How to Make Baby Back Ribs in a Pressure Cooker

Serve ribs with vegetables and grains for a balanced meal.

When making baby back ribs, you must cook the ribs for hours in an oven or slow cooker to achieve a tender, fall-off-the-bone consistency. A pressure cooker, however, will produce the same result in a fraction of the time. Foods prepared in a pressure cooker use approximately one-third of the time needed for those cooked using alternative methods. Use a pressure cooker to prepare a flavorful, tender baby back ribs entree. As with any dish, you might want to experiment with several recipes to determine your favorite.

Things You'll Need

• Pressure cooker
• Small bowl
• Large bowl
• Spoon
• 2 tbsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. black pepper
• 1 tbsp. dried oregano
• 2 pounds baby back ribs, separated and membrane removed
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 cup barbecue sauce

Instructions

1. Mix together the salt, garlic powder, black pepper and dried oregano in a small bowl. Sprinkle mixture onto ribs.

2. Place the ribs in a pressure cooker and add onion, hot sauce and bay leaves. Set the pot uncovered over high heat and sear meat until browned.

3. Add beef broth. Put the lid onto the pressure cooker and lock it into place. Continue to use high heat until a steady flow of steam begins to emit from the release valve.

4. 

   Pressure cookers are convenient time savers.

   Lower the heat to medium and cook for 40 minutes. During cooking, open the lid twice to stir the meat and prevent it from sticking. Because the contents are under pressure, follow the manufacturer's instructions for your particular pressure cooker to safely open the lid.

5. Transfer ribs from the pot to a large bowl. Use a spoon to skim the fat from the top of the liquid that remains in the pot. Discard the fat, and add barbecue sauce. Cook on low heat, uncovered, for approximately five minutes, stirring constantly.

6. Return ribs to the pot. Stir gently to coat the ribs in sauce. This recipe makes approximately four servings.

Tips & Warnings

• Add or omit seasonings to taste.

• Familiarize yourself with all of the manufacturer's instructions of the pressure cooker before attempting to cook. Pressure cookers can be hazardous. Failure to follow all instructions could result in injury.

References

• Food Network: How to Use a Pressure Cooker
• Food Network; Garlic-Ginger Barbecued Baby Back Ribs; Emeril LaGasse; 2006

Resources

• National Presto Industries; "Getting to Know Your Pressure Cooker;" 2011
• Fast Cooking: Pressure-Cooking Times and Instructions
• Mama's Southern Cooking: Mama's Recipe for Baby Back Ribs
• Food.com; BBQ Baby Back Ribs -- Pressure Cooker; May 2009