These EASY oven baked Country-Style Pork Ribs are a great economical alternative to traditional ribs. They are easy to make in the oven and result in the most fall off the bone tender ribs. They just melt in your mouth!
WHAT ARE COUNTRY PORK RIBS?
Country Style ribs are thick and meaty and laced with fat. They require a low-temperature to render the fat and break down the meat.
Unlike a rack of ribs, country-style ribs aren’t a true rib. They come from the blade end of the pork loin very close to the pork shoulder. The pork shoulder is the same cut used to prepare a smoked pork butt.
Expert Tip:
Look for packages with smaller-sized rib sections. Smaller ribs will cook faster and similarly sized ribs will result in more even cooking.
HOW MUCH DO COUNTRY-STYLE PORK RIBS COST?
Country ribs tend to be a little less expensive than a traditional side of ribs. This makes them very economical. Though available year-round, fresh pork is more plentiful from October to February. Pork prices are typically lower in the winter months which is perfect timing for baking these pork ribs in the oven.
Typically, country-style pork ribs cost around $1.29/pound or less from October to February. On the high end, they may cost upwards of $1.99/lb. to $2.49/lb for the rest of the year.
HOW DO I SELECT THE BEST RIBS?
Unlike pork chops, you will want to look for pork ribs that have some marbling of fat. This keeps the pork juicy while they slow roast.
The ribs I use typically have a small bone running along the edge. If you prefer, you may also use boneless country style pork ribs.
What is a serving size
Roasting country-style ribs are nothing like cooking a rack of baby back ribs. Depending on the size, you only need one (or two) to fill you up since they are quite large and meaty.
I always figure on 2 ribs per adult and 1 per child.
Expert Tip:
Bone-in country ribs work best with this recipe. If you choose to use boneless ribs, be sure to cover them with foil. This will help keep the ribs from becoming dry.
How to Cook Pork Ribs:
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
- Season the ribs well with salt and pepper or dry rub. Transfer the ribs to a rimmed baking sheet [paid link] or baking pan lined with aluminum foil and a roasting rack. To dry roast, bake ribs for 90 minutes, uncovered. For boneless, I suggest using aluminum foil to cover the ribs as they can sometimes dry out. You can also use a splash of apple juice as a mopping sauce to help keep the ribs moist.
- Meanwhile, combine all of the BBQ sauce ingredients in a saucepan [paid link] and slowly bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer until dark, thick, and richly flavored 10 to 15 minutes. Adjust seasoning to your desired flavor, if necessary.
- After 90 minutes, carefully remove the tray from the oven. Carefully pour off any juices and oils that have collected in the pan.
- Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and baste the ribs with BBQ sauce. For brushing on the BBQ sauce, I love these silicone basting brushes that can go right in the dishwasher.
- Continue basting every 30 minutes, turning the ribs each time you baste with sauce.
- After 90 minutes, baste them one more time and then move them under the broiler.
- Broil the ribs for a minute or two just to caramelize the sauce. The sugars in the sauce can char fast so be sure to stay close to the oven during the broiling process.
WHAT BBQ SAUCE is Best?
I’ve included a very basic BBQ sauce with the recipe to help you get you started.
I have several very easy small batch sauces including Sweet and Tangy or Spicy BBQ Sauce.
What Ingredients are in a Basic Barbecue Sauce?
- Ketchup – I start with Heinz ketchup but you may use any brand you prefer.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – if you do not have apple cider vinegar plain white vinegar may be substituted
- Molasses – I use Grandma’s Brand Original Old Fashioned Unsulphered Molasses.
- Brown Sugar – light or dark are both fine. Dark brown will result in a slightly darker sauce.
- Ground mustard – prepared mustard may be substituted (See Expert tips in the recipe notes section)
- Salt and ground black pepper
- Red pepper (chili) flakes – these may be omitted or increased based on your spice preference.
Make Barbecue Sauce in 8 Simple Steps:
- Into a medium-sized saucepan [paid link] add the ketchup.
- Drizzle in the Apple Cider Vinegar.
- Pour in the molasses
- Add the brown sugar
- Sprinkle in the salt, ground black pepper, and dry mustard (not pictured)
- Add the Red Pepper (chili) flakes, optional.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat then reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce darkens and thickens. Adjust spices to your palate.
- Brush onto ribs and enjoy.
Can I use a dry rub on oven baked Country-Style Pork Ribs?
Absolutely.
Sometimes I start with my Sweet BBQ Rub Recipe. This technique works best with bone-in ribs so that you can leave the foil off during the initial roasting period. Otherwise, the water cakes into spices.
Only use as much as sticks to the rib meat and then remove the excess to avoid caking.
Expert Tip:
Country-style ribs are a very versatile cut of meat. They can withstand the low and slow cook time required for slow-roasting.
What to Serve with Country Pork Ribs?
What can’t you eat with pork ribs would be an easier question! In our house, we often pair this meal with Potato Salad, Green Beans, mashed potatoes, or coleslaw.
Oven Baked Country Pork Ribs
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Country-Style Pork Ribs (bone-in) [See Notes 1 & 2]
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
For the Basic Barbecue Sauce
- 2 cups ketchup
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 2 tablespoons ground mustard (See Expert Tips)
- 1 tsp salt (to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (Optional – to taste)
- 2 to 4 dashes Liquid Smoke (Optional)
- 2 to 4 dashed Favorite Hot Sauce (optional)
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder (Optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
- Season the ribs well with salt and pepper and place them on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and fitted with a baking rack.
For Bone-in, dry-roast for 90 minutes, uncovered. [See Note 3]
For Boneless, cover with foil and bake for 90 minutes. [See Notes 1 & 2] - Meanwhile, combine all of the BBQ sauce ingredients in a saucepan [paid link] and slowly bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer until dark, thick, and richly flavored 10 to 15 minutes.Pour off any abundance of grease that has collected in the pan.
- After 90 minutes, remove the baking tray from the oven and carefully pour off any abundance of liquid and oil that has collected in the pan. [See Note 4]
- Next, increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Baste the ribs with BBQ sauce and return, uncovered, to the oven.
- Continue basting in 30-minute intervals, turning the ribs each time you baste with sauce. After 90 minutes, the meat will begin to fall apart it’s so tender – you’ll notice this when you turn the ribs during basting.
- Once the ribs are tender, increase the oven to broil. While the oven heats, baste the ribs one last time before returning to the oven.
- Broil the ribs for a minute or two just to caramelize the sauce. The sugars in the sauce can char fast so be sure to stay close to the oven during the broiling process.
- Serve with your favorite BBQ sides like mac n cheese, cole slaw, or potato salad.
Video
Notes
- Bone-in ribs work well with this recipe and usually stay moist and tender throughout the process.
- Look for packages with smaller-sized rib sections. Smaller ribs will cook faster and similarly sized ribs will result in more even cooking.
- If you prefer to use boneless ribs, consider covering them with foil to keep moisture in and keep the ribs from becoming dry.
- When dry roasting you may also use a dry rub, like my Sweet BBQ Rub.
- Thank you Pattie R. for reminding me that we needed to carefully drain the excess liquid and oil before the basting process begins.
EXPERT TIPS:
- Country-style ribs are big and meaty, for calculating how many you will need for a group, I recommend a serving size 1-2 ribs per person.
- Fresh pork is typically more plentiful from October to February, meaning pork prices are usually lower over the winter months. Typically, I find these country-style pork ribs somewhere around $1.29/pound or less between October and February.
- Prepared Mustard may be substituted for Dry Ground Mustard. The conversion rate is usually 1 tablespoon of prepared mustard in place of 1 teaspoon dried mustard.
- In this recipe, I would start with 2-3 tablespoons of prepared mustard and increase to taste – stirring and cooking the sauce between additions.
Very good. The bbq sauce was delicious.
I marinated mine in a mixture of soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce for 20 min, baked them at 300 for an hr, then started brushing them with some store-bought Caribbean Jerk marinade for another hr. Delicious!
If I don’t use all the BBQ sauce, can I keep it refrigerated or do i need to discard.?
I usually put it in a mason jar and refrigerate the leftovers. However, you can only do this if you do not use the mail pot of sauce as your bowl to baste from. If you baste from the main pot of sauce, you would need to discard it due to cross-contamination with the meat (yes, even cooked meat).
Thanks for getting back to me. I did not use the main pot of sauce for basting. The BBQ sauce was simple and excellent. But with only two of us there was plenty left over. Thank again.
Jackie Jerko
If I have 6 pounds instead of 3, do I need to alter the time/ temperature?
No, I spread mine out to allow air to circulate around each rib. If the pan is overcrowded or the ribs are giant in size, then extra time would be needed.
Hi! Do I have to cut the ribs before cooking or can I put them in there as a whole slab? Thanks!
No, you can leave it whole if you like but it may add a few minutes to the cooking time.
I made these for dinner last night and they turned out great. I used bone in ribs and seasoned the ribs with your Sweet BBQ Rub recipe then baked them uncovered for 90 minutes. I increased the oven temp. and then basted them with Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce. I only turned and basted 2 times instead of 3 times as the recipe stated. (60 minutes) The sauce had baked on well enough that I didn’t have to place under broiler either. They were tender, moist and delicious. I will be making this recipe again. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
My pork was quite lean so I covered mine initially. Turned out great.
Hi Kristen – sorry this recipe didn’t work for you. It does depend on the fat marbling in the meat and the notes on the recipe card do suggest covering.
I’ve made this twice now. Everyone loved the ribs.
Thanks, Pam! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recpie. :) Happy a great rest of your weekend.
Same, i love this taste very much..
I am baking these now. Do I leave them on the rack or remove and put in pan when basting with sauce the last 90 mins??? help!!
Hi Cherie,
Both would be fine. I usually drain any collected liquids and baste them right in the same tray/rack to avoid extra dishes. If you wanted to move them to another pan, you can do that as well. Hope you enjoyed these.
Hello! I don’t have a rack for my baking pans yet, so I was wondering if you thought they would still turn out okay without it?
HI Jamisen,
In this case, I line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and put the ribs directly on the rack. You can roast them uncovered or cover them if you like. Just before the basting begins, you may need to carefully drain any accumulated fat and liquid. Good luck!
So tender and juicy. Thanks!
the broiling at the end to caramelize the sauce is a must-do trick in this recipe. So delicious.
So tender. So worth the time.
My daughter in law made these for Sunday supper. They were amazing fall-off-the-bone tender!!
Thanks, Cheryl. I’m so glad you liked it!
Made this exactly as written and it was great. So easy to make great-tasting indoor ribs.
Hi Micah – so glad you enjoyed it!
Is the cooking time the same for about half the amount of meat? Or is there no change in time?
Hi Donald,
If this were one large roast, the cooking time would change based on the larger (or smaller) cut of meat. Since these are pre0cut country-style ribs, the cooking time will be the same. The only variance is a slightly longer or shorter cooking time based on bone-in vs deboned ribs.
So good. I roasted mne covered since they were boneless and they were tender and juicy. So, so good!
Thanks Lula – so glad you enjoyed them!
I just made these tonight & followed the recipe Exactly as written & they were Fantastic!! This is the BEST way to make Country Style ribs in the Oven. Totally Recommend!!!!
Thank you very much. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
I’ve just tried this recipe yesterday. I did add a few drops of liquid smoke to the sauce and finished them on the bbq. This one is a keeper!
Sounds great, Bettina. I use liquid smoke sometimes, too.
Can this recipe be cooked in the crock pot?
Hi Donna,
Yes, it may be cooked in the crockpot. For the slow cooker, I would go 8-10 hours on LOW or 4-6 hours on High. Drain any excess accumulated liquid and add your BBQ sauce at the end just before serving.
To develop a caramelization on the ribs as described in the recipe, you would have to transfer the ribs to a baking pan and broil them in the oven for 3-5 minutes to develop the color and flavor – watch them closely as they can burn quickly under the broiler.
Good luck.
With a June winter weather advisory in our area, we were forced inside. These country style pork ribs really hit the spot.
After reading your post I could immediately see the differences in the pork in the meat case. Picked up some nice light pink pork ribs and made them by the recipe except w a bottled sauce. So tasty. Thank you for the tips on making great ribs in the oven since I’m my studio apartment I can’t have a grill.
Well nice caught..
Hi Ronda! I just wanted you to know that the oven baked ribs recipe works well on the gas grill also! I basically followed your instructions for oven cooking and [modified the sauce a bit with] 1 cup of brown sugar, 2 TBS Worcestershire sauce 1 TBS liquid hickory smoke and 2 TBS Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning. Since they were boneless, I covered them after each basting with aluminum foil. They were amazing!! Thank you!!
Wow, Bruce! That sounds like a delicious creole/cajun BBQ sauce – sweet and sassy! I am going to have to try that out! Thank you for sharing! I’m so glad you enjoyed the ribs.
Was that in addition to the molasses? Did this make it really sweet bbq sauce?
OK. I’ve enjoyed trying all different ways to cook my ribs and I tried this recipe exactly as is today. DELICIOUS!! I was a little hesitant about the sauce, but once it was in the oven roasting for so long, it was amazing. This is definitely a keeper! Thank you for sharing!
How might you change cooking times for boneless ribs?
Hi Joella,
I have never tried the boneless ribs for this particular recipe. My biggest fear is that you may find them dry as they have less fat and connectve tissue to break down which keeps the bone-in variety more moist. Best thing to do when experimenting like this is to go by the internal temperature. I use a meat thermometer for this – I have two kinds, the regular one you may already have for quick testing meat and an electronic one that goes in the oven inserted into the center of the meat and monitors the temperature throughout the cooking time.
If I had to fathom a ball-park guess, I’d say to start checking the internal temperature at about 2 1/2 hours. In addition, I would cover your ribs with foil during the first 90-minute bake to hold in some of the moisture and uncover them only during the last hour for carmalizing the sauce.
Going to be making this today! Do you start bone-side up or down when you bake?
Hi Brent,
Great question. I usually start with bone side down (fat, if any, side up). In the dutch oven version, I start fat side down so it gets super heated in the enamel coated cast iron pan. For this recipe, I feel it’s more like how I would cook them low and low in the smoker. I hope this helps! I hope you enjoy them!
hey can i sub the ground mustard for actual mustard? if so, how much?
Prepared mustard has a much stronger flavor than ground dry mustard. That said, you’d have to go by taste starting with maybe 1/2 teaspoon and working up in increments intil you hit a flavor you enjoy. Alternatively, you could omit the ground mustard (or prepared mustard) altogether and see how you like the flavor of that as well.
I love country style ribs but they sometimes come out tough for me. I’m so happy to have come across your recipe. The ribs really did come out tender and juicy. THey layers of goey caramelized sauce were amazing. Keep up the great work!
Thanks, Andi. That’s so kind of you to say – I’m so happy you enjoyed them.
This recipe is absolutely delicious. I made these for a birthday dinner for a crowd of people. They take some time to slow roast but it’s mostly hands-off leaving me to be able to go about preparing the appetizer and sides. They were a raging success and the 2 ribs per person rule you shared was spot on for my group of hungry guests. I used my favorite bottled sauce but next time I am going to give your sauce a try. Thanks for sharing!
When basting, am I basting for an additional 3 hours, or am a baking for 90 and basting for 90?
Hi Amy,
It’s 90min and 90min. I changed to wording to make this more clear. Thank you for taking the time to ask! I hope you enjoy.
So I altered the recipe a little and just straight cooked these covered for two hours and then drained and basted them. Finished cooking the last hour uncovered to caramelize the sauce. Absolutely tender and amazing.
Sounds great. I will add that to the recipe notes, Ray. So glad you enjoyed them.
My first attempt at your recipe will be ready soon. They look good already. I will let you know….
These are great as written! The 2nd time I made them I used 1/2 tsp Hickory Smoked Salt (to replace the regular salt) and 1/2 tsp onion salt. YUM!!
Do you cook the ribs covered or uncovered?
I cook them uncovered. You may cover them if you like but the sauce will not caramelize in the same way. The sauce keeps them moist and juicy.
Do you cover these at any point during the cooking process?
I do not usually cover them but you can if you like. The sauce will not caramelize in the same way. The basting and turning keeps them moist.
I really couldn’t believe how tender these came out.
We just picked up some giant beef ribs, do you think I can prepare them according to this recipe?
Hi August, I believe that you can and that the cooking times will be similar.
Yes. We like this for beef ribs too.
I have never had such tender country style ribs. They can usually be quite dry.
Thank you, Felicia. I am so glad you liked it.
Looks tasty
Thanks!
Sounds wonderful. Do you have any recipes for crock pot ribs?
i do!. Two, actually. Here’s my favorite http://kitchendreaming.com/crock-pot-barbecue-ribs/
These look delicious. What kind of BBQ sauce did you use?
I used my Spicy barbecue sauce . It’s my favorite.
My first attempt following the receipt. I used a commercial sauce and poured the fat off as suggested.
Hi Dan – I have not run into a problem with the ribs being dry. This can happen though if the ribs are boneless or possibly when cut closer to the loin end of the pig as opposed to the shoulder end – in which case, I would cover the ribs in between basting and then just caramelize the sauce at the end of the cooking time under the broiler for a minute or two.
Dan, when you turn them over for the last basting and baking see if they are super tender. If so then I would stop at about 10-15 mins and place them under the broiler for about 2 mins. That is how I make mine following this recipe. (FYI, this is an amazing recipe. I have to cook these for my family almost once every week.)