Country style ribs are an all-time dinner favorite.
Bring the BBQ inside and oven-bake a rack of tender and juicy pork ribs infused with savory spices and slathered with BBQ sauce.
You’ll Love Country Style Ribs Because…
- Country-style ribs are very tender and juicy when cooked low and slow.
- They’re a budget-friendly cut of meat and have all of the goodness and flavor you love from traditional pork ribs.
- The prep is fast, most of the time needed is hands off as the ribs bake in the oven.
Ingredients For Country Style Ribs
Ribs: Country-style ribs come from the pork shoulder (and aren’t actually ribs). They generally don’t have bones, but a portion of the shoulder blade might be attached at the top.
Rib Rub: This rib rub blends brown sugar with herbs and species you likely have on hand for lots of flavor. Feel free to add more seasonings or swap up the spices to your liking.
BBQ Sauce: Use your favorite barbecue sauce or make your own homemade BBQ sauce and season it any way you like!
How to Cook Country-Style Ribs
- Make the Rub: Whisk seasonings together in a small bowl.
- Season the Ribs: Place ribs in a prepared baking pan and rub both sides with the seasoning mixture.
- Bake the Ribs: Cover with foil and cook until barely tender (recipe below). Uncover ribs and brush generously with BBQ sauce. Cook uncovered until fork tender.
What to Serve With Country Style Ribs
Leftover Ribs?
- Keep leftover country-style ribs in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Reheat them in the microwave or add chunks to a soup or stew, a burger, or wrap for a hearty workday lunch.
- Or chop up pieces and add to a pork stir fry. Freeze ribs in zippered bags for up to one month.
Tender and Juicy Rib Recipes
Did your family love these Country Style Ribs? Leave a comment and rating below.
Country Style Ribs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pounds country style ribs
- 1 ½ to 2 cups barbecue sauce
Rib Rub
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes crushed
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 275°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil.
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In a small bowl whisk together chili powder, brown sugar, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper.
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Place the ribs on the prepared pan and rub all sides with the rub mixture. Cover tightly with foil. Cook for 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours. Open the foil and check the ribs with a fork: they should be tender. If they are still tough, cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes or until they are tender
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Remove the pan from the oven and drain some of the juices if your ribs have a lot of juice. Generously brush the ribs with barbecue sauce.
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Place the pan back into the oven and cook uncovered for an additional 45 to 60 minutes or until the ribs are very tender.
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If desired, turn your oven on to broil and broil the ribs for 3 to 4 minutes or until lightly charred.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner, Entree, Main Course, Pork
Cuisine American
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Seriously good.
I used a different seasoning mix for the dry rub to suit our flavor preferences but followed the directions. Took a little longer both in the covered and uncovered stages but really tender. Fat rendered and broiled to get a nice crusty char.
Really an easy way to cook an inexpensive cut of pork and deliver the delicious
Loved the ribs so tender, we had boiled rice and salad, my husband loved them too as they are his favourite pork meal. Thank you!
I made this tonight more so for my fiancé as I am not a big rib eater …. but even I loved it! Followed the recipe exactly how it is written, and it was delicious and so flavorful. Made this with mac and cheese and baked beans. Will be making this again soon. Thank you!!!!
So happy you enjoyed it, thanks for the comment Allie!
How about the instant pot? Directions?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Sandy. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
can you air fry country style ribs
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Steve, but that should work just fine! You will want to ensure they are cooked to 145 F.
The meat was tough. Cooked as directed and added on a hour and that didn’t help.
I’m sorry to hear that, Debbie! Did you cook them at a low temperature? If ribs are cooked at too high of a temperature it can cause them to become tough. Or if your ribs were significantly thicker they may have just needed additional time to fully cook. Hopefully, that helps!
I followed this recipe to the t and these ribs were so tough. Not sure what went wrong. But I followed this recipe exactly
The most common reason for tough ribs is that they are undercooked. I would continue to cook them for a little longer until they are fork-tender. Hope that helps!
After saucing do you re-cover when returning to the oven?
Hi Rick, in Step 4 we remove the ribs from the oven and baste with bbq sauce. Then return to the oven to cook for 45 mins to 1 hour uncovered until fork tender.
Great flavor, but the ribs were not tender.
If your ribs were not tender Sue, they needed to bake longer. I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed the flavor.
can the ribs be cooked in a crockpot?
Made this for my birthday dinner since it rained and grilling was out of the question. Glad I found it! I will be making it more when the need for ribs hits and the weather doesn’t allow it since I don’t have a covered porch. Moist and juicy, a hit with the whole family.
Nearly inedible. I have made oven ribs before and they turned out better. These were not tender at all. I do not think that a 250 degree cook temp is sufficient, or they need to be cooked longer. I cooked them for a full 3 hours and they were fully defrosted when I started. Would not make again. Will likely not look for recipes here again.
If the ribs were not tender, they definitely needed to cook longer. We’ve made this recipe many many times, and low and slow has always worked perfectly for us. Your ribs may have been meatier, requiring a longer cook time.
There is such a variance in the quality of meat it makes all the difference in the world
I use a digital thermometer. The temp is a better indicator than the time in the oven. Just like smoking ribs, sometimes it takes 3 hours somtimes it takes 4. A long cook time at low temps will make for tender ribs and as they say in the smoking realm, “Low and slow.”
Are you using bone in or boneless. ?Guessing bake time is only thing that changes
These do have bones in them but boneless should work fine in this recipe.
Superb. The flavors were excellent and the cooking instructions were right on, though I probably overcooked mine by about 15 minutes. They were still sooo good.
Turned out great. Just added some garlic powder to the rub and liquid smoke to the sauce.
Recipes please!
Welcome Joan! To receive emails with new recipes, you can click here to sign up to receive emails. Look forward to sending you recipes!
Terrible amount of grease liquid from cooking in pan prior to applying BBQ Sause..used a turkey baster to suck all of liquid from pan B4 .. was that wrong?
There is nothing wrong, these ribs are a fatty cut and depending on the ribs, you can definitely end up with a lot of grease in the pan. Removing it with a baster is the perfect solution!
Do you cut and separate into individual ribs before or after cooking or do you cook in one piece as a roast?
The ribs I purchase are cut into pieces as shown in the photo on the pan before cooking. I hope that helps.
So good (and easy)! Haven’t had great luck with other BBQ country rib recipes, but this one was perfect! I think the low and slow really does the trick. Will definitely make again!
Will this also work with beef country style ribs…that’s what mine are labeled as. & would the cook time be the same?
The country-style ribs I used were pork however I do think the beef ribs will work in this recipe. Cook them for the initial 1 1/2 to 2 hours check them to see if they are starting to become tender (this can vary based on how thick they’re cut). If they are, proceed with the recipe as written. If they aren’t tender you can add a bit of time before uncovering them.
Followed recipe exactly and these were absolutely fabulous!! Used Trader Joe’s BBQ sauce and boneless ribs. Served with broccoli slaw & cornbread.