It is no secret I am obsessed with my Instant Pot. Just this week alone I used it to make my Maple Bacon Balsamic Pulled Pork, Corned Beef, white rice, and these amazing Maple Tamarind Ribs! I LOVE how it doesn’t get my kitchen hot unlike the stove or oven and is literally a one-pot clean up. For me, it’s even more low maintenance cooking than a crockpot because it pretty much requires zero meal planning on my part. I can go to Whole Foods at 4 pm, buy a giant chuck roast that would typically take 10 hours in the slow cooker, and get tender pulled beef that feeds us for days in 90 minutes!! Definitely one of those kitchen appliances that I don’t know how I survived without until now. My mom, sister, and multiple friends and family members have also jumped aboard the pressure cooker train after watching me cook with it!
I also have an obsession with ribs, and it’s so hard living in BBQ Capital of America (Austin, Texas… I don’t know if it’s actually the BBQ Capital, but there are dozens and dozens of BBQ places here taunting me with their nightshade-laden ribs!) Now I’m someone who requires fall-off-the-bone ribs. I am also someone who is incredibly impatient and dislikes the idea of waiting for something to cook.
Hence, Instant Pot love affair. Since my rib craving got out of hand when we moved here, I decided it couldn’t hurt to throw a rack in the ol’ IP and see what happens. Yes, fall off the boners (inappropriate use of a suffix, sorry) in less than 2 hours and also less than half the time it takes to stand in line at Franklin’s. I’m not comparing these to Franklin’s BBQ ribs. That would be stupid. But they’re really damn good, whether or not the Food Network says so. Sweet, tangy, tender, duh.
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, I supposeeeee you can just use your crockpot on a low setting until tender, but don’t ask me how long that takes. No clue. By the way, I use the 6-in-1 Instant Pot which is the older, less expensive model. You can get it on Amazon for a steal! They also have a 7-in-1 model that has a yogurt and pasteurization setting which is pretty neat!
You can get this recipe + 140 more Instant Pot recipes in THE PALEO AIP INSTANT POT COOKBOOK!
Sticky & sweet fall-off-the bone ribs in no time flat! YES!
Instant Pot Maple Tamarind Ribs
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 1 rack of baby back pork ribs
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 cup liquid (broth or water)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
Instructions
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Mix together the salt, garlic and thyme and rub on both sides of the rack of ribs until well seasoned.
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Slice the rack of ribs into three equal-sized portions and lay them in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Pour the liquid around (not on top) of the ribs. Set the Instant Pot to cook on the “Manual” setting for 50 minutes. Let pressure release naturally when timer goes off.
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Whisk together the maple and tamarind until combined and heat your oven broiler to 425 degrees. Arrange the top oven rack 6 to 8 inches away from the broiler element.
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Place the cooked ribs on a rimmed baking sheet meaty side up and baste with half of the maple-tamarind sauce. Broil for 5 to 7 minutes until bubbling and caramelized, remove from oven, and baste with additional maple-tamarind sauce. Broil for another 3 to 5 minutes until caramelized. Season with additional sea salt and serve immediately.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 rack
31 Responses
If you want to double this recipe and have 2 racks of ribs, how long should you adjust the cooking time to? I have made this a few times with 1 rack of ribs and love it! I want to make enough for some family coming to visit.
You wouldn’t necessarily have to increase the cooking time, but two racks of ribs may not fit in your Instant Pot! You may want to double the recipe but cook each batch separately but you can broil both at the same time before serving!
Thank you! I am going to try and squeeze them in to save time 🙂
Approximately how many bones are you counting as one rack?
It depends on the size of the bones but usually 1 1/2 pound
The racks in my supermarket are always around 3 pounds…so I should double the rest of the ingredients? Also, 3 lbs fits easily in my instant pot.
Yes you should double the ingredients 🙂 Enjoy!
Made this for the third time today — these are a HUGE hit in my house. Thank you for creating such delicious recipes!
That’s awesome! It’s highly requested in my household too – so easy!
Is there a substitute that could be used for the tamarind? I can’t seem to find it in my grocery store.
Unfortunately not – it is very unique. I buy mine very affordably on Amazon.
I am not sure where you live, but Whole Foods carries Neera’s Tamarin Sauce in their Asian or international isle. (Neera’s is out of AZ)
I just made this tonight. WOW. So good. Total hit with the family.
Woohoo! Love when the whole family is on board with a dish!
I’m making these for the second time tonight. They were some of the moistest , most flavorful ribs we’ve ever eaten! Big hit!
BTW, depending on the size of your Instant Pot, you can get a lot more than one rack of ribs in there. I put two racks in my 8 qt one and this time I’m doubling that as I’m feeding a crowd.
Thank you! Great recipe!
The ribs were tasted awesome however the 1/3 of the rack that were on the bottom burned to the bottom of the pressure cooker. Do you put yours on a rack or did I just have the temperature to high? * I do not have an instant pot just a regular top of the stove pressure cooker.
Your pressure cooker probably cooks at a higher temperature because this hasn’t happened to me before. But yes in the future when using your stovetop pressure cooker, use a rack to prevent this from happening! Glad you liked them!
Thank you, . I will definitely try them again. I really enjoy your posts and recipes! It is nice to know there is a community of others with the same restrictions eating great tasting good for you food.
May you please clarify whether it should be set at Manual Low Pressure or Manual High Pressure? Thank you.
Yes – high pressure!
Can the same recipe used and beef ribs? I’m allergic to pork. Thank you!
Yes – I don’t find them quite as tender but they should work 🙂
I stand my ribs up in the instant pot, never had trouble burning them. They curl around the sides. A little liquid smoke is good to add. I love tamarind and this recipe is a hit!
★★★★
I also cook them for 10 min less than this recipe and they come out perfect / fall off the bone nummy
Our go-to rib recipe!
★★★★★