My grandmother and mother used a pressure cooker in order to cook food quickly and /or to make a tough cut of meat into something fall apart tender. Under pressure and steam, anything cooks quicker.

There’s been a lot of recipes I’ve noticed for both an Instant Pot and a Ninja Foodie. I mean, there are Facebook pages of devotees who seems to cook everything in them. I do use both, not all the time, but I have found a couple good uses, and one is for flavorful, fall apart ribs.

I start with a rack of baby back ribs, and remove the membrane off the back. And while you don’t HAVE to do this, it does make the ribs more willing to fall off the bone. There are plenty of websites, like this one from Weber, showing you how to do it. I start with a knife on the right side to start peeling it off, and pull with my left hand. Sometimes it peels right off and sometimes I have to use the knife to start several pieces or help skin it off.

Then I rub with my favorite meat rub. Yes, I use this one as lot as you may have seen me refer to it before, like last weeks pot roast. I find a dry rub really helps season the meat. And actually we prefer it over a wet sauce. Certainly you can finish up with a sauce or mop later if you prefer it.

Fox Pines Sweet Spice Rub

Makes 1.25 cup

¼ c sweet or smoked paprika
¼ c brown sugar
¼ c ground cumin
¼ c black pepper – I mix white and black pepper together 50/50
¼ c coarse salt or kosher salt
1 tsp mace
1 tsp Santa Fe Chili*

Mix all together well, will keep in a tightly sealed container.

Ideally, let the meat sit in the fridge a couple hours to help dry it and make the rub stick.

When you’re ready to start dinner, add 1 cup of water into the pressure cooker, and use a rack in the bottom or the Ninja Foodie cooking bowl. I slice the rack into 2 or 3 pieces, and stand them upright in the pressure cooker. Cook for 20 minutes on high.

Once the ribs are all cooker, let the unit sit and naturally release pressure for 10-15 minutes. This will help redistribute juices in the meat, just like resting meat out of the oven.

Now for the browning…..in the Ninja foodie, set the pressure cooker lid aside to wash, and close the main cover, using the air crisp mode for 10-15 minutes to brown the ribs as much as you would like. With an Instant pot, if you don’t have an air fryer lid, then put the ribs on a foil lined (for easy clean up) cookie sheet and broil for 10 minutes or as needed for the crispiness you prefer Start on the underside for a few minutes then turn over for the mat to brown.

If you want saucy and sticky ribs, brush with your preferred sauce before using the air crisper or broiler.

I was always a fan of low and slow in the oven, roasting my ribs. But we really prefer them this way now. Just thinking out loud here, but if you desire a smoked effect, put a couple drops of liquid smoke in the water. And make sure to use some smoked paprika and cumin in the rub.

This method will also work with frozen ribs if you forgot to take them out of the freezer (like I might know from experience). Cook them part way, take out and add the rub, and return to the pressure cooker to finish cooking.