Tender, fall-apart Instant Pot country style ribs are slathered in BBQ sauce and broiled until sweet and bubbly. This comfort recipe will be the highlight of your weeknight menu!
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What are country style ribs?
Country style ribs are a cut of rib that come from the shoulder area of the pig. They're essentially a large pork shoulder, like what you'd use to make pulled pork, but sliced into ribs. That's why these ribs fall apart and shred when they're slow cooked and tender.
What's the difference between spare ribs and country style ribs?
Country style ribs come from the pork's shoulder while spare ribs come from an area near the breast bone. There will be a lot more meat on the bone of country style ribs. They have more muscle to them and do better cooked low and slow.
Ingredient Notes
- Spice rub: smoked paprika, coconut sugar (or brown sugar), garlic powder, onion powder, salt, blacker pepper and oregano
- Country style ribs: these typically come boneless, but some groceries carry them with the bone in. This is totally fine! Some packages even come mixed with some bone-in and boneless.
- Water: this is necessary for the Instant Pot to steam and come to pressure. The ribs won't ever touch the water because we're using the trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Garlic: these cloves help infuse the ribs with garlic flavor and aroma.
- BBQ Sauce: use your favorite store-bought BBQ sauce (we like to use a sugar free or paleo-friendly sauce) to lather and broil.
How to make Instant Pot country style ribs
- Dry rub: mix all of the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl. Pat the country style ribs dry then generously coat the sides of each with the rub. Use your fingers to massage the rub into the meat until it sinks in and becomes a deep red color.
- Pressure cook: set the metal trivet in the bottom of a 6 qt Instant Pot. Pour the water or beef broth in the bottom then arrange the ribs evenly without overlapping. Add the garlic on top of the ribs, close the lid and pressure cook for 40 minutes then allow it to naturally release (do nothing) for 15 minutes.
- Broil: use tongs to carefully remove the country style ribs from the Insant Pot and transfer them to a sheet pan. You may need two as they'll likely fall apart easily. Lather the ribs with your favorite BBQ sauce then broil them on high for 2-3 minutes, until the BBQ sauce starts to bubble.
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Why are my ribs tough in the instant pot?
Although you can overcook ribs in the Instant Pot, it's more likely that your country style ribs are tough because they aren't cooked long enough. This cut of meat tends to be very tough and needs to be cooked low and slow for a more tender result.
What to serve with country style ribs
- The obvious choice is potatoes! Some of our favorites are dairy free mashed potatoes, crispy pesto potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, creamy garlic cauliflower mashed 'potatoes', or air fryer baked potatoes.
- Cooked veggies would also be a great side. You could try roasted brussels sprouts, roasted butternut squash, garlic roasted mini peppers, air fryer asparagus, or maple glazed carrots.
- Another favorite is a delicious salad! Great for adding veggies and greens to dinner. We love this cucumber tomato avocado salad, chipotle roasted sweet potato kale salad, strawberry spinach salad or this shaved brussels sprout salad with apples and goat cheese.
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More instant pot recipes you'll love:
Recipe
Instant Pot Country Style Ribs
Ingredients
Dry rub
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
Country style ribs
- 3-4 lbs country style ribs
- 1 cup water or beef broth
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup BBQ sauce (we like a paleo-friendly BBQ sauce)
Instructions
- Mix all of the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl. Pat the country style ribs dry then generously coat the sides of each with the rub. Use your fingers to massage the rub into the meat until it sinks in and becomes a deep red color.
- Set the metal trivet in the bottom of a 6 qt Instant Pot. Pour the water or beef broth in the bottom then arrange the ribs evenly without overlapping. You may need to stand them up against the sides of the Instant Pot for more room. Add the garlic on top of the ribs, close the lid and make sure the sealing vent is closed. Pressure cook for 40 minutes then allow it to naturally release (do nothing) for 15 minutes. Turn the pressure valve to release any additional steam then carefully open the lid.
- Use tongs to carefully remove the country style ribs from the Insant Pot and transfer them to a sheet pan. You may need two as they'll likely fall apart easily. Lather the ribs with your favorite BBQ sauce then broil them on high for 2-3 minutes, until the BBQ sauce starts to bubble.
Lorraine Godfrey says
I have a new instant pot and learning how to cook in it. So I'm looking at your recipes and I've always cooked spare ribs in the crock pot with just barbecue sauce on it and let it cook. But using the instapot I want to cook them fast and do you always need to do a dry rub. Never done it before. So it's a learning experience. On your recipes do you say how long to cook it or does the pot automatically know how long to cook it? Thank you.
Molly Thompson says
The recipe gives you all of the info you need! I also have a video tutorial on the page you can watch.
walter stella says
excellent taste, but I like more garlic flavor so I added some granulated garlic
Peggy says
i just made this tonight and it is divine!! Tender and moist, perfect!! I'm so glad I found this recipe.