When I make my best pork ribs, it makes for a special occasion at home. My method makes for the tastiest, most tender ribs that you can enjoy any time of year. If you love ribs, and you love cooking at home, this is a skill you will want to keep. Prep is easily done either from a stock pot or pressure cooker, and finished either on the barbecue grill, or in the oven – whatever you feel like working with.

In this post, I finish the pork ribs with my Hawaiian Style Sauce recipe, but slathering any barbecue sauce you love will do the trick for this memorable meal. This post is part two of my four part recipe series, where I share all my family’s favorite meals with this sauce. These ribs are their number one.

The first thing you figure out, is what ribs you want to use. Baby back is my first choice for pork ribs. They are the smallest, and the leanest cut. In this post, I’m using pork loin ribs, also know as the St. Louis style cut. They are the mid-size portion. Finally, you can use spare ribs. They are the fattiest and the largest cut of pork ribs. All are great, and are a matter of your personal preference.

Mili’s best ribs with Hawaiian Style sauce, green onion,
cilantro micro greens, and sesame seeds.

My trick to making super delicious pork ribs every time, is the preparation. You need to cook the ribs first before finishing them off. This process will take an hour total, wether you decide to use a pressure cooker or stock pot method.

The pressure cooker/Instapot method will cause the meat’s fat to render down a bit, and make for melt in your mouth, fall-off the bone ribs that can only be finished off with a char created by baking them in the oven.

The stock pot/stove top method will leave more overall meat and fat on the bone, and create a bite that is classic and tender, to stay on the bone. The end result with this method, can be done with a char created on the grill, or in the oven.

I share the whole process for either method, in a five minute YouTube video. Below I’ve written down all the necessary and even optional details so that you can reference this cooking skill for the best ribs at home.

*Mili’s best pork ribs: fall off the bone and baked, finished off with Hawaiian Style Sauce.*

Typically I’m making two racks of pork ribs at a time, served and topped with two different sauces and optional toppings that I talk about in the recipe. From my video and previous recipe post in this series, you know that I like to make a sweeter sauce, and a spicy option so that everyone’s plate can be filled with what they like best.

Mili’s best pork ribs

Mili Takashima

Making ribs makes for a special occassion at home. Pork ribs are a loved meal that we tend to enjoy on a weekend supper or a main dish for a barbecue with friends. I love this recipe because it can be enjoyed year round. I share my recipe for either stove top prepared (end result will be tender, classic ribs) or pressure cooker prepared, (end result will be fall-off the bone ribs) finised on either the grill or in the oven. If you love pork ribs, and you love cooking at home, this is a must-have recipe, to go with any sauce you want to slather on. We love this with barbecue sauce, or my recipe for Hawaiian Style Sauce.

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Ingredients

preparing the ribs

1 rack of ribs – 12-14 bones My preference for pork ribs are in this order. You can use either a) baby back ribs, b) St. Louis style pork loin, or c) spareribs.
1 and 1/2 tablespoons pepper corns
1 and 1/2 tablespoons coarse, kosher salt
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon optional
2 tablespoons whole garlic clovers – about 4 pieces
2 tablespoons whole ginger – about two pieces, close to the amount of garlic optional
1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves or celery stalk and leaves
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves optional
3 cups water or enough to cover top of bones

finishing the ribs

barbecue sauce Use your favorite, or make my Hawaiian Style Sauce recipe.
toppings like sesame seeds, green onion, cilantro options

Instructions

Cut rack into single ribs. Using either a stockpot for the stove, or the insert for a pressure cooker: place the ribs. You'll want to add pepper corns, salt, whole garlic cloves, either fresh parsley or celery stalk with leaves (because they are a natural tenderizer). Add the optional optional chicken bouillon for flavor and sodium, and for a different flavor combination, add ginger pieces and cilantro leaves.
Cover with water – three cups – or enough to cover the top of the bones.
If you are using a stockpot over the stove top, put your heat to medium-high and set a timer for one hour total. Once the water comes to a rolling boil, lower the heat. If you are using a pressure cooker or instapot, place the settings to seal, and meat/high pressure for 35 minutes. This meat-prep process will take one hour from start to finish with either method.
Your ribs are now completely cooked, but their finished texture is not. It is time to add some sauce and choose to either bake or grill our ribs. If you are using the stock pot method, your ribs can be finished by either baking in the oven or on the barbece grill. If you are using the pressure cooker method, you will not be able to grill the ribs because the meat is too fall off the bone. Therefore baking will be the only way to finish them. If baking, line them up and put some sauce on both sides.
If baking, go for 15 minutes, at 375. You do not need to turn them. This is so that there is a char, and texture added from the sauce.
If you are grilling, make sure it is at least 300 degrees before adding the sauced bones, and just brown them a little, to add a few lines, for 5-10 miuntes. Remember, the pork is already completely cooked, so this the way that we are finishing them off.
Now your ribs are ready to serve. Slather on more of your favorite sauce, and set some sauce to the side, for anyone who wants extra. Use optional toppings and make sure you have extra napkins on-hand.