Ribs, The Hip Pressure Cooking Way!

Until I have time to write and post more details about pressure cooking, I wanted to share a quick picture of the pork ribs and barbecue beans I did yesterday, This is a recipe Laura Pazzaglia is demonstrating during her guest appearances this year as a prelude to the release of her first cookbook, "Hip Pressure Cooking" (St Martin's Press 2014), so she asked me not to post the exact recipe, but here is a link to another one of Laura's brilliant ways of using the pressure cooker to make some of the most delicious ribs in a fraction of the time!

http://www.hippressurecooking.com/pressure-cook-meat-before-grilling-bbq/

What makes this recipe a bit more special is Laura's technique of steaming the ribs over pre soaked beans, all in one PC, making for a delicious one pot meal in 20 minutes cooking time.  One tip I do feel comfortable in sharing is that Laura suggested having the butcher cut the rack of ribs down the center of the rack, through the bones, turning the 4 inch ribs into 2 inch "riblette's"!  I love this idea as it makes it easier to portion out smaller servings, the size is great for serving at parties and for company, and I think when the dish is plated it just looks nicer.  I had made country style ribs many times in the PC, but never the baby back style ribs.  This time I used both!  I purchased about 1 lb of each to see if I preferred one over the other and I did.  Nothing to do with flavor, both tasted similar if not identical.

"Country style" ribs are much less expensive but include a ton more fat, which is fine, but I wouldn't serve them to guests or at a party, they don't lend themselves to being easy to pick up and eat.  Country style ribs often are the same as pork shoulder, which shreds easily and is used in dishes like Carnitas or Chili Verde.  The baby back "riblette's", although more expensive, are easier to handle and the bone probably makes them more flavorful when cooked the traditional way, but when cooked in the PC I'm not sure my taste palette is that sensitive.  Since this was the first time I made this dish I probably cooked it 5 minutes too long which did dry out the country style ribs a bit, but with the sauce I'm not sure anybody would notice.

The most often asked question I get about using a pressure cooker is what is the difference compared to a crockpot/slow cooker, besides the obvious, which is one is super fast and one is super slow.  I'm still educating myself on the exact science of how pressure cooking maintains the nutritional value of foods, where as many slow cooked foods lose nutritional value, you can find all the answers to any questions on Laura's website http://www.hippressurecooking.com/.