How to Cook Elk Ribs Recipe
Learn how to cook elk ribs with this elk rib recipe that makes tender, super meaty ribs, sure to cause some serious finger licking.These savory Pressure Cooker Ribs will make you a star in the kitchen with whoever is lucky enough to share them with you. In my case, the lucky beneficiary was my wife Melissa when I made these elk ribs for us to share on the night of our 14th wedding anniversary.I appreciate the fact that I am so extremely blessed to be married to a woman who loves eating the wild game I bring home from the many hunting trips that keep me away from our family for weeks at a time every fall. But being a full-time wild game chef and recipe developer allows my wife and our 9-year-old daughter to play an integral part in my food blogging business. They are my recipe testers. They are the ones who taste everything you see here on the website and tell me whether or not it's good enough to publish and share with you. These ladies are my biggest fans, but also my biggest critics. So you can trust that all of my recipes, especially these pressure cooker ribs, are absolutely delicious, and well worth a try.HOW TO TRIM RIBSBefore we add the dry rub, we want to rinse the elk ribs and pat them dry with a paper towel. Then you need to trim the ribs and remove the membrane from the back of the bones. This is easiest to remove with a paper towel. Just use a sharp knife to lift one of the corners of the membrane, then grab it with the paper towel and pull – it might just come off if you are lucky. But I rarely find it's as easy as everyone else says it is. If you are like me and the paper towel trick doesn't work, you can use the same sharp knife to trim the waxy fat off the bone side, and to trim the silver skin off of the meaty side of the ribs. HOW TO COOK ELK RIBSYou can't just throw elk ribs in the smoker for a few hours like you would some baby back pork ribs and hope for a good outcome. If you've already tried it this way, you most likely ended up with a mouthful of chewy, waxy venison meat that was extremely disappointing after all the extra work you put in to salvage the elk ribs and pack them out of the field.You have to treat venison ribs different. They take a long time to get tender. That's why most other good venison rib recipes call for you to put them in a slow cooker for about 4 hours before finishing them off on the grill. But most people work all day, and if you put the ribs in the slow cooker in the morning, they'll be overcooked and have fallen completely off the bone by the time you get home in the evening. Plenty of people think that “fall off the bone” is the hallmark of perfectly cooked ribs. However, barbecue aficionados (and judges) consider this to be overcooked. A perfect rib should be tender but still have the meat intact on the bone. That's why I developed this electric pressure cooker ribs recipe. The pressure cooker cuts the cook time down to just 1 hour, making it much easier to prepare on a weeknight after you get home from work. The pressure cooker locks in moisture and makes the ribs tender, but not mushy, in just a fraction of the time.RIB DRY RUB RECIPETo start your elk ribs off right, cover them generously with this rib dry rub recipe.This rib dry rub recipe uses seasonings that most of us already have in our pantry. Things like salt, black pepper, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and chili powder to give the elk ribs loads of flavor.If you want to make the ribs spicier, feel free to add a 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the mix.LIQUID SMOKE FOR RIBSUsing liquid smoke for ribs is a great way to add that amazing smoky mesquite flavor. Please don’t skip the liquid smoke! Because we are cooking the ribs quickly in a pressure cooker, the liquid smoke provides that smoky flavor that you’d typically only get by cooking them low and slow in a smoker.HOW LONG TO COOK RIBS IN PRESSURE COOKERAfter lots of experimentation, I finally learned how long to cook ribs in a pressure cooker. Remember that we need to treat these elk ribs differently than pork ribs. For this pressure cooker rib recipe, it will take 40 minutes on high pressure + complete natural release. Do not vent the elk ribs immediately. Because the elk meat is tougher, it needs the full natural release to become tender.BROILED RIBSAfter the elk ribs are finished cooking in the pressure cooker, I like to brush them with BBQ sauce and place them in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes. The broiled ribs are slightly crispy on top, and the sauce becomes extra thick and amazingly delicious. MORE GREAT VENISON RECIPESIf you love this pressure cooker ribs recipe and are looking for more great ideas on how to cook with some of that venison in your freezer, be sure and check out these family favorites:Venison SpaghettiTater Tot Venison CasseroleCast Iron Venison SteakVenison Carnitas TacosVenison EnchiladasPan Fried Deer HeartCONNECT WITH ME AND JOIN OUR WILD GAME COOKING COMMUNITYSign up here to receive a new recipe in your email inbox every Tuesday morning!If you make this Elk Ribs Recipe, I’d love for you to join our community and connect with me so we can all see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! When you post a pic of your finished dish on Instagram, be sure and use the hashtag #wildgameandfish and then tag me @wildgameandfish so I can share it on my Instagram stories.Did you enjoy this Elk Ribs Recipe? Be sure to leave a 5-star rating RIGHT HERE!
Ingredients
FOR THE ELK RIBS
- 3 to 4 pounds elk ribs, each about 4 to 6 inches long
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon mesquite flavored liquid smoke
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
RIB DRY RUB RECIPE
- 2 Tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
Instructions
- Go elk hunting, shoot an elk, and harvest the ribs.
- Before we add the dry rub, we want to rinse the elk ribs and pat them dry with a paper towel. Now you need to trim the ribs and remove the membrane from the back of the bones. This is easiest to remove with a paper towel. Just use a sharp knife to lift one of the corners of the membrane, then grab it with the paper towel and pull – it should come right off in one go. If that doesn't work, you can use the same sharp knife to trim the waxy fat off the bone side, and to trim the silver skin off of the meaty side of the ribs.
- In a small bowl, stir together the salt, brown sugar, paprika, cumin, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, and Herbes de Provence. Rub it all over the ribs, generously coating all sides.
- Place the trivet (or rack) in the bottom of an electric pressure cooker. Pour in the beef broth, apple cider vinegar, and liquid smoke. Place the ribs inside the pot, standing them on the trivet on their side and wrapping the rack around the inside of the pot like a circle.
- Cover and seal the pressure cooker. Cook on high pressure for 40 minutes. Allow the pressure to naturally release completely (about 15 minutes). You will know it is released when the pin drops.
- Preheat the oven to the broil setting. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Transfer the cooked elk ribs to the foil, then brush liberally with your favorite barbecue sauce. Place under the broiler for about 2 to 3 minutes, until the sauce begins to caramelize. Slice ribs between the bones and serve.
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One Response
wow Wish I could taste some! I am not sure where I can get elk ribs, but I will keep my eyes open and if I get lucky, definitely gotta try it.