If you’re a barbecue purist who doesn’t like sauce on their ribs, you will love this recipe. If you’re a bad pre-planner who wants last minute ribs, this one is for you.
BARBECUE SAUCE VS. NO SAUCE
I’ve seen a lot of recipes for pressure cooker ribs and they look good–with one exception. Almost all of them ask you to first pressure cook the meat, and then slather sauce and broil them in the oven.
I’m a barbecue purist who doesn’t like to coat her meat in barbecue sauce. I think when you make ribs or brisket, you should taste the meat, not the sauce. If you really want some sauce then I think you should serve it on the side, so as to not hide the taste of the meat. But that’s just me.
But how do you make ribs in a pressure cooker that taste smokey? I have an electric smoker that I absolutely love. I don’t understand how I did keto and low carb for almost four years before getting a smoker. (Here’s a post that tells you what I love about this smoker). It is however something that requires a little floor space.
One of my readers has a Nordicware smoker that she speaks highly of, and the reviews on Amazon look great as well, so perhaps that is an alternative if you have a smaller area in which to store a smoker.
But if you’re trying to low carb, and want something that’s easy, not fussy, and delicious, I would highly recommend a smoker. I basically just throw meat on there–and it comes out delicious. It’s insane how easy this is.
HOW DOES SMOKING WORK?
I use hot smoking to cook my meats, which means the temperature is set to about 225F – 250F. I also use wood chips to add flavor and aroma. As the wood chips burn, they caramelize and release carbonyls, which add both flavor and aroma to the meat being cooked/smoked. Different wood chips have different levels of various compounds and sugar molecules, so they can all produce a different flavor.
At the risk of annoying purists, I will say that I haven’t yet started to worry about that. I just pick the closest bag of wood chips, the meat that I want to smoke, and I have at it.
I’m sure I will experiment more carefully over time, but if you’re starting out, I’m just saying even this slapdash method produces some of the best-tasting meat I’ve ever had.
If you’ve been intimidated by the thought of learning the art of smoking before trying it, here’s what I did. I bought a highly-rated smoker. I plugged it in. I seasoned some meat with whatever sounded good and threw it in there. I had the best Mexican-seasoned pork shoulder I’ve ever eaten.
The only thing I read was this little Smoking Temperature Chart that shows you how long, what temperature, and what internal temperature you need. That’s it. No manual, nothing. I tell you, it’s idiot-proof.
COOKING PRESSURE COOKER RIBS
There’s no way to get around this–your ribs will be boiled. They won’t be slow roasted, they won’t be crispy, they will be boiled. But. They can still be very tasty and importantly, by following this recipe, you can have smokey, perfect ribs in 2 hours versus the 6-8 hours you might otherwise need to smoke them.
The slow smoking also crisps up some of the fat, so to me this is the best of both worlds–authentic smoked taste, as well as speed.
I will say that I don’t think your ribs should necessarily fall of the bone. They should be tender, and well-cooked, but falling off the bone means they’re overdone and floppy and perhaps even a little mushy. If you like your ribs that way however, all you have to do is pressure cook a little bit longer.
THE STEPS FOR THESE EASY SMOKEY PRESSURE COOKER RIBS ARE:
- Rub the ribs with your choice of seasoning. I used pre-made barbecue seasoning like this one, but you can also follow my recipe here for a mexican-seasoned rub.
- Cook ribs on a rack in your pressure cooker for 20 minutes HP, 10 mins NPR
- Smoke for an hour at 250F
EQUIPMENT AND INGREDIENTS YOU MAY NEED:
Here’s everything I used.
- Instant Pot Mini Duo or Instant Pot 6 quart or Instant Pot 8 Quart (I was able to fit a rack in my Mini! Just cut into four pieces)
- Steamer Rack
- Grilling Gloves which I actually also use in my kitchen instead of oven mitts
- Silicone mitts totally worth their low price
- Tongs that I also use in my kitchen
- Thermometer if your smoker doesn’t come with a meat probe
- Measuring cups
- Grill/ barbecue rub
- Apple cider vinegar
- Wood chips for smoking inexpensive and essential for true smoked flavor
- Meat smoking temperature guide that is magnetic. I leave one on the grill and one on the fridge.
You may also want to check out my Keto Instant Pot Cookbook–the only Keto Cookbook authorized by Instant Pot. This cookbook is full of delicious recipes that even your non-keto Family will love.
This recipe for Smokey Pressure Cooker Ribs requires two things: a pressure cooker and a smoker. Get perfectly tender, smoked ribs in under 2 hours,with minimal hands-on time. If you're a barbecue purist who doesn't like sauce on their ribs, you will love this recipe. If you're a bad pre-planner who wants last minute ribs, this one is for you.
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 tablespoons barbecue rub
- 1 rack pork baby back ribs about 2 lbs, cut into four pieces
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup wood chips
Turn on your smoker so it can preheat to 225F as you get everything else done.
Place water and Apple cider vinegar in the inner liner of your pressure cooker
On a steamer rack, place the four pieces of ribs standing up. Note, these fit in my Mini Duo Instant Pot!
Season the ribs with a premade seasoning of your choice, or use my Mexican-spiced rub recipe.
Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes, and allow pressure to release for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, release all remaining pressure.
Place a cup of water in the water pan of your smoker.
Place the cooked ribs on the smoker rack.
Add wood chips and allow the ribs to smoke for 30 mins to an hour until they are browned, and acquire a smoky flavor.
I am not a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information is provided a courtesy, and can vary depending on the exact ingredients you use.
Heidi Selberg says
August 5, 2018 at 5:10 pmShouldn’t the ribs be smoked first, and then cookers in the instant pot? I thought most of the smoky flavor came in the first hour of smoking, and the rest of the time was to cook till tender?
Donna Voets says
August 29, 2017 at 5:34 pmThese are in the works as we speak…we have smoker which my husband is in charge of ,…and usually takes about 5 5 hrs for ribs to be done…,,this will be a collaboration…me instant pot him smoker.
URVASHI PITRE says
August 29, 2017 at 5:35 pmI love cooking with my husband. It’s great time together, although we don’t get to do it very often. I’m very curious to hear what you guys think about these!