Cooking these boneless country-style pork ribs in the Dutch Oven is my favorite method to cook these ribs. They become so tender that they break apart just by touching them with a fork.
Country-Style Ribs vs Other Ribs
I have to admit I didn’t know that country style ribs were different that other ribs because they come from the shoulder area, right from where the ribcage meets the shoulder blade. They’re more meaty than other types of ribs, usually they’re cooked braised, smoked or grilled.
If you like pork chops instead, feel free to check out my skillet pork chops recipe with mint chimichurri.
Cooking in the Dutch Oven
I love cooking in the Dutch Oven. In my opinion, you get the benefits of a slow cooker but in less time. Cleaning is a breeze too! Most times, I can saute then bake in the same pot which is always a plus in my book.
I love using Dutch Oven for meats that can be tough to cook, it makes them so tender that you can break them apart by just using a fork.
Country-style boneless ribs come out perfect in the Dutch oven, I usually season them, sear them on all sides as best as I can (work in batches if you have to). Then I bake them for over two hours, most of it with lid on, just last half an hour with lid off. And the ribs come out perfect!!
Dry Rub for Ribs
I make my own dry rub for the ribs. It can vary sometimes by what I have in my spice cabinet, but in general I try to stick to the below formula.
I use one tablespoon garlic salt, one tablespoon oregano, one tablespoon parsley. Then 1 teaspoon each of black pepper, paprika and cumin.
Once you have all ingredients together in a plate, use a spoon to mix them into a dry rub. Nothing fancy needed for this step.
Then rub the mix over the country-style ribs and thoroughly cover all sides.
Sonila’s Tips and Notes for this Recipe
Here are some tips for this recipe.
- If you don’t have garlic salt, use sea salt and garlic powder instead, even minced garlic would work.
- You can add spicy flavors like chili powder, cayenne, creole seasonings etc for added kick to the dry rub.
- Dry thyme and rosemary add Mediterranean flavors if you want to change the flavor profile.
- Pick your favorite BBQ sauce to coat the ribs thoroughly towards the end.
- Don’t overcrowd the Dutch Oven.
Country-Style Pork Ribs in the Dutch Oven
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lbs country-style ribs
- 1 tbsp garlic salt
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp parsley
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- bbq sauce
Instructions
- Mix garlic salt, oregano, parsley, cumin, paprika and black pepper into a dry rub.
- Rub the country-style ribs on all sides with the dry rub you mixed.
- Place Dutch oven over stovetop, medium heat and add olive oil. Once oil is shimmery, place ribs in the pot. Sear them as best as you can on all sides.
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cover Dutch oven with a lid and place it in the oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
- Remove pot from oven, uncover the ribs, brush BBQ sauce over them liberally.
- Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Place the ribs back in the oven, this time uncovered for another 30 minutes.
- Remove from pot and place ribs in a platter, they might break apart or you can cut them yourself with a fork to create smaller portion. Use a brush to cover them with more BBQ sauce before serving. Enjoy:).
Notes
- Serve the ribs with coleslaw, mashed potatoes or rice and maybe a salad or other favorite side dish.
- If you have leftovers, store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They should be good for about 3 days or so.
- If you have to cook a bigger quantity of ribs, sear them in batches not all together. You can however pile them them in the Dutch oven. Maybe change the order halfway through baking. You’ll need to change cooking time too if you pile them up so check often after the 2 hr mark every 15 minutes or so.
Nutrition Label
Nutrition
It’s hard to say since they come in different sizes. The ones I cooked this time were 3 country style ribs that weighed about 2 pounds and this was big enough to feed a family of four. I cut the ribs in half once cooked for serving and coated them in more BBQ sauce.
My method of making the country-style ribs tender is to cook them for about 1 hour and 45 minutes covered in the Dutch Oven at 325 degrees F and then uncovered for another 30 minutes. I do sear them before I bake them to seal in the juices.
If you would like to save this recipe for later, please save the below image to your boards in Pinterest. Let me know in comments if you have a question or feedback from making the recipe:). Feel free to tag me in social media with pictures of your rendition of this recipe.
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More Recipes from My Blog
Looking for more recipes? You might like the following.
- Cast Iron Lamb Chops
- Dutch Oven Lamb and Rice
- Tarragon Chicken in White Wine Sauce
- Lettuce and Dill Salad
Rainy
Very much enjoyed the ribs but perhaps cooking the ribs in the oven for an hour and 45 minutes without any liquid is not a good idea. The ribs were too browned on the bottom. I added quite a bit of bbq sauce thinned with water and baked for another 45 minutes. Did I miss something?
Sonila
Hi Rainy, thank you for your comment and I am glad you liked the ribs. I just did a longer video for this recipe and hopefully it’ll answer some of the questions. I plant to upload it this week as it takes few hours to edit it together. The country style ribs release a lot of liquid and grease and if using a baking dish like the one in the pictures, plus covering with aluminum foil, I personally didn’t feel like it need it any extra liquid. It’s hard to account for every oven, baking dish and variation but feel free to adjust the recipe for what works for you. Thank you again!
Elizabeth Aubin
Thank you for a fantastic and easy recipe. Followed as written the first time and they were tender and delicious. Will try Kathleen’s suggestion next time.
Sonila
Thank you so much Elizabeth:). I am happy you liked it and I really appreciate your comment. I love trying different variations too!
Kathleen Zinkovitch
The rub is excellent, easy recipe. I changed the recipe a little, I added barbecue sauce dilute with water in the Dutch oven. I cooked the ribs at 325 for an hour covered, then uncovered the last hour to lessen the liquid barbecue sauce..delicious and tender..thank you
Sonila
Thank you so much Kathleen, I really appreciate your comment and I’m so happy you gave the recipe a try. Great modification!