Ribs off the grill are a summertime treat. They’re a great item to grab on sale and cook in the Instant Pot or broil in the oven; which means you can make them no matter what the weather decides to do.
For us here in the Pacific Northwest, this means not having to worry about the rain and cooking them outside. Cooking them in the Instant Pot also means this can be an anytime dinner instead of a weekend treat. The Instant Pot cuts the cooking time down drastically. You can see the full directions for making Instant Pot Ribs in this blog. Adding my Sweet and Smoky Rib Rub makes them even more delicious!
When it comes to my grocery budget, I spend about $30 for three racks of ribs. This can feel many families or feed us for several meals. Ribs seem like a fancy meal, but they are an easy meal and a fun one for entertaining. Toward the end of summer, I will pick up another rack or two of ribs for the freezer. Building the freezer and pantry with items on sale helps me stretch our grocery budget a little further.
When shopping for pork ribs, there are two varieties - baby back and spare ribs. Baby back ribs are smaller and tender. Spare ribs are larger ribs with more meat between the bones. They also have more fat. If you’re looking for a tender, leaner rack of ribs, grab yourself a rack of baby backs.
Tips on Making Rubs
Rubs impart a great flavor into meat when cooking. This rub recipe is for one rack of ribs. I tripled it to make enough to cover my three racks of ribs. At my house, I use monk fruit pretty regularly. This recipe calls for brown sugar.
You can watch this video to see how I made brown sugar monk fruit if you don’t happen to have any on hand. You can use regular brown sugar or any brown sugar substitute.
Having a fully stocked pantry allows you to quickly create a variety of rubs to satisfy everyone in your family. If you are still putting your spices together or need a little help, I can help you. Watch this video or read the blog post below for more helpful information.
It is best to put this rub on the ribs 30 minutes before cooking them, or up to 24 hours ahead of time.
Preparing the Ribs
Taking a few minutes to prepare the ribs will make it so much easier to eat them when they are done cooking. The ribs will have a membrane, which looks sort of like a thin layer of pale white “skin” running along the underside of the ribs. You will want to remove this membrane. When cooked, this can be the tougher, chewy part of the rib. If you are curious how to remove this membrane, you can watch this video.
Sweet and Smoky Rib Rub
Equipment
- Measuring Spoons
- Whisk or Spoon
- Glass jar with airtight lid
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup Brown Sugar
- 2 tsp. Salt
- 2 tsp. Black Pepper
- 2 tsp. Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp. Onion Powder
- 1 tsp. Ground Mustard
- ½ tsp. Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tsp. Celery Seed
- ¼ tsp. Cayenne Pepper
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
- Store in an airtight glass jar on your pantry shelf for up to six months.
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