Name: Barbecue Pork Country Style Ribs in the Oven
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 lb country-style pork ribs; 1 onion, cut into slices; 5 garlic cloves, halved; 1 tsp mixed peppercorns; 3 bay leaves; 3 1/2 cup barbecue sauce, homemade or store bought

Who needs a grill? You can easily make fall apart tender pork country style ribs in the oven. By boiling them first and finishing in the oven, you cut the cooking time in half! Such a great way to serve up ribs to your friends and family, even on a cold and rainy day.

I do what I can to feed my family of five on a budget. Sometimes we eat all fancy, and sometimes it’s cheap eats. And trying to find a meal that everyone will love on budget, is even more challenging.

One of my favorite “cheap eats” I like to make for my family are fall apart tender pork country style ribs in the oven. When on sale, these ribs can be as cheap as 99¢/pound. For my big family of 5 picky eaters, that’s some good cheap eats. Everyone loves ribs.

And you don’t need a grill to enjoy some barbecue!

What are country style ribs?

First, let’s get something straight. Country style ribs do not come from the ribs. They are boneless strips of pork cut from the pork shoulder. They have some fat to make them tasty, but need to be cooked low and slow to be tender.

Country style ribs can also be cut from the blade end of the pork shoulder. When cut from here, there is some bone in, but you can get it boneless, as well. With some nice fat marbling and cooked properly, they can quite tasty, too.

If not cooked properly, you will end up with some terrible meat that only your dog can chew. Which leads to our next question.

How to cook country style ribs

There are multiply ways you can cook up your ribs. It all depends on how much time you have and what you equipment you have access to. And this oven baked method works beautifully for me and my family.

I like to boil the ribs first before baking in the oven. This helps cut the cooking time in half. You can bake the ribs in the oven from start to finish, but you will need to bake it for 4 hours at around 250-300ºF, adding sauce for the last hour.

By boiling them first, these ribs are done in 2 hours.

Since some flavor is lost during the boiling process, I add flavor the pork rib boil: onions, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves. Add enough water so that the ribs are just covered, bring to boil and then simmer for an hour.

Next you want to transfer the ribs to a baking sheet and slather them with your favorite barbecue sauce, store bought or homemade. I like to add some of the onions from the boil, too.

Then bake covered at 350ºF for 45 minutes and cook an additional 15 minutes with the foil cover off. If you want some crispy bits, put under the broiler for a few minutes. This method works with boneless and bone-in country style ribs.

Final tips on country style ribs

If you are cooking for a party and need to prepare these ribs in advance, you can refrigerate the ribs after boiling them. Just transfer them to a resealable container, cool them to room temperature and refrigerate up to 3 days before baking.

You can also freeze the leftovers! We like using our vacuum sealer and place the cooked ribs in freezer safe bags. You can freeze the ribs for 3 months. To reheat, you can use the microwave or bake the thawed ribs at 350° oven for 30-40 minutes.

Since we’re talking barbecue, let’s talk about all the delicious side dishes you can enjoy with your ribs. Here are some of my favorite eats to enjoy with these ribs:

Mango Coleslaw

Cider Vinegar Potato Salad

Olive Oil Twice Baked Potatoes

Curly Fries with Beer Cheese

Yield: 12