BBQ Ribs in the Pressure Cooker

Do you enjoy ribs?  Like really good, fall off the bone, covered in sweet n' tangy sauce, need three napkins and most likely an oversize bib for your shirt RIBS?  Do you have an hour?  What if I told you it was possible to go from slab of raw ribs to tender BBQ perfection in about an hour. Magic, you say?  Almost. This wizardly device known as the Instant Pot has not only defied all laws of cooking physics, but it has converted me into a full-fledged believer.

The most amazing first time ribs we just cooked in the Instant Pot

Well I purchased the Instant Pot a while back, and I've done the basic boiling water test (hidden behind a pantry door in case it exploded), I've made perfect artichokes in 20 minutes multiple times (standing right in front of the machine with only slight trepidation), and made some delicious quick meals involving frozen chicken breasts in 15 minutes (without a second thought), much to the amazement of myself and my family.  I've joined the Instant pot Facebook page (I highly recommend) and it was there I kept seeing recipes for these delectable looking BBQ ribs float by.  Ribs are one of my favorite things. The only trouble is, I don't like wasting meat or ruining it in anyway, and my fear of not getting something right or wrecking a meal has made me shy away from buying cuts of meat. One day I told my hubby bravely... "I would like to try ribs in the pressure cooker next."  No less than 2 hours later he appears with a slab O' ribs. I think that's code for - he's pretty much on board. Okay, lets DO this.

The recipe we decide to try is from Jason over at the "Great Chow" on you tube.  It seemed simple, straight forward, only had a few ingredients, and the ribs looked quite tasty.  
You only need a few things: (printable recipe at the end)

Rack of ribs
Apple juice
Apple cider vinegar
Spice rub (optional)
Your favorite BBQ sauce

We found these ribs on sale for $2.97 a pound, and recently found them for $1.99 a pound, we're planning on stocking up.

So the first thing you want to do is remove the secret "invisible" silver skin from the underside of the ribs.  Flip them to the back side and carefully feel around on one end and pull up a little.  I used a paper towel because first of all touching raw meat gives me the heebie jeebies, but second of all it give you a better grip to pull. All of the sudden this thin sheet of something started to come up as you pull steadily.  Hey I actually DID it!! 

Pour four cups of apple juice into the Instant Pot, and about 1/2 cup to 1 cup (or two glugs) of apple cider vinegar.  Turn the pot on to "saute" to get the liquid to heat up a bit (until it's warm and steaming).

Usually I only cook with 1-2 cups of liquid so this seemed like a lot, but these ribs will be braised in the liquid

We added an extra step to the original recipe because we wanted to add a rub or little bit of seasoning to the meat.  My friend recently returned from Hawaii with this little gem... which contains, salt, pepper, paprika, cane sugar, Kona coffee, and dried parsley.

It said it was great with pork and seemed like the perfect thing to add.  Sprinkle on the rub and pat into the meat on both sides. (This part is optional, you can do this whole recipe with just the first four original ingredients).

This was a light "rub" just enough to give it some extra seasoning

Next he said to put the meat in the pot in the warm liquid.  Our rack of ribs were a little long, so we cut in in half.  I was slightly worried because some people recommended only putting a small amount of liquid in the bottom and have the meat resting on the trivet above it to steam the meat.  But we did as instructed and covered the meat with the liquid.  I was also concerned that the apple cider vinegar would give a funky taste to the meat, but alas, I was wrong.  Apparently the apple cider vinegar is an acid that tenderizes the meat and I can attest that there was no aftertaste at all, only that sought-after delicious meat-heaven taste. 

Into the Apple juice/cider vinegar bath with ye!

After the meat is safely in the liquid (thicker side down), seal up the Instant Pot, make sure the release valve is set for the sealing position and set the pot for "meat/stew" and check that it's set at "high pressure" and change the set time of 35 minutes down to 32 minutes.

When you hit the "meat/stew" it automatically calls up 35 min.  Use the minus sign to lower it to 32 minutes

Once the cook cycle is finished let it rest for 5 minutes before manually releasing the pressure (I used an oven mitt) 

Wasn't sure what to expect when I opened the lid... but the house smelled like ribs

Prepare a foil lined pan with a little cooking spray and carefully place the cooked ribs down on the pan.  They will be almost falling apart.

Slather the under side with your favorite BBQ sauce.  We decided to try Jack Daniels Hickory Brown Sugar BBQ sauce and it was spectacular. 

Get in all the nooks and crannies with the sauce

Then carefully flip the over and slather the other side.  

Put the pan of ribs in a 450º oven for 10-15 minutes to caramelize the BBQ sauce.  We also broiled them for a few minutes right before taking them out to make the tops all brown and bubbly.

Hello little rib sauna... enjoy your glazing time

Pull the finished awesomeness out of the oven and let it rest for about 5 minutes (mostly so you don't burn your mouth).  

Activate "smell-o-vision" here

 Seriously.  I was so stunned that these things were:

     *Tender
     *Juicy
     *Awesome
     *Fall off the bone
     *Flavorful
     *Awesome

Did I mention awesome?!

Look here's the pan when I tried to cut the first slab of ribs... the bone pulled clean away

How is this even POSSIBLE in 32 minutes??

Fork tender and so good!

Mmmmmm smell that tangy BBQ sauce.  That Jack Daniel knows whats up!

Serve with mashed potatoes and veggies, or corn on the cob and a side salad and your are in business!

Mmm Mmm good!

I'd like to thank Jason over at the "Great Chow" for this simple, yet amazing ribs recipe.  We could not have had better or easier instructions, and we were thrilled to get a such perfect BBQ baby back ribs meal and on our first attempt too.

So I am a total convert. I used to buy ribs already made, sauced, ready to heat up.  I'm never going back again these will be my go to ribs, and hubby mentioned that even if this is a starting off point for us to get inspired and experiment with these ribs as is were absolutely amazing. No go get yourself an Instant Pot, print up the recipe here, and start eating some good grub!  Enjoy!
 

 

Artichokes in a pressure cooker (Instant-Pot)

Did you know you can make artichokes in a pressure cooker?

So I went and did it.  I went and bought myself an electric pressure cooker. An Instant Pot.  I had heard fanciful (and almost unbelievable) tales from my Sister-in-Law that you could cook chicken breasts from frozen to done in 15 minutes, hot wings in 9 minutes, spaghetti in 6 minutes, baked potatoes in 12 minutes, and I even saw on Pinterest you could make homemade yogurt in a pressure cooker!  

What is the magical pot that breaks all known cooking and food safety rules?!

Say what?? How on earth is that even humanly possible? How does this thing actually work (barring wizardry and unicorn wishes), and what about all those scary explosion stories from the days of yore back in Grandma's kitchen in 1964??

Kaaaa-booooom!

Well the beauty of modern technology, is that they have removed (for the most part) the more dangerous aspects out of using a pressure cooker.  I took mine out of the box (very gingerly, as if I was handling a nuclear bomb) and managed to brave the boiled water test recommended in the instructions. I will confess, I was standing literally 12 feet away and hiding behind an open pantry door, just to make sure my kitchen wouldn't implode. After we safely depressurized, I wanted to take this baby for a test spin on something a bit more tangible... and way more tasty.

I had heard that pressure cookers are fabulous for steaming things, and my thoughts turned to my favorite veggie, artichokes. Normally, it takes about 40 minutes to an hour to steam those big ol' globe artichokes. 

Before learning how to cook these on my own, we had to go to Black Angus to get a plate of artichokes

We've always done the regular stream in a pot method in the past around here (click here for steaming artichokes the regular way), and it has worked just fine, though sometimes it's a crap shoot to get them just right, as in, not too mushy and at the same time tender enough to pull the leaves off for dippin'. Well I've cooked artichokes twice now in my new Instant Pot, and I'm here to tell you that you can have three perfectly cooked globe artichokes in 20 minutes!  No joke!

The first part of prepping the artichokes is the same as if you were going to steam them in a big pot.  Scrub the outsides with some water and a vegetable scrubber to remove any dirt or debris, and trim the stem to one inch.

Next, flip them around and cut off about one inch off the front of the choke. 

Take kitchen scissors and blunt cut across all the tops of all the leaves, to remove the tiny thorn that will for surely impale you skin if you are not careful.

Rub down each artichoke with a half of lemon (and set the squished half of the lemon aside for later). Next, in the bottom of your pressure cooker put:

Two cups of water
The squished lemon halves (sliced up thin)
2 teaspoons of minced garlic (or more to taste)
2 bay leaves

It's not that pretty, but it will add flavor to the steam, and thus the artichokes

Place the metal steam rack on the bottom of the pot, over your water, lemons, garlic and bay leaves.

Hard to believe you can steam something with only an inch or so of water

Place your three globe artichokes stem side up (facing down) - or sideways if they all don't fit along the bottom.  

You can fit three globe artichokes in a 6 quart Instant Pot

Seal the lid of the pot (I love the happy little chimes letting you know you are locked in place).  Make sure the nozzle on the top is set to "Sealing" and not "Venting" and you are ready to go.

Set the Instant Pot to "manual" and select 20 minutes.
That's it.  Just set it and walk away.  I chose to take this time and make some melted garlic butter (our favorite artichoke dipping medium) buy slowly melting a stick of butter in a small pan on the stove top with a spoonful of minced garlic in it. 

It will take a few minutes for the pot to come up to pressure, then a timer will count down the 20 minutes until ready. Once the cooking process is finished, you can quick release the nozzle using an oven mitt (steam will come screaming out in a loud and slightly terrifying way), or you can let it sit in there and naturally de-pressurize on it's own for a few minutes.  After that, carefully open the lid and peek inside.  

Perfectly steamed artichokes in the pressure cooker

You'll have yourself a dandy little set of globe artichokes, ready for devouring. I always take a knife and stick it down the center stem to check for doneness.  If it glides in with little resistance, you are cooked all the way through.

All that is left to do now is to cut the artichokes in half, clean out the choke (purple thistle-y parts with a spoon) and bring on the warm garlic butter! 

While they are still warm bring them to a cutting board face down, and with tongs, cut down the middle of the stem, slicing them completely in half.

In the center you will find a purple section of leaves (what would have become the flower) that you will need to scoop out.  Because everything is so soft, it comes out pretty easily. Just take a big spoon and gently cut out the center part and remove so they look like the two on the left.

Picture from Cooking's Good blog - The one on the far right still needs the center purple and thistle part removed

Preparing them this way is genius I tell you, because now you have an edible bowl where you can pour in a slathering spoonful of garlic butter and as you pull the leaves off, each bite will have a bit of butter on it.  If you have never eaten an artichoke before, simply pull off the leaves and scrape the lower half of the leaf in your mouth, pulling off all the "meat". It is DIVINE!

Don't forget to add on a couple of turns of sea salt over the finished chokes

They are great as an appetizer, on their own as a meal, or a side to steak, chicken, etc.

Also after you have pulled off all the leaves you are left with the very best part, the heart of the artichoke.  Be sure to saver these. I tend to cut them up like a cherished steak and pour over the remaining garlic butter and quietly savor each bite. I could almost go vegetarian if I could have these every night.  They are so satisfying! These have GOT to be my all time favorite green vegetable.  So don't be afraid to try this alien-esque type orb, as it could easily turn out to be your go to veggie - and DON'T be afraid to try a pressure cooker, they can shave tons of time off your crazy busy schedule while giving you quicker, easier, meal options. Stay tune for more experiments with my new Instant Pot. Enjoy!