11/09/12

Baked Country-Style Ribs

A no-fail recipe for tender country-style ribs baked low and slow in the oven with barbeque sauce.

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I’m not sure if you can get country ribs in your neck of the woods but, Lord, I hope so, because they are so good and versatile and cheap! I love to bake them just like this and I use them in my Honey Dijon Marinated Pork Kebabs.

When I’m looking for a no muss, no fuss meal, I love to throw these in the oven, let them cook low and slow then douse them with barbeque sauce at the end.

They are tender as butter and will just fall apart if your fork even looks at them hard. And they’re impossible to mess up.

Baked Country-Style Ribs - A no-fail recipe for tender country-style ribs baked low and slow in the oven with barbeque sauce.

WHAT ARE COUNTRY-STYLE RIBS?

Country-style ribs aren’t actually ribs at all. True country-style ribs are strips cut from the area between the butt and the rib end of the loin. Before these “ribs” became popular, the meat from this area was typically ground for sausage because it’s so fatty and boney, no one really knew how to market it. 

Country-style ribs have become so popular that butchers are cutting “ribs” from pork shoulders. This is fine but they can be somewhat dry since they’re much leaner than true country-style ribs and often boneless. Most of what you see in big chain grocery stores aren’t true country-style ribs, but rather these strips of shoulder.

Baked Country-Style Ribs - A no-fail recipe for tender country-style ribs baked low and slow in the oven with barbeque sauce.

This is also how I cook traditional ribs though I season them with a little dry rub and then finish them off on the grill so the barbeque sauce can get extra happy.

The pan drippings are phenomenal to use to make a big ol' pot of Greasy Rice. Just pour the pan juices into a measuring pitcher then add broth or water until you have 3 cups of liquid. Use the liquid to cook 1.5 cups of uncooked white rice. Use more or less depending on your needs just always use the 2:1 ratio.

Baked Country-Style Ribs - A no-fail recipe for tender country-style ribs baked low and slow in the oven with barbeque sauce.

If you like these tender country-style ribs, you might also enjoy:

  • Crock Pot Pulled Pork –  Perfectly seasoned, tender, juicy pulled pork cooked low and slow in a slow cooker. 
  • Sticky Chicken – Marinated slow-roasted chicken pieces braised in a slightly sweet, tangy sauce.
  • Fall-Off-The-Bone Baby Back Ribs – Easy, oven-baked ribs cooked low and slow on a bed of onions. 
  • Perfect Pork Tenderloin – A no-fail recipe for perfectly cooked marinated pork tenderloin with a simple glaze. 
  • Barbequed Steaks – Thinly sliced grilled steaks marinated then basted in a homemade barbeque sauce. 

Recipe for Baked Country-Style Ribs

ribs, pork, tender, country, country-style, baked, boneless, easy, recipe, greasy rice, barbeque, bbq, barbecue, oven, moist
Yield: 6-8 Servings
Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth
Baked Country-Style Ribs

Baked Country-Style Ribs

A no-fail recipe for tender country-style ribs baked low and slow in the oven over a bed of onions.
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 3 H & 10 MTotal time: 3 H & 20 M

Ingredients

  • 2 onions, sliced into rings
  • 2 pounds country ribs
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke (optional)
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup barbeque sauce

Instructions

  1. Arrange onion rings evenly in the bottom of a 10x14 baking pan (these keep the ribs off the bottom of the pan and prevent them from boiling rather than slow-roasting). Combine water and Liquid Smoke (if using) and pour into the bottom of the pan.
  2. Season ribs liberally with salt and pepper on all sides (feel free to jazz up your spices but I tend to like plain ole salt and pepper on these). Arrange ribs evenly over onion slices. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil or a tight-fitting lid and bake at 250 degrees for 3 hours.
  3. Remove ribs from oven and increase temperature to 400 degrees. Pour off all liquid and reserve for Greasy Rice if desired. Baste ribs with your favorite barbeque sauce and cook for 10-15 minutes or until sauce is heated through and starting to get a little sticky.
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37 comments:

  1. Oooo honey, I am excited to try this Greasy rice stuff! Hand to Jesus!

    Thankfully in MN we do have "Country Style" ribs. We don't have Palmetto bugs. Personally I think that makes MN way more awesomesauce. Ha!

    If you're nice to me, I'll teach you my homemade rub and you can try using just that and no BBQ sauce some day when you're feeling all nostalgic for the upper mid-west. Which I'm sure happens all the time, right? Yah- knew it!

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    1. "Hand to Jesus!" HAHAHAAAAAAAAA Ima have to steal that!

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    2. I like trying different recipes for rubs could you send me the recipe please

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  2. This whole post ... Including the comments ... Made me giggle! Hand to Jesus! Haha. I'm gonna try these ribs they look great. Hope we can get them over here in MI!

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    1. LOL! Glad you found your way here! Good luck with the ribs!

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    2. Came across this recipe on Pinterest and have the ribs in the oven now. I did add a little garlic powder. Wife is out shopping with her gal pals so she’ll be happy that dinner will be ready.

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    3. Came across this recipe on Pinterest and the ribs are in the oven. Wife is out shopping with her gal pals so she’ll be happy that dinner is ready. Sure hop she likes it.

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  3. Just curious...my hubby LOVES country ribs and I LOVE my crock pot...do you think these could be done like this in my crock pot? Hmmm... Even at a low 250°, it's just too hot down here in Florida to turn the oven on! ugh :( Thanks!

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    1. Sure! I'd cook them on low for 6 hours or so? Let me know how they turn out if you try it!

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    2. I do baby backs in the crockpot all the time. They come out falling apart tender!

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    3. I've made them in the slow cooker and they are really good,especially if you shred them for pulled pork sandwiches and they're less expensive then a pork roast.

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  4. Ok, so I made these for dinner tonight and they were great...nice and tender, didn't even need a knife to cut them. I will be making them again!

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  5. I am only cooking for myself and have just over 1lb (4 ribs) of the pork loin country style ribs so my question is, how long would I have to cook them? Thank you for your help!

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    1. They'd cook for the same amount of time :)

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  6. When the ribs come out for basting do they get covered again or leave uncovered for the 400 for 10-15 minutes?
    DW

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  7. I want to thank you for this recipe. I am eternally grateful it was here to find. But, let me tell you - I did not follow all of the recipe. I only used the method of baking (200 for 3 hours) and the drippings enhancement of chicken stock and water. My daughter will not eat anything that has barbecue sauce on it. She hates even the smell of it. So, I found a dry rub recipe elsewhere and made that, rubbed the ribs down, put them in the baking dish and into the 200 degree oven covered with foil. I forgot the stock, so after an hour and a half, I put 1 cup of stock made from dried bouillon granules and water and recovered the dish and finished baking the ribs. When the timer buzzed, I shut off the timer and the oven and allowed them to sit in the still hot oven while I made the side dish of pasta, cheese and broccoli. (My daughter also won't eat rice.) OMG! First of all, I had never bought ribs like these before. Secondly, I had no clue how to cook them, so my thanks go to you for that. Thirdly, they were as tender as butter!! Last of all, the fragrance drove our cats completely out of their little cat minds! They'd have climbed into my mouth if they could have. As for the greasy rice - I have saved the drippings and added water for the 2 cup measurement and will be making the rice tomorrow for myself. I've always loved rice, with gravy, fried, in pudding, stuffed in peppers, Spanish style, arroz con pollo, etc. But, greasy rice I haven't tried and I plan to. Thank you!!!

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  8. Do you cook 4 pounds the same amount of time?

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    Replies
    1. Yes, so long as they're in a single layer.

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  9. Making ribs step by step.... just curious on how to make the rice can u plz let me know?

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  10. I make these all the time....they're so good! I sometimes toss 'em in the slow cooker, then take 'em out, brush the sauce on and put them under the broiler for a minute or two. My heavens!

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  11. I just made these last night. With the greasy rice.

    I had a very serious religious experience with these ribs. It was sinfully delicious!

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  12. how can i fix dry ribs? What can i do with them to finish eating them?

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  13. I tried this last night, to the 'T' on the instructions. The onions were SUPER tasty when I started serving. But for some reason....the meat was tough/dry, and although it was easy enough to chew, I'd not call it anything like 'succulent' as they are on the grill. My finish time at 400 was 13 minutes, tented with foil for 10 min (from reading your spare rib post :) Any thoughts on what I might be doing wrong? There are like 50 different ways to cook these online, so not even sure how I'd adjust without trying 1000 iterations. Thanks much! - Kurt

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    1. The only thing I can think is that the ribs might have been too lean. Did you use country ribs or another cut of meat?

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    2. Hi Mandy! Good question, and I think you're on to something.... They were boneless Country Style ribs, but decently marbled, and they were on the small side in both length and thickness. I think they were probably plenty moist after the low and slow, but the time at 400 F was probably excessive given their daintiness lol. I'll take another crack at 'em :)

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    3. I don't know where you are located Kurt, but here in south Mississippi country ribs can be either pork shoulder or pork loin. Pork loin would be more of the "white" meat and pork shoulder the "dark" meat. Look closely at the package and it should say which it is. IMO this recipe works better with pork shoulder country ribs.


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    4. Mandy, you are a God-send. I found your recipe and tried it 6 months ago.
      Love it. Better than my dad's when I was a child. I like to roll the country style ribs around in a rub mixture and bake for 3 hours. I am thinking about trying some more of your recipes.

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  14. You know, my only question is why the #$%^&* did I wait so long to make these? Didn't change a thing; even made the greasy rice. I cheated a bit on that, as I had some left over rice cooker-cooked long grained rice that had been drying out in the fridge. I just steeped that in the meat juices. Oh my word; hand to Jesus is right. I have shared your recipe to an on-line group, Foodfantaholics. My other side was Pinto Beans cooked under pressure. Man o man, thanks for posting the recipes!

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  15. I made these and my God in Heaven, I will NEVER cook Country Ribs any other way EVER. Tender and deliciously flavorful! LOVE! Thank you for the fantastic recipe.

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  16. Mandy, thanks for such a great recipe. This Northern boy loves low and slow but the path to the grill is a little chilly right now. A bit of applewood rub and my homemade BBQ sauce (low sugar I might add) is a perfect addition to the Paleo diet my Mrs. and I are following. Working on our beach bods! Delish! Thanks again.

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  17. can I cook country style beef ribs the same way?

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    1. I would think they'd be great! I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed the ribs!

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  18. These were the best pork ribs I have ever cooked in my 71 years! Thank you so much!

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  19. So, I absolutely HATE onions, but really want to try this recipe. Any suggestions of something else I can use in place of them?

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    1. I am going to make these this weekend with pineapple because we love pineapple and bbq sauce. i am so excited to try them.

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Hi there! While I’m not able to respond to every comment, I try hard to answer any questions that haven’t been addressed in the post, recipe or in other comments.

I can tell you now 1) I have no idea if you can substitute Minute Rice or brown rice in my recipes because I’ve never used them and 2) If I know how to convert a recipe to a Crock Pot version, I will make a note about it (otherwise, I don’t know).

And though I may not respond to them all, I do read each and every comment and I LOVE to hear from you guys! Thanks, y’all! - Mandy