Barbecued Country-Style ribs are both inexpensive and flavorful to grill. With this recipe, you make a simple dry rub, and use half of that rub to make a quick no-cook barbecue sauce. There’s a short brine involved, so that the pork grills nice and juicy. Super simple, super delicious!
Can you believe how much meats are costing nowadays?! With the hot weather we’ve been having, I wanted to grill something. I realized I hadn’t cooked Country-Style Ribs in ages, and they are considerably less expensive than pork ribs or steak.
When I’m searching for ideas, I lean towards America’s Test Kitchen — I own several of their cookbook publications and I have a paid subscription to their website (so worth it). Sure enough, I found a recipe that sounded like it would be just what I was craving.
Country-Style Ribs aren’t ribs at all! They’re blade steaks or chops, cut from the blade portion of the loin’s shoulder end. For this recipe, I bought boneless cuts. Since they were long, I cut them into smaller pieces. I pounded them, between sheets of plastic wrap, to 3/4″ thickness. This helps to ensure that both the white and dark meat will cook evenly. I made a quick salt-brine and put them in the fridge for an hour (no more than that).
There are countless commercially made barbecue sauces that are really good. However, any chance I have to try a homemade barbecue sauce recipe, from scratch, is a fun challenge for me. First, a rub is made with spices and dark brown sugar. Half of the rub becomes a no-cook barbecue sauce by adding ketchup and apple cider vinegar. This took just minutes to make!
I’ve drained the pork and patted them dry. Each piece was dredged into the rub…
…and placed on a rack for the Grill Master (my husband) to do his part.
We debated whether or not to start coals on our Weber grill, but decided that our gas grill would work just fine. Craig cooked one side of the pork, then flipped them and slathered on the homemade barbecue sauce. He used soaked wood chips to add extra flavor. The total grilling time was no more than 15 minutes.
I think this platter of pork ribs looks delicious!
My mouth is watering at the memory of these ribs.
TASTING NOTES: Thanks to my Grill Master Husband, the ribs were perfectly cooked. They were juicy and tender. I will be perfectly honest– my palate is very sensitive to chili powder. I made a mental note that I will cut back on the chili powder by 50% next time, as I found it to be a little overpowering. My husband, and brother, disagreed and thought the spice ratio was just right. (Just be forewarned, if you are as sensitive to “heat” as I am!) I had a few pieces that didn’t have rub on them (I ran out) and really enjoyed the flavor of the sauce, minus the chili powder. Perfection! I’ll definitely be making this recipe again.
Perfect Barbecue Country-Style Ribs
Equipment
- Gas or Charcoal Grill instructions provided for both
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs trimmed
For the brine:
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 cups cold water
For the rub:
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons chili powder NOTE: I'm sensitive to spice, so I cut back on the chili powder to 1 Tablespoon
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- ¾ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the barbecue sauce:
- 6 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- ¼ cup wood chips soaked in water for 15 minutes and drained
Instructions
For the rub/sauce:
- Combine sugar, chili powder, paprika, dry mustard, onion powder, pepper, and cayenne in shallow dish. Transfer half of mixture to bowl and stir in ketchup and vinegar; set aside.
Brine the pork:
- Remove pork from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Dredge pork in remaining spice mixture and transfer to plate. Using large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, wrap soaked chips in foil packet and cut several vent holes in top.
For a charcoal grill:
- Open bottom vent halfway. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Place wood chip packet on coals. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 5 minutes.
For a gas grill:
- Place wood chip packet over primary burner. Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn off other burner(s).
Grill instructions:
- Clean and oil cooking grate. Place pork on cooler side of grill, cover (positioning lid vent over meat if using charcoal), and cook until meat registers 125 degrees, 3 to 5 minutes. Brush pork with ketchup mixture and grill, brushed side down, covered, over hotter side of grill until lightly charred, 2 to 3 minutes. Brush second side of pork, flip so now-brushed side is down, and grill until lightly charred and meat registers 145 degrees, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer pork to platter, tent with foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve.
Notes
My sister lives just up the coast from you, and when I go out to visit, I am amazed at how the names of cuts of meat differ from New England. In fact, some cuts of meat we do not have at all, or they are very hard to find. Anyway, my dumb question is did you flatten them when you placed them on their side or from the top? I think ours are about 1″+ thick so I’m assuming you did it from the top–or does it matter? The ones I find here look nothing like the picture too but are sold as country style ribs! They are much leaner, but I’d rather have yours with the addition of a bit of fat These look great, but then you always send yummy recipes. P.S. I was surprised you no longer list my favorite potato salad my mom used to make and that I now make with a couple of veg additions. If there’s a cookout, it’s always requested. It’s an oldie but goodie, but now I’ll have to write it down for them…lol.
Debbie ~ I take it back!! You do have the potato salad but done in a pressure cooker. Great idea! I always kick myself I didn’t keep my mum’s! She also added the yellow mustard to the mayo too. I add a bit of chopped red pepper for extra crunch. It’s the best! Five stars for both recipes. LOL
LOL 😂
Yes, I pounded them from the top! Glad you found my potato salad. Did you find my Country Style old-fashioned potato salad? It’s my new favorite 😍