Got my hands on a pressure cooker over the weekend, and I can honestly say if I use it for nothing else – making ribs with the thing has turned a half day ordeal into a quick snack.
I always heard that the steam pressure and heat generated in the cooker can rapidly accelerate the cooking of meat and they were not kidding. I picked up a rack of baby backs with an idea to smoke them for Sunday dinner.
Instead, I quickly thawed them in the kitchen sink (fill sink with hot water, drop ribs in while still in the plastic) and give it 20-30 minutes. Once thawed, I took the ribs out, quartered the rack, and seared them in 6 tablespoons of vegetable oil I added to the cooker.
Once seared, I applied a coffee based dry rub, and lined them up vertically in the cooker. To the cooker I added a cup and a half of chicken broth and a half cup of Larceny bourbon.
Lastly, I locked down the lid and set the timer to 15 minutes.
I was stunned. These were not overcooked “fall off the bone” ribs, and they had perfect tenderness and mouth feel after only 15 minutes, fully cooked in the pressure cooker.
After I took the ribs out, I fired up the pressure cooker one more time with the vent open to reduce the sauce that was created, and then I basted the ribs with it.
Next time I’ll be finishing them in the smoker at very low heat to infuse flavor and not overcook them.
If you prefer overcooked ribs, 20 to 30 minutes in the pressure cooker would ruin them nicely! 🙂
