It’s no secret in my family that my mom doesn’t really enjoy cooking, yet every time she does it’s delicious. For instance her ribs are amazing and she has been cooking them the same way for years and the only time I had them was when I went home to visit. So on one trip several years ago I asked her for the recipe. She looked at me and said “there is no recipe.” No recipe? If that isn’t a sign of a great cook I don’t know what is.
As with so many comfort dishes that we all grew up enjoying often they are not documented and that precious information is stored in a mom or a dad or a grandma or a favourite great-aunt’s internal hard disk drive. If you’re lucky you might find a rough outline that reads like a scavenger hunt with a pinch or this and a dash of that usually haphazardly scribbled on the back of a used envelope which has been folded and refolded so many times and has become so fragile and almost illegible that you feel like you should put on a pair of pristine white cotton gloves to handle it in the hopes of preserving it for the next generation. Sure, you could scan it (and you should) but there is something reading the words that were written by a hand of a person you once loved that is not longer here. It’s like stepping back in time.
I made a point of asking my mom to make her world famous (to our family) ribs and writing down the recipe. She did and I have used it several times and they soon became a favourite of my husband and anyone else I felt was worthy of making them for because her version takes about 3 hours in the oven. Which works for me on the weekend but for those weeknights when I am feeling particularly primal and want to eat my meal with my hands I needed to come up with a faster method. Enter my most favourite small, kitchen appliance the Instant Pot. Now I can have fall off the bone ribs in less than an hour. Cue the choir of angels singing. Is there anything this, the greatest invention of the 21st century can’t do? Is there?? No. The answer is no. Except that my 6 quart can only manage 2 full racks of ribs at a time. But that is no fault of my Instant Pot. That’s all on me for not ordering a bigger one.
I enjoy these without sauce but for those of you that like them extra sloppy I recommend heading over to Cassy Jo Garcia’s website for her BBQ sauce recipe.
We like to have our ribs with my Creamy Coleslaw.
Instant Pot Ribs
Serves: 4
Cook time: 1 hour
- 2 racks St.Louis style side ribs
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dark roast, medium ground coffee
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (ACV)
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
Instructions:
- Mix all spices together in a bowl. Set aside
- Remove membrane from back side of ribs. Doing this will help them to fall of the bone.
- Add rub to both sides of the ribs. Use your hands to gently massage the spices into the meat.
- Place trivet in bottom of Instant Pot.
- Place ribs in pot standing them on end with the meaty side facing out.
- Add water, vinegar and liquid smoke to pot. Careful not to pour over ribs or you will wash the rub off.
- Put on lid. Set to manual cook on high pressure for 40 minutes.
- Push cancel when cooking time has finished.
- Allow pressure to naturally release for 15 minutes.
- Release remaining pressure.
- Set oven on broil. Position rack near top oven element.
- Carefully remove ribs from pot (remember they are going to be falling off the bone) and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Add BBQ sauce if using.
- Broil ribs for 5 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
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