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.
Recipe: $15.34 | Per Serving: $3.83 | Servings: 4
Instant Pot Beef Back Ribs are a fantastic way to enjoy tender, flavorful beef ribs with minimal effort. The Instant Pot's pressure cooking method allows you to achieve that fall-off-the-bone tenderness in a fraction of the time it would take through traditional cooking methods.
With the Instant Pot, you can enjoy ribs year-round, no matter the weather. There's no need for lengthy marinating or hours of cooking. Simply season the ribs, pressure cook them, and finish with your favorite barbecue sauce under the broiler for a lovely caramelized glaze.
Whether you're serving these ribs at a family gathering, game day, or simply craving some comfort food, Instant Pot Beef Back Ribs are a hassle-free and delicious choice.
For more rib recipes, make sure to check out my Baked BBQ Pork Spare Ribs and Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs.
Jump to:
🍯 Why This Recipe Works
- It's fast! To go from raw to falling off the bone with only 22 minutes of cooking time is remarkable. While you do have to wait for the Instant Pot to reach pressure and release, the time needed is less than a lot of other cooking methods.
- It tastes like it was grilled. The seasonings and sauce combination just really makes this taste like a bite of summer. From the liquid smoke to the oven broiled char, you can recreate the taste of the grill, from the comfort of your own home.
- Simple ingredients. Besides the ribs, you'll just need some basic seasonings and sauces to create a homemade rub and barbecue sauce.
🥘 Ingredients
Ingredient Notes:
Beef ribs- You will need a rack of beef ribs for this recipe.
Apple cider vinegar- This is another liquid to help the Instant Pot pressurize our food, but it also helps to tenderize the meat thanks to the acidity in the vinegar.
Brown sugar- For added sweetness, caramelization, and depth of flavor.
Seasonings- To keep things simple, we just need some Paprika, Garlic powder, Onion powder, and Black pepper.
Worcestershire sauce- This is a salty sauce that adds a lot of flavor with every drop. It's a great way to make your sauce truly stand out.
Liquid smoke- Adding in some liquid smoke is a great way to bring the barbecue taste to your indoor cooking. (We also use liquid smoke in our Not So Smoked Trout Dip).
Paprika- For added color and flavor. You can use regular paprika or smoked paprika.
For specific ingredients and measurements, please see the recipe card below.
🔪 Instructions for Instant Pot Beef Back Ribs
Step 1: In the bottom of your Instant Pot, place ½ cup of water and ½ cup of apple cider vinegar.
Step 2: Combine all of the ingredients for the dry rub inside a bowl and set it aside.
Step 3: 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 the Instant Pot.
Step 4: 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.
Step 5: Smother your ribs, front and back, with the dry rub mix you made. You will not need all of it!
Step 6: 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.
Step 7: 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.
Step 8: Serve beef ribs now, or go one step further to make Instant Pot BBQ Beef Ribs.
Step 9: In a bowl, mix all of the BBQ sauce ingredients until well blended.
Step 10: Set your oven to High Broil. Line a baking sheet with foil.
Step 11: Place the ribs on the sheet, carefully.
Step 12: Brush the homemade BBQ sauce over the tops of the ribs and underneath.
Step 13: High Broil for 5 minutes until caramelized looking.
Serve warm.
🍴 Recipe Tips
Prepping Ribs- Removing Silverskin:
- To ensure tender, fall-off-the-bone ribs, trim and slice through the silverskin on the back of the ribs.
- Silverskin, a tough membrane, tightens as it cooks, making meat cling to the bone.
- Using a sharp paring knife, slice through the membrane to allow it to peel away during cooking.
- Look for a white or silvery layer on the bones or scattered in the meat to identify the presence of silverskin.
By addressing the silverskin before cooking, you'll achieve ribs that are easier to eat and more flavorful.
💭 Recipe FAQs
We want these Instant Pot ribs cooked to at least 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.
I recommend trying our Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad, Dill Pickle Potato Salad, or 5 Ingredient Mac and Cheese.
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 for the meat. That said, both are quite tasty.
❤️ More Delicious Instant Pot Recipes
If you tried these Instant Pot Beef Back Ribs, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your feedback in the 📝 comments section below. I would truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Beef Back Ribs
Ingredients
- ½ cup water ($0.00)
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar ($0.21)
- 1 small rack beef ribs (about 5-6 ribs) ($13.80)
Dry Rub Mix
- 1 ½ Tablespoon salt ($0.03)
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar ($0.08)
- 1 ½ Tablespoons paprika ($0.28)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder ($0.08)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder ($0.08)
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper ($0.08)
Quick BBQ Sauce
- ¾ cup ketchup ($0.31)
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar ($0.06)
- 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard ($0.03)
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar ($0.04)
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce ($0.06)
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke ($0.04)
- 2 teaspoons paprika ($0.16)
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.
- 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.
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.