Smoked Country Style Ribs
On July 11, 2023 (Updated September 26, 2023)
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These Smoked Country Style Ribs are the perfect Sunday dinner when you’re looking for something delicious and comforting to feed your family. The melt-in-your-mouth, rich pork ribs will knock your socks off with big smoky flavor.
What are Country Style Ribs?
Despite their name, country style pork ribs do not actually contain any rib bones. They are cut from the pork shoulder, and most packages have at least a few pieces with bone (from the shoulder blade) in them. They are meatier than other rib cuts, so you’ll end up with lots of tasty meat with fewer bones to discard! Country style pork ribs are best when cooked low and slow to a high internal temperature to break down the tough connective tissue and make them super tender.
You know you’ve cooked these ribs right when they melt in your mouth and taste really rich. Another awesome bonus of smoking country style ribs is that they are super affordable and go on sale all the time. This makes for an economical family meal with tons of flavor (that you can eat for leftovers days after as well!).
Smoked Country Style Pork Ribs
Growing up, I could guarantee a meal of country style pork ribs was often on the table for Sunday dinner. The only difference was that my mom baked them from start to finish in the braising liquid instead of on a smoker. Since I’m a fan of all things grilled and smoked, I just had to put my smoky spin on these ribs. Behold the most delicious recipe for smoked country style ribs you’ll ever have!
My recipe for smoked country style pork ribs is sweet from my Hey Grill Hey Rib Rub (you can purchase this from the Hey Grill Hey Store!), apple juice and BBQ sauce, and smoky/savory from cooking on the smoker and rendering down with sliced onions.
These ribs are delicious shredded on buns for sandwiches or served with mashed potatoes or rice. Simply spoon that tasty BBQ sauce braising liquid over the top for a killer flavor!
How to Smoke Country Style Ribs
Ready to smoke the best country style ribs of your life? Here’s what you’ll need to do to get these ribs smoked to perfection:
- Preheat the grill. Get the smoker running at 250 degrees F with apple, cherry, or oak wood. You can also use any wood you have on hand and experiment with different flavors.
- Prep the ribs. Wipe down the ribs with a paper towel and remove any bone fragments. Drizzle the ribs with olive oil and season on all sides with Rib Rub or your favorite BBQ rub. My Best Sweet Rub tastes great on these ribs as well.
- Smoke! Place the seasoned ribs directly on the grill grates, and smoke for 4 hours (or until the ribs reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F). Remove them from the grill.
- Braise and finish smoking. Place onions, ribs, BBQ sauce, and apple juice in a disposable aluminum pan or 12″ cast iron skillet, and return to the smoker for another 2-3 hours (or until the internal temperature of the ribs reaches 200 degrees F).
- Rest and serve. Rest the ribs for 15 minutes and serve! You can serve them with extra BBQ sauce or braising liquid. These taste simply amazing with my Smoked Mashed Potatoes!
How Long to Smoke Country Style Ribs
With your smoker preheated to 250 degrees F, you can expect these ribs to take approximately 6-7 hours to fully cook. As always, make sure you go by internal temperature and not by time. Make sure you have a reliable meat thermometer on hand and check the ribs as you near the 5-hour mark to know when to remove them from the smoke.
Allow yourself a couple of hours of leeway in case your meat is done earlier or later than you anticipate. Meat is done when it’s done, and each cook is going to be different than the last. Always give yourself some leeway when smoking meats. Finally, keep an eye on that temperature, and you’ll be golden!
More Smoked Pork Ribs Recipes
If you loved this recipe for smoked country style ribs, you’ll go gaga over my other smoked rib recipes. Check out a few of my favorites below. If you need more recipe inspiration, head to Hey Grill Hey’s blogroll.
Smoked Country Style Ribs Recipe
Follow the recipe, and I’ll teach you the simple steps to making your own country style ribs at home. If you’re looking for the ultimate way to help you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a backyard BBQ hero, join my members-only group The Grill Squad for full access to all my meat, rubs, sauces, and meat buying masterclasses, podcasts, and so much more.
This post was originally published in August 2020. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
Smoked Country Style Ribs
Video
Ingredients
- 3 pounds country style pork ribs
- 2 Tablespoons Hey Grill Hey Rib Rub or Hey Grill Hey Sweet Rub
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion sliced
- 1 cup Everything BBQ Sauce or your favorite BBQ sauce
- 1 cup apple juice
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker. Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees F with your favorite hardwood. I recommend apple, cherry, or oak for this recipe.
- Prep the ribs. Remove the pork ribs from the packaging and wipe down with a paper towel to remove any bone fragments from the cutting process. Drizzle the ribs with the olive oil and season on all sides with Rib Rub, Sweet Rub, or your favorite BBQ seasoning.
- Smoke the ribs. Place the seasoned ribs directly on the grill grates, close the lid, and smoke for approximately 4 hours or until the ribs reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F and the ribs have a rich mahogany color.
- Prepare the braising liquid. Spread the sliced onions in a single layer into the bottom of a disposable aluminum pan or a 12 inch cast iron skillet. Top the onions with the smoked country style ribs and drizzle the top with the BBQ sauce and apple juice. Cover tightly with foil and return to the smoker.
- Finish smoking the ribs. Close the lid and continue cooking at 250 for another 2-3 hours, or until the ribs reach an internal temperature of at least 200 degrees F and are tender enough to shred with a fork.
- Rest and serve. Remove the pork ribs from the smoker and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving. I recommend serving with rice or mashed potatoes and spooning the rich braising liquid over the finished ribs.
Notes
- Purchase it from the store HERE: Rib Rub
- Make it from scratch using this RECIPE: Best Dry Rub for Ribs
- Purchase it from the store HERE: Sweet Rub
- Make it from scratch using this RECIPE: Best Sweet Rub Recipe
- Purchase it from the store HERE: Everything BBQ Sauce
- Make it from scratch using this similar RECIPE: Kansas City BBQ Sauce
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do I smoke them on the top rack or the bottom rack?
Thanks for the guidelines on how to smoke this difficult protein. I went heavy on the seasoning, and added apple and peeled orange slices to the onion. Delicious and fragrant. Poured a can of sparkling apple juice and half can of coke, drizzled with apple cider vinegar, and topped with bbq sauce. Wow. first time smoking country style ribs, though I make them other ways often. Left braising extra hour. If you have the 8 hour prep and cook time, well worth it. =
I made this yesterday and it turned out great! The onions got nice and caramelized and were delicious on top of the meat, we ate it with fresh corn on the cob and even my kids were asking for seconds. Only thing I did differently was to use apple cider instead of apple juice, since it’s plentiful this time of year and I already had it in my fridge :)I saw some other reviews saying the timing was off – of course I used my meat thermometer too – but your estimates were spot-on for me. ~3.5 hours uncovered to get to 165F, and then another ~2 hours covered to get to 195-200F. Great recipe and thanks!