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.
Hey, Susie, Hey: I want to make my own pork country style ribs from a whole pork butt, but I don’t know how to cut it up (direction, thickness, etc.) Can you or one of your readers help?Thaks so much.
I made these a few months back and they took about 3.5 hours on the top shelf at 225. I was VERY happy. I do say that it might be wise to revise this as it says about four hours an in a different place 5-7 hours. I get it that it’s a range but if planning for dinner 3 hours one way or the other might be rough. THANKS LOVE THE SITE AND THE RECIPIES!!!
Just a question…Has anybody had success using this recipe with beef ribs?
I use the coffee-based rub on beef and bear but the technique is similar. I used a competition blend of pellets for beef/bear and frutwoiod or apple for pork and chicken. We also did a bear London broil and the reviews from the guests were outstanding. Temps are much different on beef though. Try this: https://heygrillhey.com/smoked-beef-chuck-ribs/
OMG. This was horrible. Followed directions to a T, I have the driest, worst freaking country ribs ever. Send me an address so I can send you the bill. HORRIBLE!
Bill, I’m sorry you overcooked your ribs. Next time I recommend checking the temperature frequently with an external thermometer, as I state many times all over my website that time is just a guideline and temperature is what you should stick to.
HeyGrillHey: I am sorry you have to deal with insults. I love your site and have tried many recipes with astounding success. THANKS!!!!
It’s alright! It’s just a part of life. Thank you so much!
Mine turned out fantastic! So tender, I have yet to have a bad recipe here. My neighbors are jealous of my cooking skills! If they only knew.
Sure, blame your failure on someone else.
Going to try this verbatim the first time. I’ve smoked them about every way possible but I’m always looking for something new. I like the idea of the onions and sealing with foil. I’ll let you know how my girls like it.
Okay so I bought some random cut stuff from Costco that were like inch and half slices boneless country ribs . I used the temps, it worked out really well. Thank you for being a solid source of smoking! I always add butter, idk if I should or not. Hey grill, hey is outstanding!
Thank you for the idea! I used apple beer instead of juice. Smoked em for 3hrs at 225. Turned smoker to 250 for 2hrs and got em up to 190. 5 hrs total. Charred em bit with some BBQ sauce. Best country ribs I’ve ever cooked.
Looks like you used boneless. I’m hoping the process works well for bone in as that is what I picked up. Need this to work on a cool, cloudy and rainy July 4.
Delicious. I popped these on my grilla pellet smoker and let ‘em ride for 4 hrs prior to braising.I’d likely dial that one back to 3 hours next time as they were a little on the tough side but the flavor was spot on.
Just made for some friends and I. Delicious! They did cook up a bit faster than planned so I would dial back the temp next time but they are terrific.