Barbecue sauce is the perfect canvas for an exciting combination of spices and sauces in these country-style pork ribs. Baked until they’re fall-off-the-bone tender, this delectable pork recipe is going to become one of your new favorite dinners!
The Best BBQ Pork Ribs
Summer or not, these country-style pork ribs will bring all the smokey cookout vibes to your kitchen, minus all the fuss. Juicy and tender, you won’t believe they’re practically a toss-and-bake recipe. It’s that effortless!
With the biggest cheat of all (store-bought BBQ sauce), the sauce is quickly transformed into a holy grail of spicy goodness with a bit of paprika, chili oil, and cayenne pepper. Lots of mustard helps with the heat, so you can keep eating and eating without wiping tears from your face.
Topped with sweet onions and served with coleslaw, this easy pork recipe is a flavorful meal that goes with many of your favorite side dishes. Make it for the 4th of July or for a cozy and wintery weeknight dinner!
What Are Country Style Ribs?
Country-style pork ribs are not even ribs, per se. This cut of meat comes from the shoulder bone area, making them juicier and extra tender. However, this also means they require a longer cooking time to soften the meat and render its fat. While they’re usually boneless, they don’t have to be.
Bone-in ones have nothing to do with the rib, though. Having said this, they’re technically not ribs (from the rib area), but they’re sold as such because of their similar flavor and texture.
Recipe Ingredients
Time to say hello to your spice cabinet! Check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full ingredient amounts.
- Bone-in country-style pork ribs
- Salt and pepper
- Yellow mustard: don’t use Dijon.
- Chili oil: Leave it out if you don’t like spicy food or reduce the amount to taste.
- Cayenne pepper
- Ground cumin
- Paprika: Use sweet or smoked.
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Worcestershire sauce: Feel free to leave it out.
- BBQ sauce: Use your favorite!
- Low-sodium chicken stock: Water, beef, or veggie stock are also okay to use.
- Vegetable oil: Olive oil, corn oil, and canola oil are good substitutes.
- Yellow onion: White onion works too.
How to Make Country-Style Pork Ribs
These oven-baked country style pork ribs are seriously effortless. Here’s how to make them:
- Prepare the baking dish. Line a large baking dish with aluminum foil. This step makes for easy clean-up, but you can skip it. Preheat the oven to 250˚F.
- Prepare the ribs. Generously season the ribs with salt and pepper on all sides. Set them aside.
- Make the sauce. Mix the yellow mustard, chili oil, cayenne, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, and BBQ sauce in a medium-sized bowl until well combined. Stir in the chicken stock and vegetable oil. The sauce will be slightly thin but don’t worry.
- Arrange the ribs. Spread 3/4 cup of sauce in the bottom of the lined baking dish. Arrange the ribs and sliced onions in the baking dish; don’t overlap them, or they won’t bake evenly. Pour the remaining sauce over the ribs. Make sure they’re entirely coated—season with more salt and pepper to taste.
- Bake them. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven for 2 hours. I don’t recommend baking these uncovered because the sauce will bubble and splash in your oven.
- Serve. Remove the baking dish from the oven. Let them rest for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the aluminum foil (keep your face away) and let them cool for another 5 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy.
Tips for Success
Follow these tips if you want the juiciest possible country style pork ribs:
- Baste them. Use a spoon to carefully base the ribs with more sauce every 30 to 40 minutes. This will keep them from drying out.
- Marinate them. Make the sauce and marinate the ribs overnight in it for juicier, more flavorful pork. Bake as usual.
- Keep it low. Don’t raise the heat or your ribs will turn out dry and tough. Country style pork ribs need to be cooked over low heat for a long time in order to tenderize them.
- Sear the ribs. Season the ribs with salt and pepper to taste. Then sear them in a pan over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes on each side. This will begin to brown the meat, helping to concentrate the flavors as the ribs bake.
- Use the crock pot. Add everything to the crock pot and set it to LOW for 7 to 8 hours or HIGH for 3 to 4 hours. They should be falling off the bone by the time they’re ready.
What to Serve With Baked Country-Style Ribs
To keep with the cookout theme, these country style pork ribs go great with anything you’d have at a BBQ! Think Garlic Rosemary Mashed Potatoes, Air Fryer Frozen French Fries, and Corn on the Cob.
I also recommend serving something to sop up all the extra pork juices on your plate. These homemade Butterhorn Rolls go wonderfully with pork ribs, as do these soft Parmesan Dinner Rolls.
How to Store & Reheat Leftovers
- Refrigerate any cooled leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- To reheat them, sprinkle them with a few teaspoons of water and microwave them for 1 to 2 minutes or until warm. If you’re reheating a large amount, wrap them in foil and pop them into the oven at 350˚F for 15 minutes or until heated through.
Can I Freeze These?
- Yes! Let them cool down to room temperature, and then wrap them twice in foil or plastic wrap. I recommend doing so in serving-size portions; that way, you don’t have to thaw everything if you’re only planning to have a couple of ribs at a time.
- Place them in a freezer-friendly bag or container and freeze them for up to 6 months.
- Thaw them in the fridge overnight and then reheat them as usual.
More Easy Pork Recipes
- Caprese Pork Chops Recipe
- Creamy Dijon Pork Chops
- Creamy Pork Marsala Recipe
- Ranch Pork Chops Recipe
- Oven Baked Bone-In Pork Chops
ENJOY!
Country-Style Pork Ribs
Ingredients
- 8 pounds bone-in country-style pork ribs
- salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup yellow mustard
- ½ tablespoon chili oil, or sesame seed oil
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon sweet or smoked paprika
- 4 teaspoons garlic powder
- 3 teaspoons onion powder
- 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3 cups barbecue sauce
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 small yellow onion, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250˚F.Line a large baking dish with aluminum foil and set aside.
- Generously season the ribs with salt and pepper on all sides. Set them aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the yellow mustard, chili oil, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, Worcestershire sauce, and barbecue sauce until well combined. Stir in the chicken stock and vegetable oil.
- Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the lined baking dish. Transfer the ribs to the baking dish, arranging them in a single layer, and top with the sliced onions. You can place them side by side but don't overlap them or they won't bake evenly. Pour the remaining sauce over the ribs and make sure they're completely coated.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Pop it into the oven and bake the ribs for 2 hours.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven. Let them rest for 5 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and let them rest for 5 more minutes.
- Taste the ribs for salt and pepper and adjust accordingly.
- Serve warm, and enjoy.
Notes
- Country Style Pork Ribs: This meat cut needs to be cooked low and slow, as per this recipe. Cooking bone-in pork ribs at high heat will produce tough and dry meat.
- Barbecue Sauce: Please use your favorite store-bought or homemade bbq sauce. I almost always use this Honey Barbecue Sauce recipe.
- Chili Oil: You can replace this with sesame seed oil or even use vegetable oil.
- Slow Cooker Method: Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on LOW for up to 8 hours or on HIGH for about 4 hours.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
