![Pressure Cooker Pot Roast](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/01/30/dining/sdg-pressure-cooker-pot-roast/merlin_168064572_dc3d6856-89e3-4cf0-bcdc-4db36e030eba-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Pressure Cooker Sticky Tamarind Baby Back Ribs
![Pressure Cooker Sticky Tamarind Baby Back Ribs](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/09/25/dining/stickytamarindribs/stickytamarindribs-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 4 to 5pounds baby back ribs
- 1teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ¼cup tamarind paste or concentrate
- ¼cup fresh orange juice (from about ½ orange)
- ¼cup honey, plus more as needed
- 2tablespoons soy sauce
- ¼teaspoon grated lime zest
- 1tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1star anise pod
- 2tablespoons neutral oil, such as safflower or canola
- 4small shallots, diced (about ⅓ cup)
- 1½teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
- 2garlic cloves, grated on a Microplane or minced
Preparation
- Step 1
Cut the ribs into chunks of 2 or 3 ribs, depending on their size, and place them in a large bowl. Toss with 1 teaspoon salt, and set aside while you prepare the sauce.
- Step 2
In a small bowl, combine the tamarind, orange juice, honey, soy sauce, lime zest and juice and star anise. Set aside.
- Step 3
Using the sauté function, heat the oil in the pressure cooker. Stir in the shallots and cook until they are starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, another minute, then stir in the tamarind mixture. Bring to a simmer, and then scrape the sauce into the large bowl of ribs. Toss gently to combine.
- Step 4
Arrange the ribs standing up along the outer edge of the pressure cooker, making a ring with the meat side of the ribs facing out. Continue with the remaining ribs, arranging them to make concentric circles. Pour any remaining sauce over the ribs, cover and cook on high pressure for 32 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally.
- Step 5
Heat the broiler.
- Step 6
Transfer the ribs, meat-side down, to a rimmed baking sheet. Turn the pressure cooker to the sauté function and cook to reduce the sauce until it’s thick, about 15 minutes; spoon the fat off the top when finished. Taste the sauce, and adjust the seasoning or add more honey if necessary; then brush the ribs with the sauce. Broil the ribs until they are charred in spots, 1 to 3 minutes. Then flip them over, brush with more sauce, and broil on that side until charred. Serve immediately, with more sauce on the side.
- If you’d rather use a slow cooker, add ¾ cup water to the machine when adding the sauce in Step 4. Cook the ribs on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. Remove the ribs, reduce the sauce and broil as described in Step 6.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
This might be a silly question, but are baby back ribs beef or pork. Yeah, I know. I don’t get out much.
Read the details, the "1 to 3 minutes" broiler part is the final touch for crisp surface.
You can skip that part but it won't look good, nor be crispy.
Just like cooking with a "Sous-Vide": any recipe normally done in an oven or a grill/bbq will need a "direct heat" final step to look and taste great.
You can't cheat with physics so don't blame the chef -or the messenger- ^!^
Using your broiler is a really easy and game changing tool. It helps make a ton of cooking techniques that are impossible possible. Yeah it’s a six minute hassle. But 36 minute ribs??
You lost me at, "heat the broiler." I thought this was supposed to be a one-pot, no fuss, no muss, no heat, no smoke, take a leisurely walk in the park recipe. The broiler allows for none of that.
Baby back ribs are pork ribs that are cut close to where the ribs attach to the spine. Spare ribs or St Louis style ribs are cut from farther down the side.
This was simply the best ribs we've ever tasted. All 5 guests at the table unanimously agreed. None of had ever tasted Tamarind before - let alone as the base for the glaze. Better than any BBQ sauce. As a card-carrying member of the Church of Pressure Cookers - this is definitely a keeper recipe. You could definitely prep many stages a day ahead. Recipe prob needs to clarify 30 minutes to reduce sauce at end.
This would also be excellent with chicken thighs ( seared first) or lamb shoulder "steaks"
I know this is old, but for future searchers... No. You don't need to adjust the time for more ribs. The pressure cooker only cares about the thickness of the individual pieces, not about the total mass. For example (with no particular recipe in mind), a solid 2 lb piece of chuck roast would take longer than 3 lbs of the same type of meat, cut into chunks.
I like this recipe so much and make it frequently. To speed up the already ridiculously fast cooking time, I now make batches of the marinade and freeze in jars, then defrost the day before and leave the ribs to marinade in a plastic freezer bag the day before I'm planning on serving them.
Perfect as is, but in a pinch I substituted pomegranate molasses for the tamarind, vinegar for the lime and brown sugar for the honey. This is kind of a no-fail recipe!
The cooking time seems way off--I cook ribs (in 3-4 rib slabs) for 15 minutes at high pressure on a stovetop cooker; 20' in an electric one (both with a natural release), and they are fully done.
The directions seem a bit fussy to me. I would make the sauce as directed but not place in the IP with the ribs. A complementing dry rub (s/p/spices) and cooking liquid (apple juice, ACV, aromatics) would give the ribs flavor and simplify the process. No need to defat and reduce the sauce-just pull the ribs out of the pot and straight to the broiler. Liquid from the pot can be added to the sauce to thin and add flavor. I do mine this way no matter what sauce I use and it works for me.
The point of this recipe is NOT "one pot, no fuss" and the broiler step isn't an inconvenience, contrary to some of the posted comments. Although the transfer of the wet sticky ribs from the bowl to the instant pot is a bit of a nuisance, it was worth it for the finger-licking delicious outcome! Our ribs sat in the instant pot on warm for a full hour before the broiler step, and they were still wonderfully moist. One caution: the shallots browned in well under 5 minutes. Fabulous!
Took about 2-1/2 hours to do everything.
OK if you don’t have star anise.
Better reheated the following day.
I agree with Bri, I cook coiled baby back ribs for 15 minutes on high pressure with a 10 minute natural pressure release in an electric pressure cooker. Two slabs will fit in a six quart cooker.
Equal amounts lime juice and brown sugar
I really did not like this recipe. I used the slow cooker method. The sauce was bland, perhaps because of the addition of 3/4 cup of water? The ribs tasted really fatty and looked pretty unappealing. I'm going back to the adobo recipe which is terrific.
This was AWESOME! A note or two for slow cooker users…. Cooked on high for three hours and the ribs were perfect. Don’t reduce your sauce as much as the recipe calls for or you will have very little sauce and many, many ribs!
Not a keeper. Followed recipe exactly. Ribs were very overdone coming out of the instapot, Sauce was uninteresting and not very flavorful at all
Very tender and tasty. Follow leads for 20 min in the pressure cooker. I put the ribs on the grill with the sauce instead of heating up the kitchen with the broiler.
I'm making this for a large party - can I cook the ribs in the oven? I know that defeats the quick method but love this marinade.
This was delicious! My wife and I absolutely loved them. I served them with rice noodles and steamed baby bok choy also made in the Instant Pot! Easy as pie! I needed considerably more honey for the sauce. Also, I'm going to cut down the cook time next time I make these as they were just a little dry.
The perfect throw-down grub for an ice storm.
Delicious. Allow 2 1/2 hours total - including 25 min to bring Instant Pot to pressure, 25-30 min for natural release, 25-30 min to reduce the sauce. No need to de-fat the sauce.
Short ribs, long flavor. Excellent. Made exactly as recipes states. Broiling made the ribs extra yummy. Clean up easy - just line the pan with foils prior to broiling. Insta-pot is always an easy clean up. Definite keeper.
Whoa. Delish. Had about 3.5 lbs. Set IP for 25 min and that seemed just right. After putting the ribs onto a baking sheet, I poured the sauce into another pot and set on high on the stove, assuming (maybe incorrectly) that the IP wouldn’t get as hot. Sauce reduced in about 20 min. Really delicious. A lot of fat on top which made my 88 year old mother very happy. We ate with sweet potato fries. We’ll have some veg tomorrow.
Doubled recipe. Cooked all in 1 batch in All-Clad stovetop pressure cooker. 32 min on setting 3 perfect.
Lives up to its 5 stars. Paused it after the slow cooker phase for about 6 hours and it was a perfect Sunday dinner combined with white rice, fresh Bibb lettuce, and nuoc cham cucumber/radish.
Fine without star anise, added a pinch of red chili flakes. It was a hit with the kids, very tender and took longer to reduce the sauce and I didn’t spoon off fat
I’ve made this twice the first time it was too sour for my taste there’s a lot of tamarind. This time I tweaked it and added same amount of sugar as honey. Used more juice (pineapple/orange) and rubbed the ribs with a hickory smoked salt. The balance between tamarind and sweetness was perfect. The sauce cooked down soaking into the ribs was heavenly
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