Black Folks Soul Food BBQ Ribs Recipe

Nothing will make your mouth water more than the first whiff of a rack of juicy, savory soul food BBQ ribs!

Soul food BBQ ribs are a perfect crowd pleaser and an all-time favorite main dish for potlucks, tailgates, game days, or a Black BBQ cookout menu. 

Are ribs a Southern food?

Are ribs considered soul food? Topping the list of Southern soul food main entrées are BBQ ribs.

African Americans even include ribs in Sunday dinner line-ups when watching the game, enjoying a well-seasoned flavorful BBQ bite with each play.

The homemade favorite BBQ sauce is the perfect balance of sweet and sticky, so you’ll be licking your fingers clean and begging for more. 

And because soul food BBQ ribs are made with Southern hospitality, more, in the form of a second helping, is what you’ll get!

How do you cook soul food ribs?

The secret to the perfect and tender ribs is to cook them at the right temperature and time.

Skip the grill and the hassle of a slow cooker. Instead, this soul food slab is pressure cooked in an air fryer or Instant Pot. Ribs have never been this easy! 

Pro tips:

• Using an Instant Pot or air fryer, you can make fall-off-the-bone tender, savory ribs in just half an hour. 
• You’re still welcome to use this recipe’s BBQ sauce and savory seasoning ingredients for the perfect grilled or oven-baked ribs.
• Use this recipe for all rib types: beef rib, pork rib, spare rib, baby back rib, or a rack of ribs.

What is a Black folks soul food BBQ ribs recipe?

The best BBQ ribs are a batch of Black folks’ soul food BBQ ribs. Flavored and seasoned the African America way with the right meat, seasonings, and sauce. 

How do you prepare ribs for BBQ?

First, the white membrane is removed from the back. Then these ribs are coated in flavorful soul food seasonings and slathered with BBQ sauce, making the perfect sticky-icky BBQ coating!

How do you remove the membrane from the ribs?

Do you see the silvery or whitish dense skin on the bone side of the ribs?

Weber Grills offers the easiest of instructions for removing it:

1. Slide a dinner knife under the membrane and over a bone at one end of the rack.
2. Lift and loosen the membrane until it tears.
3. Grab the edge of the membrane with a paper towel and pull it off.
4. The membrane may come off in one whole piece, or you may need to remove it in smaller pieces.

Kitchen equipment for Black folks’ soul food BBQ ribs recipe

• Instant Pot electric pressure cooker
• or an air fryer
• Instant Pot trivet rack (comes with the Instant Pot)
• Basting brush

Shop my kitchenware HERE!

What ingredients are needed for this country-style ribs recipe? 

Ingredients for Black folks’ soul food BBQ ribs recipe

•  3 ½-4 pounds of ribs – beef or pork ribs (I used beef short ribs)
• 1 cup of beef broth
• 1 tablespoon of Famous Dave’s Country Roast Chicken Seasoning, or similar (Yes – use CHICKEN SEASONING on the ribs! Contains soulful flavors such as paprika, mustard seed, garlic powder, onion powder, bell pepper, and lemon zest all in one!)
• 1 tablespoon of Weber Seasoning, Roasted Garlic & Herb, or similar
• 1 cup of BBQ sauce
• 3-4 fresh sprigs of thyme (optional)

What kind of BBQ sauce should you use?

Get the homemade BBQ sauce recipe HERE!

African American BBQ ribs recipe

Instructions for Black folks’ soul food BBQ ribs recipe in the Instant Pot

1. Remove the white membrane off the back of the ribs.
2. In a small bowl, mix the chicken seasoning and the garlic & herb seasoning.
3. Rub the seasoning mixture on the ribs to coat them.
4. Pour the BBQ sauce over the ribs and use a basting brush to coat them evenly in the sauce.
5. Open the Instant Pot lid and pour the broth into the stainless-steel inner pot.
6. Place the Instant Pot trivet rack inside the inner pot, then place the sauced ribs on the rack.
7. Optional, add 3-4 fresh sprigs of thyme into the pot.
8. Close the Instant Pot lid (make sure the valve is up – in the position for sealing) and pressure cook on high for 20 minutes.
9. When the cooking time is finished, allow a natural pressure release for at least 10 minutes.
10. To open the Instant Pot lid, move the valve to ‘venting’ and manually release any remaining pressure, if applicable.
11. Remove the cooked ribs from the pot using the trivet rack handles.
12. Brush more BBQ sauce on the ribs.
13. Serve Black folks soul food BBQ ribs right away and enjoy!

Pro tips: 

• You can use these same ingredients for air fryer, oven-baked, or grilled Black folks’ soul food BBQ ribs.
• For a rack of ribs, wrap the rib rack to fit around the inside of the Instant Pot stainless steel inner pot.

Instructions for Black folks’ soul food BBQ ribs recipe in the air fryer

1. Remove the white membrane off the back of the ribs.
2. In a small bowl, mix the chicken seasoning and the garlic & herb seasoning.
3. Rub the seasoning mixture on the ribs to coat them.
4. Then baste the ribs with BBQ sauce, coating them evenly in the sauce on both sides.
5. Place the ribs in the air fryer basket or tray.
6. Air fry at 360 degrees for a total of 24 minutes.
7. Halfway through, after about 12 minutes have passed, flip the ribs over in the air fryer and return to cooking.
8. Air fry at 360 degrees for the remaining 12 minutes.
9. When the cook time is finished, brush more BBQ sauce on the cooked ribs.
10. Serve Black folks soul food BBQ ribs right away, and enjoy!

What can you substitute for the prepared herb seasonings?

You can use your favorite all-purpose seasoning or a combination of these soul food seasonings to make your own dry rub. 

Homemade soul food BBQ ribs dry rub:

• 1 ½ tablespoons of smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon of chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of chicken bouillon
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper

What should you serve with BBQ ribs?

An excellent BBQ rib dish only needs a few simple side dishes to complement it. 

So what side dishes go with ribs?

With a combination of sweet and tangy, ribs are the perfect option to have on the table. Southern potato salad, soul food macaroni salad, Southern coleslaw, and soul food baked beans are essential for Southern BBQ ribs.

Still, cornbread, creamed corn, or a baked sweet potato are more unique side dishes popular with many. 

To avoid getting carried away with how many different side dishes you want to make, keep it to a minimum to focus on the ribs. Two to three side dishes are good enough!

What sauce goes best with soul food BBQ ribs?

While this recipe’s sweet sticky sauce holds its own in saucy texture and flavor, it’s never stopped folks from dipping into their favorite sauce specialties!

• Hot sauce
• Ranch dressing
• Pure honey 
• Honey mustard

Some Southern cooks also include a little soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or even Coca-Cola when making BBQ ribs! 

Black folks soul food BBQ ribs FAQs

What temp do you cook ribs on?

This recipe uses the Instant Pot pressure cooker to make soul food BBQ ribs for an easy magical meal in minutes!

Or the air fryer at 360 degrees F.

Simply place the ribs in the inner pot and pressure cook on high for 20 minutes. 

For a rack of ribs, wrap the rib rack to fit around the inside of the Instant Pot stainless steel inner pot and cook at the same temperature.

How long did your ribs cook in the oven?

Bake on a baking sheet, air fry, or grill the ribs at 400 degrees F on both sides for 5-7 minutes.

Do you put BBQ sauce on ribs before baking?

BBQ sauce can be used in two ways:

1. As a marinade.
2. As a mop sauce.

Using BBQ sauce as a marinade can tenderize tough meat and add flavor to it, so it’s best to baste your ribs with BBQ sauce before baking. 

Use the BBQ sauce in a skinny layer, so the meat absorbs almost everything.

Later after the ribs have cooked, you can baste the ribs with more sauce if you choose.

Do you cook ribs bone side up or down?

Barbecue enthusiasts and grill masters will agree: cook ribs bone side down! 

Ribs are relatively tough meat that requires long, slow cooking in indirect heat. So the bony concave side should always face down (meat side up). This keeps the thin meaty layer from overcooking in the longer cooking process.

Do you put any seasoning on the ribs or just sauce?

• Soul food cooking rule number 1: ALWAYS season your meat!

Ribs are best cooked with seasoning as a dry rub to get the flavor into the tougher meat. 

Should you cook ribs in the oven or on the grill?

There is always a debate between grilling and baking ribs. As a matter of fact, both preparation methods have their pros and cons.

• Grilling – Grilling ribs gives you that authentic smoked ribs or barbecue ribs flavor. You can use natural wood chips or charcoal to achieve a smokey BBQ taste. Grilling can also make it harder to cook many ribs at once.
• Baking – Cooking 2 racks of ribs at the same time? Baking ribs may be an easier alternative if you’re not used to barbecuing on the grill. Plus, large batches of ribs can be cooked at once while baking. Unlike grilling, baking does not need a lot of attention. You can easily adjust the temperature making it easier to cook the meat the way you want to. 
• Instant Pot pressure cooking – Pressure cooking allows the meat to cook quicker and more controlled. It’s less likely for your ribs to overcook in the Instant Pot, and you don’t need charcoal.
• Air frying – Makes tender even-cooked meat with sweet, sticky, and saucy finished ribs!

How do you tenderize ribs before grilling?

There are numerous ways to tenderize ribs before grilling. These include marinating or boiling in a liquid such as water with vinegar. 

Do you soak ribs in vinegar?

You can choose to boil the ribs in water and vinegar to tenderize the meat before baking or grilling. However, if you’re pressure-cooking the ribs, you won’t need this step.

What barbecue sauce do you recommend?

Do you put the sauce only on one side or both?

Pour the BBQ sauce over the ribs and use a basting brush to coat them evenly in BBQ sauce on both sides.

Do you cook ribs covered or uncovered in the oven?

You can wrap the ribs in aluminum foil before baking them in the oven. In addition to sealing in moisture, it seals the flavor of the ribs. Additionally, it prevents the meat from drying out and becoming tough.

How do you know when ribs are done in the oven?

There are two ways to gauge when ribs are done. The first is an internal temperature, and the other is by the bone itself. 

Using a meat thermometer, you want your meat to reach an internal temperature of around 200°F. Once the internal temperature reaches 200°F, the ribs should be tender and fall off the bone. Don’t worry about it being too pink or rare; this is safe.

If your ribs are not falling-off-the-bone tender and are not at this temperature, continue baking, and check in on them at 5-minute intervals.

What is the secret to tender ribs?

As mentioned in the above pro tips, to get the most tender soul food BBQ ribs, start by peeling the white membrane off the back.

Then, after you’ve seasoned and sauced, cover the ribs as you cook them (pressure cook, crock pot slow cooker, grill, or oven). 

This way, the outer part of the ribs will get a crunchy texture while the inside will become soft, and the meat will fall off the bone. Covering also locks in the flavor and moisture by avoiding evaporation.

Can you use baby back ribs for this recipe as well?

You can use this recipe for beef ribs, pork ribs, spare ribs, a rack of ribs, or BBQ baby back ribs.

Simply season, sauce, cover, and cook bone-side down.

Which state is known for its ribs?

Tennessee is the state famous for its rib recipes.

What do you think about this recipe?

How much do you love this recipe for Black folks’ soul food BBQ ribs?

Have you had it?

Would you make it? 

Comment below and lemme know. 

Then subscribe HERE for all the soul food!

Like this post? Pin the below image to your Pinterest “Soul Food Recipes” board!