Instant Pot Beef Ribs. Dinosaur-sized beef back ribs, Texas BBQ Style, fall-off-the-bone tender thanks to pressure cooking in my Instant Pot.
BBQ beef ribs are a rare treat. The long bone "back" ribs are not as widely available as pork ribs, or even beef short ribs. I order them automatically when I see them at a barbecue joint. If a place is selling beef back ribs, odds are they do it out of love, not just to round out the menu. When I want to make them at home, and I don't have the time for real-deal barbecue, I cook them in a fraction of the time in my Instant Pot.
Beef back ribs are the bones from a rib roast - that is, a prime rib. They are often called “dinosaur ribs” - the bones are enormous compared to pork ribs. There are 7 bones in a rack of beef back ribs, but my local grocery stores usually sell them cut into 4 bone lengths. That is, when I can find them. They’re not in the meat case that often. I can usually find them during ribeye roast sales when the butcher is trimming them from the roast to make the boneless cut. Or, I special order them. (Asking for back ribs will probably get you one-on-one time with your butcher; he’ll want to find out who’s asking for this rare cut, and why. That's great! Chat up your butcher - It's always good to know who cuts your meat. Start by asking how he cooks beef ribs.)
When I’m cooking back ribs, I like to emphasize the beef flavor. (The bones are my favorite part of the prime rib, after all.) I serve them with a simple Texas-style dry rub, equal parts salt, black pepper, and Ancho chili pepper. I don’t use barbecue sauce; again, I don’t want to cover up the beefy flavor. If you can't imagine eating ribs without sauce, look for a Texas-style sauce to pair with them.
Looking for different ribs? For pork ribs, try my BBQ Instant Pot Ribs recipe, or my Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs recipe. For a beef short rib recipe, try Instant Pot BBQ Braised Short Ribs, or Instant Pot Boneless Short Ribs.
Ingredients
- Beef back ribs
- Fine sea salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Ancho chili powder
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to cook Instant Pot Beef Back Ribs
Season the ribs and put them in the pressure cooker
Mix the salt, pepper, and Ancho chili powder in a small bowl to make a spice rub. Sprinkle both sides of the ribs with the rub. Pour ½ cup of water into an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker. Stack the ribs loosely in the pressure cooker, bone side down.
Pressure cook the ribs for 25 minutes with a Natural Release
Pressure cook on high pressure for 25 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker, or for 20 minutes in a stovetop PC. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode in an Instant Pot.) After the cooking time, let the pressure come down naturally until the pressure valve drops, about 15 more minutes.
Broil the ribs (optional)
Put the ribs bone side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil the ribs on high until the meat starts to crackle and brown, about 5 minutes. (Broilers are all over the place, heat wise, so keep an eye on them.) Remove the ribs from the broiler and serve.
Tips and Tricks
Back Ribs vs Spare Ribs vs Short Ribs
What type of ribs should you use? This recipe will work with beef back ribs or beef spare ribs. (Beef short ribs are different, and should follow my Instant Pot short ribs recipe ). Beef back ribs are easier to find, because they are the bones that cover a prime rib roast; if a butcher wants to cut a boneless rib roast, they cut away the back ribs. Spare ribs are from the lower part of the ribcage, over the plate cut. Beef spare ribs are not as common in grocery stores, but work great in this recipe if you can find them…and if you can fit them in your pot, since they tend to be longer than back ribs.
Beef Rib Size
The big trick to pressure cooker beef back ribs is the length of the bones. (There’s a reason they have the dinosaur ribs nickname.) If you get particularly long cut bones, they might not fit in the cooker. I cut the ribs into 2-bone pieces to help them fit, and I don’t worry if they stack up beyond the “max fill” line - there is plenty of airspace in the pot to build up the pressure. But if you have an 8-quart Instant Pot, use it; the large pot helps with this recipe.
Cutting between every other bone
A rack of beef back ribs has 7 bones; it’s fine if cutting into 2-bone pieces leaves one of them as a 1-bone piece. (My local stores stock back ribs in 4-bone packs, so splitting them into 2-bone pieces is easy.)
Broil for some extra browning
The ribs are good straight out of the cooker, tender and falling off the bone, but the extra five minutes under the broiler adds a nice, crispy bark to the outside. I don’t skip that step unless I’m in a huge hurry.
A Bit of Heat
I like the subtle hint of heat the Ancho chile powder brings to this recipe. If you want to really bring the heat with your ribs, add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the spices before you sprinkle them on the ribs.
BBQ Sauce?
Like I said above, I try to emphasize the beef in my beef ribs, so I don't sauce them. (It's a Texas-style thing.) If you want BBQ sauce on your ribs, save it for after cooking. After removing them from the pressure cooker, brush the ribs with your favorite BBQ sauce. If you're doing the broiling step, broil until the sauce starts to bubble, then take the ribs out of the broiler and brush them with another layer of sauce before serving. (Can I recommend my own homemade barbecue sauce recipe ?)
Do you use a rack?
I don't use a rack when I'm cooking ribs. The bones act as a natural rack, lifting the ribs off the bottom of the pot. They also release enough liquid that the lower third of the ribs are underwater after cooking, even with the rack.
What to serve with Instant Pot Beef Ribs
I like to serve these ribs with Texas BBQ side dishes like my Instant Pot Collard Greens Instant Pot Mustard Potato Salad. Other condiments to serve with the ribs are thin-sliced onion, pickle chips, and a bottle of hot sauce for sprinkling at the table. (And if I'm feeling like too much muchness is not enough, I'll serve my Instant Pot Loaded Mashed Potatoes recipe with these ribs.)
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Instant Pot Beef Ribs Recipe
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 4 2-bone portions
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Instant Pot Beef Ribs. Dinosaur-sized beef back ribs, Texas BBQ Style, fall-off-the-bone tender thanks to pressure cooking in my Instant Pot.
Ingredients
- 7 to 8 bones of beef back ribs (about 3 pounds), cut into 2-bone pieces
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Ancho chili powder
Instructions
- Season the ribs and put them in the Instant Pot: Mix the salt, pepper, and Ancho chili powder in a small bowl to make a spice rub. Sprinkle both sides of the ribs with the rub. Pour ½ cup of water into an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker. Stack the ribs loosely in the pressure cooker, bone side down.
- Pressure cook the ribs for 25 minutes with a Natural Pressure Release: Pressure cook on high pressure for 25 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker, or for 20 minutes in a stovetop PC. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode in an Instant Pot.) After the cooking time, let the pressure come down naturally until the pressure valve drops, about 15 more minutes. (You can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.)
- Broil the ribs (optional): Put the ribs bone side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil the ribs on high until the meat starts to crackle and brown, about 5 minutes. (Broilers are all over the place, heat wise, so keep an eye on them.) Remove the ribs from the broiler and serve.
Equipment
Buy Now →Notes
A rack of beef back ribs has 7 bones; it’s fine if cutting into 2-bone pieces leaves one of them as a 1-bone piece. (My local stores stock back ribs in 4-bone packs, so splitting them into 2-bone pieces is easy.)
The ribs are good straight out of the cooker, tender and falling off the bone, but the extra five minutes under the broiler adds a nice, crispy bark to the outside. I don’t skip that step unless I’m in a huge hurry.
If you do want to sauce your ribs, brush the ribs with BBQ sauce right before the broiling step.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
Category: Sunday Dinner
Method: Pressure Cooker
Cuisine: American
Keywords: Instant Pot, Pressure Cooker, Beef Ribs, Beef Back Ribs, Beef Spare Ribs
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
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My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
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