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These amazingly fall-off-the-bone, melt-in-your-mouth tender sous vide pork ribs may take a little extra time to cook, but the results are totally worth the extra time!
Succulent, tender and juicy, these ribs are packed with porky, smoky flavor with barely any effort for you at all.
I know cooking ribs sous vide may seem blasphemous to you grill masters out there, but I will dare say these ribs go head to head with any slow cooked bbq ribs.
Yes, I said it. These sous vide ribs, sous vide beef ribs and sous vide short ribs are all made amazing by cooking them sous vide.
What's awesome is that you only need a couple ingredients and the results are just drop dead amazing. A crisp exterior, juicy inside and a nice smoky flavor is just perfection.
Try these sous vide baby back ribs too!
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Why This Recipe Works
- The molasses adds a deep, slightly sweet and smoky flavor to the ribs, and also helps with caramelization when roasted afterwards.
- Putting the bbq rub on and letting it sit allows the flavor to penetrate the meat.
- A long slow cook followed by a quick roast gives the meat succulent flavor with a crisp, caramelized exterior.
- Using a touch of liquid smoke gives the ribs a perfect smoky flavor, almost like they've just come off the grill!
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More Sous Vide Pork Recipes
- Sous Vide Pork Loin
- Sous Vide Pork Butt
- Sous Vide Pork Shoulder
- Sous Vide Pork Belly
- Sous Vide Pork Chops
- Sous Vide Pulled Pork
Ingredients
The full list of ingredients and amounts is included in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
You're going to want to buy St. Louis style ribs for this recipe - NOT baby back ribs (that's a whole separate recipe).
St. Louis-style ribs are a type of pork rib that has been trimmed down from spare ribs to a more rectangular shape. They have a higher meat-to-bone ratio, making them more tender and flavorful. They are hands down my favorite pork ribs!
You can use any type of BBQ rub, but if it doesn’t contain salt, you may wish to add a tablespoon of salt. Salt contributes to the juiciness of the ribs and helps tenderize them.
The molasses adds a deep sweet and smoky flavor ot the ribs - I definitely recommend using a dark molasses (backstrap) for the best results.
And lastly, do not leave out the liquid smoke. It is essential t get that smoky flavor we all love about ribs! And don't fret, liquid smoke is actually made from the condensed and cool smoke from smoked wood chips - it's real smoke! Or you can use one of these substitutes for liquid smoke.
Optional: You can use BBQ sauce for basting the ribs as they get a quick bake in the oven. You can use any type of BBQ sauce, but I definitely recommend this homemade barbecue sauce. It’s super easy to make and flavorful!
Step By Step Instructions
For the best texture, you'll to remove the membrane from the back of the ribs as it can be tough and chewy. Here’s a quick tutorial on how to remove the membrane from ribs.
Rub the ribs with molasses then the barbecue rub. Adjust the barbecue rub so the ribs are fully coated with the seasoning.
Let them sit uncovered, for 4-8 hours (or overnight) in the fridge.
Preheat a sous vide water bath to 145F degrees (see temperature chart below for different options).
Place them in a vacuum seal bag and add the liquid smoke.
Seal the bag and cook for 36 hours in the water bath.
Remove from the water bath, pat dry, and place on a foil lined baking sheet.
Preheat an oven (or grill) to 300F degrees.
Brush the ribs with BBQ sauce and bake for 45 minutes, basting with extra sauce every 15 minutes.
Remove, slice and serve with extra sauce.
Optional:
Use half the dry rub when seasoning at the beginning, and the other half when baking at the end if you prefer a dry rub rib. Pat the ribs dry after cooking in the sous vide, rub with remaining dry rub and bake at 300F degrees for 45 minutes.
Sous Vide Temperatures for Pork Ribs
| Doneness | Temperature | Time |
| Ultra Moist and Tender (my favorite) | 145F Degrees | 36 Hours |
| Moist and Tender, with a little more bite | 155F Degrees | 24 Hours |
| Tender, starting to lose a little moisture | 160F Degrees | 18-24 Hours |
| Flakier, more traditional style | 165F Degrees | 8-12 Hours |
What to Serve With Sous Vide Pork Ribs
- We are in love with this cornbread pudding, Instant Pot cornbread and Air Fryer cornbread!
- This Mexican pasta salad or tortellini pasta salad are amazing alongside these ribs.
- Sous vide corn on the cob, sous vide sweet potatoes, harissa sweet potatoes, or sous vide carrots.
- This spicy mac and cheese, air fryer mac and cheese or air fryer garlic bread are particularly awesome as well.
Expert Tips
- You may need to cut the rack in half to fit it in the sous vide bag.
- The ribs should be cooked in a flat layer. If you have trouble fitting the two pieces in the same sealable bag, you can seal the ribs in two separate bags.
- Use a lid, foil, or plastic wrap over the container so the water does not evaporate during the long cook. Check it periodically and add more water to ensure it doesn't go below the water level (this will cause your sous vide to turn off and could ruin your food).
- If the bag starts to float, just open it, release the air and seal it again. You can also weigh the bag down with something heavy like a sous vide sinker weight.
- Always make sure to remove as much air as possible from the bag - this helps prevent floating as well as helping to keep harmful bacteria out of the bag.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cooking the at 145F degrees for 36 hours provides the best results in my opinion, but you can cook them as quickly as 12 hours at 165F as well if you're short on time (or even 4 hours as discussed below). They will still be amazing, just not quite as juicy.
You technically can if you sous vide them at a higher temperature (about 167F degrees), but they will have a good amount of bite to them and may come out slightly less juicy than the 36 hour pork ribs.
The longer you cook pork ribs, the more tender they will get. Cooking them low and slow allows time for the meat to become ultra tender, while also keeping them juicy.
It is almost impossible to overcook ribs using the sous vide method. If you leave them in the water bath for a super super long time (we're saying in excess of 40-50 hours), they might start to get a little mushy, but not dry.
Storage/Reheating Instructions
After the ribs are finished cooking in the water bath, place them in an ice bath to chill them quickly. Then, store the sealed bag in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze the ribs in the sealable bag for up to 3 months.
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Recipe
Sous Vide Pork Ribs
Ingredients
- 3-5 pounds pork ribs St. Louis style
- 3-4 tablespoons barbecue rub
- ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
- ⅛ cup molasses
Instructions
- Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs as it can be tough and chewy.
- Rub the ribs with molasses then the barbecue rub. Adjust the barbecue rub so the ribs are fully coated with the seasoning.
- Let them sit uncovered, for 4-8 hours (or overnight) in the fridge.
- Preheat a sous vide water bath to 145F degrees.
- Place them in a vacuum seal bag and add the liquid smoke.
- Seal the bag and cook for 36 hours in the water bath.
- Remove from the water bath, pat dry, and place on a foil lined baking sheet.
- Preheat an oven (or grill) to 300F degrees.
- Brush the ribs with BBQ sauce and bake for 45 minutes, basting with extra sauce every 15 minutes.
- Remove, slice and serve with extra sauce.
Expert Tips:
- You may need to cut the rack in half to fit it in the sous vide bag.
- The ribs should be cooked in a flat layer. If you have trouble fitting the two pieces in the same sealable bag, you can seal the ribs in two separate bags.
- Use a lid, foil, or plastic wrap over the container so the water does not evaporate during the long cook. Check it periodically and add more water to ensure it doesn't go below the water level (this will cause your sous vide to turn off and could ruin your food).
- If the bag starts to float, just open it, release the air and seal it again. You can also weigh the bag down with something heavy like a sous vide sinker weight.
- Always make sure to remove as much air as possible from the bag - this helps prevent floating as well as helping to keep harmful bacteria out of the bag.
Nutrition
Lilya says
These were hands down the best ribs I ever ate. I really love how great they came out.
Danielle says
I'm so happy to hear that!