Country Style Ribs are perfect for when the weather doesn’t allow for outdoor grilling! I almost always bake ribs in the oven and these are no exception. With lots of flavor from a homemade rub these are covered in barbecue sauce for the perfect entree.
Serve with a classic baked beans recipe and a delicious potato salad for the perfect family gathering or game-day potluck! You’ll be making this recipe indoors or out, all-year-round!
What are Country Style Ribs?
Baked to perfection, country-style ribs come from the shoulder portion of the pig (more info on types of ribs at pork.org). This makes them fattier, easier to prepare and cook, and more economical because they are all meat!
Thet make for great next-day work sandwiches! Just pop them into a hoagie roll with a little mustard or shredded lettuce or coleslaw and you are good to go!
How Long to Bake Them
Once the country style ribs are prepped and sauced, cover with foil and bake about 90 minutes, or until tender and easy to cut. The low slow temperature allows the fats and connective tissues to break down, similar to how you’d cook a pork shoulder for pulled pork).
We then add sauce and let them cook a bit more to allow the sauce to caramelize and flavor the ribs.
Storing Extra BBQ Rub
If you have extra BBQ rub, store it in an airtight container or jar and keep it in the fridge. Feel free to use it on chicken, pork, mix it into a meatball recipe or even sprinkle on baked potatoes or boiled corn-on-the-cob! It goes with everything!
There are many pre-prepared BBQ sauces on the market; from sweet to savory to spicy. Don’t be afraid to use more than one sauce, or try a homemade barbecue sauce, if you are cooking for a crowd and want to offer different flavor profiles! The rub can stand alone as well!
What to Serve with Country Style Ribs
A hearty entrée deserves hearty side dishes! Potato or macaroni salad, baked potatoes, corn-on-the-cob and thick slices of garlic bread are perfect additions for country style ribs! A pitcher of lemonade and some homemade vanilla ice cream make this a dinner to remember!
Delicious Rib Recipes
- Barbecue Ribs in the Oven – perfectly tender every time
- Melt in Your Mouth BBQ Ribs! – 10 mins prep
- Instant Pot Ribs – ready in an hour!
- Crock Pot Ribs – just 5 simple ingredients
BBQ Country Style Ribs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pounds country style ribs
- 1 ½-2 cups BBQ 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
- Preheat oven to 250°F and place ribs on a rimmed baking sheet (I line with foil for easy cleanup).
- In a small bowl whisk together rib rub ingredients.
- Coat the ribs in the seasoning and cover tightly with foil. Cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until the ribs just start to feel tender.
- Remove from the oven and liberally baste the ribs with bbq sauce. Cook for another 45 mins to 1 hour uncovered until fork tender.
- If desired, turn your oven onto the broil setting and let the bbq sauce on the ribs bubble and lightly brown.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner, Main Course
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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 250°F? 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.
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 250F 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.
I have never prepared county style ribs that came out so juicy, moist & flavorful. Definitely my go to recipe.
So happy to hear that Glenn!