Instant Pot Country Style Pork Ribs in BBQ Sauce is delicious bone-in pork shoulder, pressure cooked in the Instant Pot. Pork ribs are so aromatic and flavorful thanks to the homemade Barbecue Sauce ingredients. This will quickly become a favorite Instant Pot meat dish for you, family, and friends!
Pork Cuts to use for Instant Pot Country Style Pork Ribs in BBQ Sauce
Country-style ribs are cut from the blade end of the loin close to the pork shoulder. They are meatier than other rib cuts, emphasis on the meatier part. And you will get a lot of meat out of them! They also have enough fat to keep the meat moist, unlike leaner cuts like tenderloin or loin.
It’s a comfort food like no other comfort food, perfect for your Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker. Country style ribs cook fast under pressure and the meat just falls off the bone.
Does cooking time change if using frozen ribs?
Cooking time ( in terms of what you set it for on the Instant Pot) for frozen ribs stays the same as for fresh ribs – 35 minutes plus Natural Release, but what will be different is the coming-to-pressure time. It will be longer automatically – that’s the only difference.
If you bought frozen ribs, remember that the cooking time doesn’t start until the pot reaches pressure which means if ribs are frozen it will take longer to reach pressure and longer for the pot to become hot enough to reach pressure.
Therefore, overall cooking time including coming to pressure will be longer for frozen ribs, however no change in cooking time in the recipe itself is required!
These easy pressure cooker BBQ country style ribs are flavorful and tender. They are perfect as is, or served over rice or mashed potatoes.
What’s in the homemade BBQ sauce
Homemade barbecue sauce is made with ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, brown sugar, mustard, black pepper and vinegar (see complete list in the recipe box). By the way, you can use any of these: distilled, red wine or apple cider. We used apple cider vinegar.
First, the sauce’s ingredients are mixed right in the Instant Pot with the wooden spoon. Next, 1/2 cup beef broth is added to add more liquid to the pot to avoid “Burn” warning on the digital display. Finally, country style pork ribs are placed in the sauce and pressure cooked.
Instant Pot Country Style Pork Ribs in BBQ Sauce Recipe in a nutshell
Simply place Country Style Pork Ribs inside the pot on top of the homemade barbecue sauce. If your ribs have any fat layer on them, make sure to put them with the fat layer on top. Otherwise, before the pot comes to pressure, you might get a “Burn” warning since fat will start cooking off.
If that happens, open the pot, and flip the ribs – that’s all! As a bonus, you might get a nice sear on that side. Once the ribs are in the pot, season them generously with salt and pepper.
Use Meat/Stew function to pressure cook the pork ribs
Country style ribs are pressure cooked on Meat/Stew setting for 35 minutes. And if you would like to see what these are the ribs look like right after pressure cooking them in the Instant Pot, the picture is below.
This is that fat layer I was talking about earlier – it got a nice brownish sear after I flipped the ribs (I made the mistake of putting them with the the fat layer down which caused Burn warning, but at the same time seared them quite nicely).
Should trivet be used for Instant Pot Ribs?
You can also use a trivet and not worry about fat layer at all! I cooked it both ways (with and without trivet) and the result was outstanding either way.
How to thicken BBQ Sauce after Pressure Cooking:
This is an optional step. If you desire to thicken the sauce a bit, simply add a slurry made with cornstarch and water, using the Sauté function to simmer the sauce until it’s thickened.
Note that I did not thicken the sauce in this recipe. After the release of pressure and a good amount of the liquid had evaporated and the sauce had thickened up.
The close-up picture below shows the sauce spooned on top of the ribs. As you can see, it’s of a pretty good consistency:
Instant Pot Tips
If you are frequently using your Instant Pot for a variety of recipes, it’s a good idea to have 2 different rings: one for savory recipes and the other for sweet recipes in order to avoid odor exchange. I use this Genuine Instant Pot Ring as my second ring – it is made by Instant Pot manufacturer and has over 1,000 positive reviews on Amazon.
Instant Pot Tempered Glass Lid is a good way to help keep the food warm without having to put the pressure lid on.
If you like cooking in your Instant Pot you might like these delicious recipes:
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
Instant Pot BBQ Beef Brisket
Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Instant Pot Spatchcock Chicken with Mustard Crust
Pin this Instant Pot Country Style Pork Ribs in BBQ Sauce recipe here.
Hungry for more pork? How about boneless pork chop recipes? I have several tasty and quick recipes here:
Honey Balsamic Pork Chops
Pork Chops in Creamy Garlic and Herb Wine Sauce
If you are looking for pork tenderloin or pork loin recipes, you might find these recipes interesting:
Brown Sugar, Garlic and Herb Tenderloin
Mustard, Garlic and Herb Crusted Tenderloin
Brown Sugar Dijon Glazed Pork Loin with Carrots, Apples and Sweet Potatoes
Instant Pot Country Style Pork Ribs in BBQ Sauce is a comfort food like no other comfort food. Pork ribs are so aromatic and flavorful thanks to the homemade Barbecue Sauce ingredients. This will quickly become a favorite meat dish for you, family, and friends.
- 1 1/2 cups ketchup
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup Vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup Brown sugar
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 2 teaspoon Mustard powder
- 2 tsp Paprika
- 3 lb. Country Style Pork Ribs
- 1/2 Cup Beef Broth
- Salt and pepper
- Add the ingredients of Barbecue Sauce into the Instant Pot. Mix with a wooden spoon
Now add 1/2 cup beef broth and mix it into the sauce (this amount of liquid is needed prevent Instant Pot's "Burn" warning)
Place ribs on top of the sauce with the fat layer on top (to prevent Burn warning). Season with salt and pepper over the ribs right in the pot.
Close the lid, make sure it's in the "Lock" position. Turn the vent to "Sealing" position. Push "Meat/Stew" button which defaults to 35 minutes. Your pot will show On.
- Once the pressure is built up and valve pops up, the countdown will start from 35 minutes to 0.
When pressure cooking is over and digital display reads "L0:00", the pot will start beeping. Push "Cancel" to cancel the reheat mode. The digital display will show "OFF". Now just patiently wait for the floating valve to completely drop (this will take 10 to 20 minutes).
Now turn "Venting" knob to venting position. Turn the lid to "Open" position and open the pot. The ribs are done!
do you not.coat the raw ribs with sauce when you put them in the pot?
I don’t coat them with sauce, just submerge them with in it. But the top can certainly be coated.
If I use frozen country style bone in ribs how long would I cook them in the IP. Thanks.
Same time as fresh, as frozen foods will take the same pressure time as fresh as long as they’re same thickness and type but the coming-to-pressure time will be longer automatically – that’s the only difference.
I noticed you used bone in pork ribs. I have boneless ones so should I use less time or the same 35 minutes?
Less time – 25 minutes instead of 35, followed by 10 minute natural release.
I don’t enjoy BBQ sauce that much, but this one was exceptional! So happy!!
Should I use a trivet here?
No need for the trivet.
It was so good – I couldn’t believe when I took them out- the fat got all cooked out.