Baby back ribs cooked in a....

[Neal]

Pellet Gods forgive me for I have sinned...and used an INSTANT POT! Tonight I wanted to give the ole instant pot a try to cook ribs as I had them from a slow cooker cooked for me a few weeks ago and it was quite good. I am impressed, the meat fell right off the bone, super moist and tender. For me my pellet grill smoking always yields a tougher end result but I think this instant pot trial revealed a problem with my pellet smoking of foods. I think next time I do ribs on the pellet grill there needs to be a time that they are sealed with a foil cover so that the moisture can be infused into the meat. I've never had meat fall off the bone from pellet smoking so I think tonight gave me a clue and some research is needed.

Anyways, here is the recipe I sorta followed. As I vowed not to leave this campground for two weeks (some for obvious reasons, some because my freezer is jam packed and I need to feed off of it for a bit) it's time for some exploratory Chef Neal work. Typically poptarts is the best I can do but I'm branching out to my uncomfortable zone and so far so good. Ohh, as to the recipe, I used a rub that I had on hand instead of mixing up per the recipe but everything else I followed.

Baby Back Pork Ribs – Instant Pot Recipes

recipes.instantpot.com

I'm using an Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus 6 QT

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W55DDFB/?tag=rvf01-20

 

[RKins]

@Neal, not sure if you've tried this seasoning before - Mmmmm - I put it on most any meat. Put a little on for great flavor, the more you put on, the more you taste the heat, even on the normal blend.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005F5F0XW/?tag=rvf01-20

You can also visit this place in Gulf Port MS

 

[MapNerd]

Actually we do instant pot ribs regularly. Super moist and tender in a fraction of the time. We just undercook them slightly in the instant pot until they are tender, then finish them in the grill so that we still get a crispy skin and some smoke flavor, but they are still moist inside and slide off the bone.

 

[Tip&Tina]

This is so timely!

We (me) just cooked baby back ribs on the Davy Crockett on Saturday. They were incredible and the DH said that they were better than any restaurant and while not quite “fall off the bone”, they came off with out pulling and were so tender I was afraid to put them on the grill with the sauce.

The recipe I followed was:

Rub ribs with any seasoning you want. I used some stuff I found at Aldi. It was for grilling and for smoking.

Smoke ribs at 230 degrees for 3 hours.

Pull and put on heavy duty foil. On that foil, put brown sugar. Pretty much rub brown sugar all over the ribs. Both sides if not too hot. I then added maple syrup, about 1/2 cup and then made a foil packet and added apple juice, again about 1/3 cup. All for the moisture. I made sure my packet was tight with no leaks.

I put them back on at 250 degrees for 2 hours. I pulled them and put some barbecue sauce on and put them back on and turned the heat up to 350 for about 10 minutes per side. DH does not like a crust or the hard thing so many do.

He loved them. We ate the whole rack...blush.

I have tried the Instapot ribs and while very tender, you can’t make up for that Smokey taste that the pellet grill offers.

I use the Instapot for Pot Roast and really tough cuts-I made Carnitas from a pork butt a few weeks ago and it was outstanding. Instapot for WIN!

 

[Neal]

I think the lesson learned for me whether ribs, wings, etc. is at some point the food needs to be contained to steam and moisturize the meat, or prevent it from drying out in the first place. Need to do some research on this...

 

[GeoKat]

One method I use the most is use a salty brine for 24-72hrs. The other "cheater" method I use when I'm short on time is to boil the ribs until almost done then toss them on the smoker for about an hour. You can foil meat for the last hour if smoking low and slow but it's not a rule. Just keep the temps low. Remember overcooking will dry out meat, aim for pull apart not falling off for a good guide on doneness.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

...aim for pull apart not falling off for a good guide on doneness.

Now, here's a guy that knows his ribs! They need to have a gentle "tug" to pull the meat apart. "Falling off the bone" can be tasty, but is either overdone or artificially moistened. It is all in the timing!

TJ

 

[GeoKat]

Now, here's a guy that knows his ribs!

Scratch the uy and add a al. ;-) But yeah.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Scratch the uy and add a al. ;-) But yeah.

My sincere apologies! Let me rephrase that. "Now, here's a gal that knows her ribs!" I wish the English language wasn't so darn hard to navigate in the gender-neutral area. So sorry.

TJ