St Louis ribs that are lip-smacking, finger-licking good, from the comfort of your own kitchen! Yes, Please! You don't need a smoker, or hours and hours of time. With an Instant Pot, some seasoning, and fresh pork ribs, you can make these pork ribs in under an hour, and with plenty of flavor to spare.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
These Instant Pot St Louis Ribs take less than one hour to make, yet packs amazing flavor into every bite. With simple ingredients and minimal prep work, these fall-off-the-bone ribs are sure to be a hit with everyone at the dinner table.
And best of all, almost all of the cooking is done in one pot - leaving you more time for other activities instead of slaving away over a stove-top or grill!
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Ingredients
Keep reading to learn more about how easy it is to whip up these homemade St. Louis ribs in the Instant Pot. I've also included a note for baking them in the oven, in case you don't have an Instant Pot.
For St. Louis Ribs
- St. Louis rib rack - about 3.5 to 4 lbs. Alternatively you can also use baby back cut ribs.
- Water - processing liquid for the Instant Pot.
- Apple Cider Vinegar - processing liquid for the Instant Pot.
For the dry St. Louis Rib Rub
- Salt
- Black pepper - use regular fine ground or a coarser grind.
- Cumin - ground.
- Paprika - look for a sweet domestic paprika, as Hungarian paprika, even those labeled 'sweet' have quite a heat kick.
- Thyme -dried leaves, cut or crushed fine.
- Dry mustard - ground mustard like Coleman's.
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Instant Pot St Louis Ribs
Our step-by-step guide will take the mystery out of creating this traditional St. Louis ribs recipe, so that anyone from novice home cooks to seasoned pit-masters can make these tender and flavorful St. Louis ribs recipe in no time at all.
Make our St. Louis Rib Rub
- First combine all the spices into a small bowl to prepare the dry St. Louis Rib Rub recipe.
- Coat the ribs generously and evenly with the dry spice St. Louis Rib Rub.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
St. Louis Ribs - Instant Pot Instructions
- Pour the water and apple cider vinegar in the Instant Pot for processing liquids. Next, place the trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Place the pork ribs into the Instant Pot, curling them so that they wrap around the interior.
- Lock the lid on the Instant Pot, setting to 'SEAL". Hit the manual setting and set to "HI", with time set to 18 minutes.
- After the 18 minute cooking time is over, allow to Naturally Release for 10 minutes, then carefully manually release the remaining pressure and remove lid.
- OVEN BAKED INSTRUCTIONS: Place your seasoned ribs on an aluminum foil lined rimmed baking sheet. Cover the entire baking sheet and ribs with aluminum foil, sealing tightly around the edges of the baking sheet. Bake at 350 F for 3 ½ to 4 hours. Remove and finish with the same finishing instructions as the Instant Pot method.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Finishing with Barbecue Sauce
- Turn your oven on to the 'high' broil setting and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Transfer the ribs from the Instant Pot to the aluminum lined baking sheet. Coat the ribs with the barbecue sauce.
- Place rib under the broiler to 6 to 7 minutes, turning half way, to allow the barbecue sauce to caramelize and get crispy on the edges.
- Remove from oven. You can add another coating of barbecue sauce if you want, and then cut into portions or serve whole on a platter. Enjoy!
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Serving Suggestions
Serve these finger licking St Louis Ribs with our Red Hot and Blue Potato Salad, Cilantro Lime Coleslaw, Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms, or our Bob Evan's Mashed Potatoes. You can also use our Kentucky Bourbon BBQ Sauce recipe for a real kick of barrel aged maple bourbon flavor!
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Substitutions
You can easily substitute the rib cut in this recipe. You can use pork baby back cut ribs instead of the St. Louis rib cut.
Variations
You can use quite a few spice blends for flavor variations. Consider the following:
- Carolina Mustard Ribs - Rub the raw rack of ribs with a dry mustard, salt and pepper, and garlic powder mixture (1 equal part each). Cook and finish with a South Carolina Golden Mustard bbq sauce.
- Traeger Ribs - After seasoning with the St. Louis rib rub, smoke these ribs for 3 hours on your Traegar grill!
- Alabama White Sauce Ribs - Season the raw rack of ribs with a spice blend of equal parts salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and lemon pepper. Cook and finish your cooked St. Louis ribs with our Alabama white bbq sauce.
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Below are some of my favorite pieces of equipment that I use when making this recipe for St Louis Ribs.
Storage
Cover and refrigerate any left over St Louis ribs. You can also wrap in aluminum foil and freeze. To reheat, the aluminum foil wrapped ribs in at 200 F. oven for about 40 to 50 minutes.
Tips for Success
- Coat the raw rack of ribs generously and evenly with the dry St. Louis rib rub, or other dry spice rub blend before cooking.
- Don't overcook the ribs when caramelizing the barbecue sauce finish!
Frequently Asked Questions
St Louis ribs are flatter and straighter, whereas the baby back ribs are curved and shorter. Because the St Louis ribs are flatter and easier to brown and get just right on the grill, they can cook more evenly, which is excellent. They also have a more succulent and fattier characteristic.
Louis–style BBQ ribs cut origins: From the 1930s through the 1960s, smaller meat packers in St. Louis created a new, more rectangular cut for pork spare ribs that included more meat and removed cartilage from the side of the ribs. They called them the St. Louis–style ribs cut.
To make St. Louis Ribs in the oven: Place your seasoned ribs on an aluminum foil lined rimmed baking sheet. Cover the entire baking sheet and ribs with aluminum foil, sealing tightly around the edges of the baking sheet. Bake at 350 F for 3 ½ to 4 hours. Remove and finish with the same finishing instructions as the Instant Pot method.
Food Safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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📖 Recipe
Instant Pot St. Louis Ribs
Equipment
Ingredients
St. Louis Rib Rub
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon thyme dry crushed leaves
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon mustard dry mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
St. Louis Ribs
- 3½ lb pork ribs St. Louis cut, or baby back cut
- ½ cup water for processing in Instant Pot
- ½ cup cider vinegar for processing with the water in Instant Pot
For Finishing
- ½ cup barbecue sauce any
Instructions
St. Louis Rib Rub
- First combine all the spices into a small bowl to prepare the dry St. Louis Rib Rub.1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon mustard, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder
St. Louis Ribs
- Coat the ribs generously and evenly with the St. Louis Rib Rub.3½ lb pork ribs
- Pour the water and apple cider vinegar in the Instant Pot for processing liquids. Next, place the trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot.½ cup water, ½ cup cider vinegar
- Place the pork ribs into the Instant Pot, curling them so that they wrap around the interior.
- Lock the lid on the Instant Pot, setting to 'SEAL". Hit the manual setting and set to "HI", with time set to 18 minutes.
- After the 18 minute cooking time is over, allow to Naturally Release for 10 minutes, then carefully manually release the remaining pressure.
- Turn your oven on to the 'high' broil setting and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Transfer the ribs from the Instant Pot to the aluminum lined baking sheet. Coat the ribs with the barbecue sauce. Place rib under the broiler to 6 to 7 minutes, turning half way, to allow the barbecue sauce to caramelize and get crispy on the edges.½ cup barbecue sauce
- Remove from oven. You can add another coating of barbecue sauce if you want, and then cut into portions or serve whole on a platter. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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