Instant Pot St Louis Ribs (Pressure Cooked with Espresso BBQ Sauce)

Instant Pot St. Louis Ribs. St. Louis cut ribs, quick and tender thanks to pressure cooking, sauced with my homemade espresso barbecue sauce.

You guys love ribs! When I posted my [Instant Pot baby back ribs recipe], it shot up my popular posts rankings. And it inspired a bunch of questions about pressure cooking ribs in general. St. Louis cut ribs came up a lot, so…

A quarter slab of St. Louis Ribs on a green plate — Instant Pot St. Louis Ribs

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What are St. Louis Cut spareribs?

St. Louis Cut Spareribs are a rack of pork spareribs with the sternum bone, cartilage and rib tips trimmed off. This cut squares off the ribs, making the rack look like a perfect rectangle. And, because the tough cartilage and rib tips are cut off, we don’t have to cook St. Louis cut ribs for as long as a full rack of spare ribs. St. Louis style ribs are

If you saw my [baby back ribs recipe], this one will look very familiar – it’s the same instant pot ribs technique, just a different cut of ribs. To switch things up a bit, I’m using my fancy [Espresso Chipotle BBQ sauce] this time, but my [Easy Homemade BBQ sauce] will still work – or use your favorite store-bought sauce.

INGREDIENTS

1 slab St. Louis Cut spareribs, membrane peeled off
Water
Liquid Smoke

Barbecue Rub (2 tablespoons of my Homemade Barbecue Rub), or use your favorite store-bought rub

Fine sea salt
Paprika
Brown sugar
Chili powder
Ground black pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder

Barbecue sauce (1 cup of my Espresso Chipotle BBQ Sauce), or use your favorite BBQ sauce

Ketchup
Brown sugar
Cider vinegar
Espresso (or coffee)
Dijon mustard (or cheap yellow mustard)
Soy sauce
See the recipe card below for details

How to make Instant Pot St. Louis Ribs

Make the rub and sauce

In a small bowl, stir the barbecue rub ingredients: salt, paprika, brown sugar, chili powder, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Break up any clumps of brown sugar with your fingers. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the barbecue sauce ingredients until smooth: ketchup, brown sugar, cider vinegar, espresso, mustard, and soy sauce. Set aside for later.

Remove the membrane from the ribs

On the bone side of the ribs, work a butter knife between the membrane and the bone, then grab the membrane with a paper towel and pull it away from the ribs. Pull gently but firmly; if the membrane tears while you’re pulling, work the knife under the remaining pieces and pull them off as well. Trim the flap of meat from the bone side as well – either discard it or sprinkle it with rub and add it to the pot with the ribs. (It makes a nice cook’s snack.)

Season the ribs and cut the rack into 4 pieces

Sprinkle both sides of the ribs with the rub, concentrating the rub on the meaty side of the ribs. Cut the rack of ribs into 4 pieces, cutting between every 3rd bone. Pour 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of liquid smoke into an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker. Stack the ribs in the pot, bone side down, in a loose pile.

Pressure cook the ribs for 30 minutes with a natural release

Lock the lid and pressure cook on high pressure for 30 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric PC (use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook – Custom mode) or for 24 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 15 minutes. (You can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes if you’re in a hurry.)

Sauce and broil the ribs

Put the ribs, bone side down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush the ribs with the barbecue sauce, then put them under a broiler set to high. Broil the ribs until the sauce is bubbling and just starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove the ribs from the broiler, brush with another layer of sauce, serve, and enjoy!

Substitutions

I have a favorite BBQ rub and/or Sauce. Can I use it?

Of course! Use your own homemade recipe or your favorite store-bought sauce. You will need about 2 tablespoons of rub and 1 cup of sauce.

Can I use baby back ribs in this recipe?

Yes, you can. Baby back ribs cook for the same amount of time as St. Louis Cut ribs, so everything works the same.

Can I use a whole slab of spare ribs in this recipe?

Yes, you can. Spare ribs cook for the same amount of time as St. Louis Cut ribs, so everything works the same. (This surprised me. When I smoke ribs, the cooking time is different for different types of ribs. But, in my testing, the Instant Pot doesn’t care what kind of ribs they are. Baby back ribs, spare ribs, St. Louis Cut ribs, cook them all for 30 minutes at high pressure with a natural pressure release.)

Add a little liquid smoke to the cooking water

I know it sounds weird, and you can skip the liquid smoke if you want. But, liquid smoke adds depth to the flavor of the ribs. (This also surprised me – I could taste the difference in a taste test. The ribs don’t taste “smoky” – I’m not trying to overdo it with the liquid smoke – but a little bit of smoke adds a lot of flavor.)

Scaling

You can scale this recipe up to 2 slabs of ribs if you have an 8-quart pressure cooker. (Two slabs of ribs are too much meat to fit in a 6-quart Instant Pot.) You can scale down the recipe and only cook a half slab of ribs, but the bones are too long to fit comfortably in a 3-quart pressure cooker, so you have to have a 6-quart pressure cooker even if you’re only doing a half-size recipe.

Tips and Tricks

Broil the ribs for extra flavor

Pressure cooker ribs are fall off the bone tender but have zero browning. I like a little hint of a crisp crust on my ribs, so I brush them with sauce and run them under my broiler until they start to brown and bubble on top. You can skip this step, but it adds a lot of flavor to the ribs.

Remove the membrane from the ribs

I know, I know. Getting that silver skin membrane off of the rack of ribs is tricky. This is an easy recipe otherwise, so it’s tempting to leave the membrane on and start sprinkling on the rub. Don’t do it. The membrane is made of connective tissue. It stays tough and chewy no matter how much you cook the ribs. It’s worth the work to pull it from the rack. (At least that’s what I tell myself when it tears as I’m pulling, and I have to work it loose again.)

Extra Tender Pressure Cooker Ribs

The timing on this recipe (30 minutes at high pressure) gives me tender ribs, with just a little bite, where a gentle tug pulls the rib bone out of the rack. Want super-tender ribs? Ribs that fall apart as you try to take them out of the pressure cooker? Pressure cook for 45 minutes at high pressure in an Instant Pot or other electric PC, or for 36 minutes in a stovetop PC. (I’ve had a few commenters saying they prefer the super-tender ribs, so I moved this suggestion up to the Tips and Tricks.)

Should I use a trivet to pressure cook ribs?

Some recipes suggest using a trivet or rack to keep the ribs out of the water in the bottom of the Instant Pot. I don’t bother. It doesn’t hurt to use one, but it doesn’t help either. The trivet is supposed to lift the ribs high enough that they’re not in the water, but my ribs release enough juices that the bottom of the ribs is submerged even with the trivet. I put the ribs in the pot with the thick side facing down so that part gets a little extra cooking.

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