Country-style Pork Ribs ribs are a great rich and fall-apart tender alternative to traditional ribs. Cheap, easy to make, and SO good, this might just be your new favorite way to eat pork.
One of the first really popular recipes on this site was my No-Fuss Easy Oven-Baked Ribs. The recipe’s designed to use beef back ribs, but since the post went live people have been asking about using it to make country-style pork ribs.
And asking.
And asking.
And asking.
And every single time, I would have to admit that I had no idea because I’d never eaten, let alone cooked, country-style ribs.
Whelp, I finally got sick of saying “I don’t know,” and feeling like I was missing out on something (because clearly, people love these things), so I tried them for myself, and now I am so angry.
Guys, I am so angry I haven’t been making these for years because country-style ribs ARE AMAZING. And this is coming from someone who is usually firmly Team Beef Ribs over pork.
These ribs are so tender and rich and easy to make. Two ingredients, ten minutes of hands-on prep time, and you end up with these absolutely beautiful ribs with meat you can shred with a fork.
And if you’re sitting there going sure, that sounds great, but WTF are country-style pork ribs? Read on, friend.
What Are Country-style Pork Ribs?
Country-style pork ribs aren’t ribs at all. They’re cuts of pork shoulder, which is the same meat you use to make pulled pork and carnitas. If you get bone-in “ribs,” you’ll recognize the distinctive y-shaped bone you get when you buy a bone-in pork shoulder roast.
This means that one, just like pork shoulder roasts, country-style ribs are super cheap, usually about $2/pound.
Two, they’re way meatier than regular pork or beef ribs (and don’t have all that gross cartilage), so you’re getting more meat for your buck.
And three, they have that wonderful marbling of fat which helps keep them moist during the long, slow cooking process on the way to tender, fall-apart ribs.
And speaking of long, slow cooking…
How to Cook Country Style Pork Ribs in the Oven
For fall-apart meat, country-style ribs really need to cook long and slow. Otherwise you’re going to get chewy pork.
The good news is that the cooking time is almost entirely hands-off. After a minimal amount of prep to get the ribs ready to cook, your oven’s doing most of the work here.
You start by salting and peppering your ribs and placing in a single layer in a roasting pan or baking dish. If you use a baking tray, make sure it has a fairly high rim, as the meat will release a lot of liquid as it cooks.
Cover with foil and bake at 300°F for 2 hours. Go read a book and sip some lemonade in front of a fan.
When your timer goes off, carefully uncover the meat–the steam will be hot–and drain the liquid from the tray. The meat looks super gross and sad at this point, but don’t worry. The next time it comes out of the oven, it will be beautiful.
Brush a generous coat of your favorite BBQ sauce over the meat.
Lower the temperature to 275°F and then bake uncovered for another hour. Your ribs are done when the meat has a beautifully baked-on coat of BBQ sauce and when you can pull it apart with a fork.
Brush with a little more sauce, give the ribs a couple minutes to rest, and then serve with some mashed potatoes or macaroni salad, and a simple veggie side like Garlic and Butter Green Beans or Oven-roasted Broccoli, and enjoy!
Country-Style Ribs Recipe Notes
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- If making for guests, I recommend making two ribs per person. That’s going to be a really generous serving, but you won’t have to worry about anyone going hungry. If making a lot of ribs, you can make two trays at a time. Just add 15 minutes to the initial cooking time and swap them halfway through both cooking periods so that they cook evenly.
- You can use bone-in or boneless country-style ribs for this recipe. Since they are covered for most of the cooking time, both come out equally moist and tender. My local stores sell them in mixed packs, so I usually cook with both at the same time.
- Be very careful removing the ribs from the oven the first time. Hot liquid can slosh out of the pan, and the steam will be very hot when you remove the foil.
- For brushing on BBQ sauce, I love these silicone basting brushes that can go through the dishwasher.
- Looking for more simple meaty mains? Try my Tri-tip in the Oven, Broiled Steak with Mustard Sauce, Carne Asada, and Quick Rosemary Pork Chops.
Easy Country-Style Pork Ribs in the Oven
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- Foil
- Roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet
- Silicone basting brush optional
Country-style Ribs
- Country-style pork ribs*
- Salt and pepper
- Your favorite BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 300°F. Salt and pepper both sides of your ribs and place in a single layer in your pan, fattier side up.
- Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake for 2 hours. Carefully (steam and liquid in the tray will be hot!) remove ribs from the oven and check the meat. They should be starting to become tender. If they still feel tough, re-cover them and place them back in the oven for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Transfer ribs to a plate and drain liquid from the pan. Return ribs to tray and brush with a generous coating of BBQ sauce.
- Turn oven down to 275°F and bake ribs, uncovered, for 1 hour more, or until you can pull the meat apart with a fork (if your ribs were small and already pretty tender when you put them back in the oven, start checking after 20 minutes). Brush with another coat of BBQ sauce, rest for 5 minutes, serve and enjoy!
Trileen says
I made this for my family tonight. It was a hit. My husband, who does not like ribs (too much work for too little meat, and lots of gristle) loved this recipe. It will be repeated! Tender and falling apart deliciousness, and so easy!!! And cheap: 2 pounds for $3.80. You can’t beat it.
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Tracy says
Thanks, Trileen! I’m so glad your family enjoyed it!!
Jessica says
Trying these tonight for dinner fingers crossed.
Tracy says
Hope you enjoy them, Jessica!
Tricia says
I am so excited to try this recipe for dinner tonight!
Tracy says
Hope you enjoy them, Tricia!
Donna K Allee says
Cut the calories and just use salt, pepper and garlic powder. I am 65 and that’s how my mother cooked them eons ago.
To DIE for and SO simple. Be sure to cover all 4 sides.
Tracy says
Thanks for the tip, Donna!
Alison says
Hi, can I use this method to make boneless appetizer dry ribs? If so what exact type of meat do I use. I’m so confused about this
Tracy says
Hi, Alison, I’m not familiar with those sort of ribs. Are they pork or beef?
Kathryn Mainor-Goodness says
Awesome!! I used Adobo seasoning instead of salt and pepper. Then Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey BBQ sauce.
A usually very negative person said, “ These are the best ribs I’ve ever had!!”
Tracy says
LOL, couldn’t ask for a better compliment than that! So glad you (and they) enjoyed them!
Hen McClucken says
Wow ! I loved your amazing information and good direction for these “ribs”. I bought $3.57 worth [at $1.49 lb]-which turned out to be 5 huge beautiful pieces. I fit them in my cast iron deep pan with a lid-sprinkled them with Livia’s Seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic) and am using Sweet Baby Ray’s Hickory & Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce {our favorite}. Mashed taters on the side as you recommend ! Loving it !!! Thanks x 1000…look forward to more mischief 🙂
CASSANDRA TINDER says
I am baking these right now. I just grab a handful of spices, mix them and sprinkle on top. I don’t like to use aluminum foil, so I always use a roasting pan with a lid. I DO throw in about 1/4 cup of water on the bottom and it steam’s them and always comes out great! Smoked Paprika and Cumin are the key! You just can’t mess these up! They are so easy. I also, remove lid, liquid and smother with Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce and bake the last hour. BEST meal EVER!
Kim C. says
I only had 1.5 lbs, which is 4 ribs. Do I still cook for 2 hours? I just put them in the oven. I also made a rub and coated them.
Tracy says
Yes. Do the full two hours at the start. If they’re pretty tender and starting to fall apart when you start the uncovered baking time, cook them just until the sauce has baked on and they’re completely tender. If the sauce isn’t as baked on as you’d like by the time the meat is done, you can run the broiler for a couple minutes. Just don’t leave them unattended because things can burn under the broiler really quickly. Hope that helps and you enjoy them!
Kim C. says
They came out amazing!! My husband said thank you so much for the fantastic recipe!!
Tracy says
Thanks for letting me know! So glad you enjoyed them!
Gwen says
Making this now!! They already smell so good!! I added more than just salt and pepper
Tracy says
Hope you enjoy them, Gwen!
Gwen says
They were so delicious, fall apart tender…we were able to cut them with our forks…yum yum.
Thank you so much!!
Tracy says
Oh yay! Thanks for reporting back, Gwen!
Jessica N Jones says
Can I use a glass baking dish?
Tracy says
Yes!
Carrie says
I will never go back to the crockpot! They came out amazing!
AnneMarie GEORGE says
Superbowl Sunday. These were so good. Were still slightly frozen together when put in the oven.used sweet baby ray bbq sauce. So tender and moist.
Thank you
Tracy says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for reporting back!
ERIC W CLOWERS says
I’ve just looked over many different ways to do these type of ribs. I’m going with yours. Thanks for sharing. I’m sure they’ll be Awesome and Great reviews to!!!
Tracy says
Hope you enjoy them, Eric!
nell says
I have never had luck cooking ribs to my liking. I followed your wonderful and easy recipe to the letter. MMMMMMMMM! Thank you so much for this.
Tracy says
Thanks, Nell! So happy to hear they worked out for you!
Laurie says
Oh my word! Finally, a rib recipe that’s painless, Easy, and YUMMY! Many many thanks!!
My oven is convection yet I wanted to utilize the full time so I set the temp downward to 275°, (it then auto-adjusts the temp for convection) and cooked them the 2 hours, and went through the other steps through the sauce application.
I re-set the oven to 250° (it again re sets it) and used the convection-roast setting because it’s 0400 here and the Roast setting has a timer. I wanted ~3/4 – 1 hour of cook time so I set the timer to 30 minutes. My oven will set a check-food alarm for a percentage ahead of time, in this case 22 minutes. It will turn off automatically, so I counted on the cool down time as a buffer, and will get up in awhile to check them but since they were close to done already and the bits I snitched were absolutely delicious I’ll be trying to not scarf them!!
Tracy says
Thanks for the detailed comment. That’s so helpful for other people with convection ovens! Glad the bits you tried were delicious. Hope you enjoyed the rest of it as much!