Barbecue beef ribs are always a fun (and messy) dinner option! With this Instant Pot beef rib recipe, you can have fall off the bone ribs in half the time.
Pressure Cooker Beef Ribs
Waiting hours for ribs to slow cook in the oven or waiting for the rain to stop to heat up the grill aren't always worthwhile options. Especially when you're on a time crunch or find a good deal on ribs during the off-seasons.
While we're normally pork rib eaters, every once in a while a good deal on beef ribs comes along and we can't help but jump for it. This week we scored ribs at 50% off! So of course I couldn't pass them up.
I've been cooking everything in our Instant Pot lately and these ribs are no different. To go from raw to fall off the bone with only 22 minutes of cooking time is remarkable. But the seasonings and sauce combination just really makes this taste like a bite of summer.
I almost don't even miss the grill....almost.
BBQ Beef Ribs ingredients
- Rack of beef ribs
- Water
- Apple cider vinegar
What You'll Need for The Dry Rub Mix:
- Salt
- Brown sugar
- Paprika
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Black pepper
What You'll Need for The Quick BBQ Sauce:
- Ketchup
- Brown sugar
- Mustard
- Apple cider vinegar
- Worcestershire sauce
- Liquid smoke
- Paprika
What you’ll need to make this recipe
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Tips for making beef back ribs
My favorite way to make the meat fall off of the bones a little easier is to trim up and slice through the silver skin on the back of the ribs. This is that chewy tendon-like bit that holds the meat on.
Silverskin doesn't melt like fat does and will actually get "tighter" as it cooks. This means meat clings even more to the bone than it did before. With beef ribs, it's not as present as it is in pork ribs, but it's still an annoyance that takes moments to fix.
While some people go the extra mile of removing it completely, I like the lazier route. Simply taking a sharp paring knife and slicing through that membrane will cause it to peel away as the ribs cook and shrink enough so that the meat falls off of the bone more easily.
You can tell if there is membrane or silverskin on ribs by flipping them over to look at the back. There will be a whiteish or silvery colored layer on the bones or even scattered around in the meat.
FAQ's about Instant Pot ribs
We want beef ribs cooked to atleast 200 degrees F because that's when the meat is cooked to the point of being tender and fall-off the bone ready. 205-210 F is optimal.
Some great options include creamy coleslaw, baked potatoes, or a variety of salads like potato salad, macaroni salad, or even a green salad.
Besides the obvious of coming from two different animals, beef ribs are usually bigger and are cut to contain less meat than a rack of pork ribs. This often makes them cheaper as you're paying more for the weight of the bone than you are the meat. That said, both are quite tasty.
How to make Instant Pot beef back ribs
In the bottom of your Instant Pot, place ½ cup of water and ½ cup of apple cider vinegar.
Combine all of the ingredients for the dry rub inside a bowl and set it aside.
Take a rack of beef ribs and slice them so that they are no more than 2 ribs per bunch. This will help them to fit inside of the Instant Pot.
Flip the ribs over to reveal their backs, and then using a sharp paring knife, make score marks down the rib bones, and on the silverskin/membrane.
Smother your ribs, front and back, with the dry rub mix you made. You will not need all of it!
Stack your beef ribs so that they are offset and going in opposite directions. Place them on the trivet and lower them into your pressure cooker.
Close the lid and set it to High Pressure for 22 minutes. Do a Natural Pressure Release for 10 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure.
Serve beef ribs now, or go one step further to make Instant Pot BBQ Beef Ribs.
In a bowl, mix all of the BBQ sauce ingredients until well blended.
Set your oven to High Broil. Line a baking sheet with foil.
Place the ribs on the sheet, carefully.
Brush the homemade BBQ sauce over the tops of the ribs and underneath.
High Broil for 5 minutes until caramelized looking.
Serve warm.
More great recipes to try
- Easy Shepherd’s Pie with Instant Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Green Beans
- Easy Spinach Bacon Quiche
- Simple Meatloaf Recipe with Oatmeal
- Instant Pot Bacon
- Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins
Instant Pot Beef Back Ribs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 small rack beef ribs (about 5-6 ribs)
- ½ cup water
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
Dry Rub Mix
- 1 ½ tablespoon salt
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Quick BBQ Sauce
- ¾ cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
- 2 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Place ½ cup of water and ½ cup of apple cider vinegar into the bottom of your instant pot.
- For a rack of beef ribs, slice them down into 2 or 3 ribs in width so that they can stack and fit into the Instant Pot.
- Flip the ribs over so that you're looking at the backside. With a sharp paring knife, slice "score marks" down the back. Cut that silverskin on the rib bone and in between each rib as well. This is an easy trick to get a perfect "fall off the bone" end result- you know we want that!
- Combine all of the dry rub mix ingredients and set aside.
- Smother your beef ribs in the rub mix, you will not need it all.
- Stack the beef ribs so that they go opposite directions, on your trivet. Lower them into the Instant Pot.
- Close the lid, and set it to High Pressure for 22 minutes. Do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes before releasing the rest.
- Serve now or go one step further for Instant Pot BBQ Beef Ribs.
- In a bowl combine all of the BBQ sauce ingredients until well combined.
- Set your oven to High Broil and line a baking sheet with foil.
- Place your ribs on the baking sheet.
- Brush your homemade BBQ sauce over the tops (and bottoms) of the beef ribs.
- High Broil for 5 minutes, until caramelized and looking delicious.
- Serve warm.
Nutritional Information
Catherine McClarey says
Thanks for the tip about cutting slits in the "silver skin" membrane instead of pulling it off completely! The beef back ribs I bought at the supermarket are already separated into individual ribs, so I don't know how much of an issue the membranes will be, but it was good to see confirmation from recipes like yours that beef back ribs will indeed fit in an Instant Pot.
NicoleDurham says
The membrane is usually what keeps the ribs from being "fall off the bone" good because it shrinks as it cooks causing it to latch onto the bone. Removing it completely can be a real pain so I'm glad you found my "slicing it" tip useful! Thanks so much for commenting, I hope your ribs turn out fabulously.