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With Instant Pot make-ahead ribs, you prep them now and finish them off later.
Instant Pot Make-Ahead Ribs
With Memorial Day and Independence Day holidays coming up, your Instant Pot will certainly be a boon. Since it will keep your kitchen relatively cool it will be a go-to appliance for the warmer months. It can also help with meal prep. Especially meats that need to be cooked then finished off on the grill.
This is one of those recipes. You prep, then cook these ribs. Then you keep them and the juices refrigerated until you’re ready to finish cooking them.
Exotic Flavors
The rub for these Instant Pot make-ahead ribs has an exotic and wonderful flavor. These flavors remind me of Moroccan cooking. Not sure if that’s entirely accurate but with the addition of cinnamon used for something savory, it’s reminiscent of those flavors. The taste of cinnamon is not strong; just a whisper but it’s ever so nice.
Another flavor comes from cumin. Straight up I’ll tell you it’s not one of my favorite flavors. However, how it blends with everything else it worked very well. I actually liked it very much. In this rub, you use crushed cumin seeds. I couldn’t find those in my local store but I was able to order it from Walmart and not at an inflated price either.
Most of the other ingredients I’m sure you already have like whole peppercorns, red pepper flakes and of course the cinnamon.
The Sauce
The basting sauce is what pulls this all together. The slightly tart essence from the vinegar is just the thing for this. So is the bit of garlic.
Because you make this ahead and refrigerate the juices, the congealed fat is easy to remove.
Now all you have to do is grill them and baste!
The Recipe
Instant Pot Make-Ahead Ribs
Ingredients
- 4 lbs pork baby back ribs
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- Oil
Rub:
- 1 tbs black peppercorns
- 1 tbs cumin seeds
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tbs brown sugar
- 1 tbs kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Sauce:
- 2 tbs red or white wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
Instructions
- Crush peppercorns, cumin seeds and pepper flakes in a mortar & pestle. Place this in a small bowl then add the remaining rub ingredients.
- Season the ribs on both sides with the rub.
- Place the 1/4 cup of white wine into the Instant Pot and arrange the ribs around the side of the bowl--making a ring shape against the wall of the inner pot. Set the cooker to manual (high pressure) and set the timer for 9 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes then manually release the pressure. Remove the ribs to a baking sheet to cool.
- Now set the cooker to the saute function for 10 minutes to reduce the juices in the pot. Strain this through a fine mesh strainer. There should be about 3/4 cup of juices. Let it cool then chill (this will congeal any fat for easy removal).
- Prepare a gas or charcoal grill for medium-high heat (you can use an indoor broiler too).
- Remove the congealed fat from the chilled juices and place in a small saucepan. Add the sauce ingredients and heat over medium heat until this mixture is reduced by half.
- Lightly oil the ribs then place on the grill meaty side down until lightly browned. Turn ribs and baste with the sauce. Repeat this turning and basting until the ribs are lightly charred on both sides; about 5-10 minutes total.
- Remove to a cutting board and cut into individual ribs. Drizzle the ribs with any remaining sauce.
