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Pressure Cooked Ribs - Results

civil eggineer
civil eggineer Posts: 1,547
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I eggsperimented by pressure cooking baby backs tonight. Sweated 1/3 cup onions, 1/3 cup carrots, with 1 tsp garlic in the pressure cooker. Added 1 Cup beef broth when finished and placed a wire rack on the bottom and 1 rack of baby back ribs. Brought to pressure (15 psi) and cooked for 25 minutes. Quickly cooled cooker and removed rack (nearly falling apart) and placed on 400 direct raised grid in egg with a couple of hickory chunks thrown on top (max smoke). Cooked approx. 5 minutes per side to lightly brown.

They were flavorfull, tender, and downright delicious! A slight pull to remove the meat from the bone. I believe I have crossed some unholy bridge which I shall never return...forgive me eggheads!

Not sure if the beef broth, carrots, onions added any flavor but couldn't have hurt. The juice could have also been used to create some gravy or other serving sauce.

Comments

  • ChargerGuy
    ChargerGuy Posts: 357
    Tim, This is how I used to do my ribs on my Gasser before I got the egg! :laugh: LOL, I would definatley do them again this way If I didn't have 5 hours or so to cook them. Nothing wrong with great tasting BBQ, its the end result that counts in my book!
  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    ...try cooking ribs in that electric lunch pail thingy that my sister got me because she saw it on Alton Brown's road trip series, LOL!
    The Naked Whiz
  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
    25 min sure sounds like a long time....A friend of mine pressure cooks his ribs, then finishes them off on a kettle grill, giving them a light crisp up, then a 3 or 4 minute sweet glaze. He uses my rib rub, and for years has claimed the family goes completely nuts over them. He processes them for 12 minutes at 15 psi, and also uses the quick release like you did.

    It just so happens he is having a large summer BBQ in July and asked me to smoke the butts and ribs. I cooked ribs and chicken for a graduation party last weekend and gave him a sample rack of my ribs for the family to critique. :evil:

    manninggraduation005a.jpg

    I don't think he will ever give up the pressure ribs, but he is now in the market for a smoker. Heheee.
    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
  • I think we now have our
  • tach18k
    tach18k Posts: 1,607
    KFC used to cook their chicken in pressure cookers, it took 11 minutes, if you ever got chicken that wasnt quiet done, we called it 9 minute chicken.
  • civil eggineer
    civil eggineer Posts: 1,547
    The 25 minutes was a complete guess by me after reading numerous articles. My book from Fagor stated 18 minutes for spare ribs. Next time I will try to reduce the pressure cook time and see the results. Like I previously stated, the meat was still clinging to the bone and was moist, flavorful, and delicious. I have two additional racks and will try 5 minute reductions in pressure cooked time and note any changes in meat texture or flavor.
  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
    You could also experiment with shorter times and the natural release method.

    Keep in mind too that pressure cooking requires more seasonings/spices in some cases. Garlic is a good example. When making garlic mashed potatoes, I add almost twice the amount I use when cooked on the stovetop.
    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
  • Slingblade
    Slingblade Posts: 28
    I wonder if one could pressure cook the night before, hold in the fridge until the next day guests arrive, then grill on Egg while brushing on the sauce....?
  • ChargerGuy
    ChargerGuy Posts: 357
    Slingblade,
    When I used to do them this way I would pressurecook them, sauce them and refridgerate. The next day they would go on just long enough to heat through and carmelize the sauce. The came out quite good!
  • civil eggineer
    civil eggineer Posts: 1,547
    I believe that is very possible and may provide some increased capacity for larger crowds. I would probably try 10 minutes in the pressure cooker then refridgerate until warmed up and finished on the Egg.
  • civil eggineer
    civil eggineer Posts: 1,547
    The natural release method takes a long time (>15 min) before the pressure comes off. I would be worried about the continued cooking that would be occuring. I ran cold water on the lid of the cooker for about 15 sec and the pressure was gone.
  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
    With all pressure cooking, timing is everything. You don't want to use natural release on something like hard boiled eggs, cubed turkey, cubed chicken or vegetables. But many meats (especially large pieces of meat) on the other hand can benefit from it. Remember your cooker is under pressure and if the pressure comes down too fast, the meat fibers compress and that squeezes out the fats and moisture.

    Pre-cooking is a good term for meats partially pressure cooked, then finished off by another method. And like anything, once you get a time that works for you, your pressure cooked foods are much better.
    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
  • civil eggineer
    civil eggineer Posts: 1,547
    I would think the meat fibers would actually expand upon release of the pressure rather then compress. Most of the articles I researched suggesting releasing the pressure as quickly as possible. Like EGG cooking, there is no right or wrong way which is why the eggsperimentation shall continue until BBQ nirvana is reached.
  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
    Take a cruise through Miss Vicki's site. She is the man, uh... gal, when it comes to pressure cooking. Here is a page from her site. Click on the "common mistakes" link in the left sidebar, it discusses overcooking. She also has a nice collection of times broken into different food groups. Her recipes are all geared to 15 psi (as you know some of the newer cookers have down rated to 10 or 12 pounds).

    I have several presure cooking cookbooks in my collection, including a pair I got with my newest Kuhn Rikon, I'll see if they perhaps have a rib method.

    http://missvickie.com/workshop/schoolframe.html
    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
    Well, the cookbook results were 4 to 1 in favor of the quick release. The cook times mentioned with quick release were 12 to 15 minutes. The one natural release recipe called for 8 to 10 minutes + release time.

    All of them either mentioned a grill finish or oven finish to get some color or a glaze on them.
    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
  • civil eggineer
    civil eggineer Posts: 1,547
    Thank you for your research. I have 2 more racks I am going to try some variations and will update the forum.