How To Cook Country Style Ribs in the Oven

Saucy, tender, irresistible Country Style BBQ Ribs are a dinner favorite year-round. Best of all, you can make country style ribs in the oven for an easy weeknight meal.

What Exactly Are Country-Style Pork Ribs?

Country-style ribs aren’t really ribs at all. Did you know that? They are typically thick strips cut from pork shoulder – specifically from the fatty, muscular section of the shoulder blade near the loin. You may also see them labeled in stores as pork shoulder country-style ribs.

When country-style ribs have a bone in them, it is not rib bone but the scapula or shoulder blade. These ribs are typically fattier than traditional ribs on the bone (YAY for more flavor!) and they are so very tender and tasty.

They’re still called ribs, however, because they are quite similar to ribs in appearance, flavor, and texture. The thing that makes country-style ribs so popular is both how simple they are to cook and the fact they’re meatier than traditional ribs.

You will get a lot more bang for the buck with country-style ribs than with a traditional rack of ribs. For feeding my family, this is my go-to option.

How To Cook Country Style Ribs

Country-style ribs are a personal favorite. What’s not to love about these juicy, easy to prepare pork ribs? There are a number of ways they can be cooked.

You can grill them, bake them, roast them slow, pretty much anything works, BUT there is a secret. You need to either give them plenty of time and steam in the oven or boil them prior to dropping them on the grill. You can even prep them in the crock-pot.

I used to think this particular cut of meat was just destined to be tough until the butcher explained that you really must boil or steam the ribs before finishing them off on the grill or in the oven. Easy enough to make now and we love them.

Country Style Ribs In The Oven

The oven is typically my go-to method, though I’ve certainly grilled them often enough in the past. While the method below appears long, it isn’t remotely complicated.

You’re really just going to steam them first at low temp (cover tightly with foil and bake for a couple of hours) until they’re tender. You will be able to pull them apart at this point.

Then you’ll just slather them in sauce and bake them a while longer. Flip them, coat them again, crank that oven heat up high and broil until they’re sticky and a bit caramelized.

We love this Tangy Memphis Barbecue Sauce for country-style ribs, but feel free to use any store-bought or homemade barbecue sauce that you love.

It’s a really easy dinner, as long as you’re home for a bit. Country-style ribs require very little hands-on time. We typically double the recipe and plan on great leftovers for a couple of nights.

Once you’ve learned how simple it is to make these ribs in the oven, you’ll want to try these Baked Ribs with Beans too.

How To Cook Country Style Ribs In The Oven

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Place the ribs on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Cover the pan tightly with foil.
2. Bake for 2 hours. Carefully remove the pan from the oven and use caution opening the foil – there will be very hot liquids in the bottom of the pan and it will be steaming.
3. Check the ribs with a fork or set of tongs, they should be tender, and able to be pulled apart. If the ribs are still tough, tightly cover again and return the pan to the oven for an additional 30 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and transfer to a dry baking sheet. (If you don’t have a second baking sheet, transfer to a baking dish, drain the liquids from the sheet pan, and return the ribs to the same baking sheet.)
5. Coat the mostly-cooked ribs with barbecue sauce and return to the oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes, turn the ribs over, and brush with additional barbecue sauce. Bake an additional 20 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and set the oven temperature to BROIL. Turn the ribs once more, brush generously with additional barbecue sauce. Return to the oven and broil for about 5 minutes, watching closely to avoid burning.
7. Remove from oven and let rest 5-10 minutes. Serve with additional barbecue sauce.

What to Serve with Country Style Ribs

Sweet, tangy, crunchy Asian Ramen Noodle Salad is a great side dish for summer potlucks, barbecues, or to serve with your dinner any day of the week.

Sweet and tender corn simmers in a rich cream sauce to make Crock Pot Creamed Corn. It is an unforgettable side dish like no other creamed corn I’ve ever tasted.

Creamy deviled egg filling creates the dressing that coats each bite of this Deviled Egg Potato Salad. Chunks of potato and hard-boiled eggs are tossed with the dressing to make the ultimate potato salad for anyone who loves deviled eggs.

Jalapeno Corn Coleslaw has turned out to be a terrific surprise flavor combination for so many people. The spicy jalapeno adds an amazing depth of flavor to the coleslaw and we truly love it.

This Spinach Pasta Salad is a tangy, garlicky, peppery pasta salad that I can’t seem to stop making and eating on repeat. The combination of crisp, fresh spinach with the chewy pasta and the tangy dressing is simply irresistible.