Country Style BBQ Ribs – No barbecue grill needed to make these tender, juicy,” fall -off –the- bone” BBQ Country Style Ribs. Let the Crockpot (or the Instant Pot) do the work for you. No fuss or mess, just delicious summer BBQ flavor any time of the year.
You don’t need to fire up the BBQ in order to have melt-in-your-mouth BBQ ribs. These ribs start with a dry rub, with just the right balance of sweet and spicy , and your favorite BBQ sauce. They are slow cooked (or pressure cooked) assuring the juiciest most tender ribs, and finished off with a few minutes in the oven for some browning/caramelizing that makes for that perfect barbecue sticky glaze. Ideal for any summer party, busy weeknights, or anytime you have a craving for insanely good BBQ ribs!
What are Country -Style Ribs?
Country- style ribs, sometimes called “Pork Loin Country Style Ribs” don’t actually come from the ribs, they are cut from the blade end of the pork loin close to the shoulder. They have a similar taste and texture to traditional ribs. You’ll find them sold as bone-in or boneless, either will work for this recipe.
Why I love Country -Style Pork Ribs
They have more meat! (than baby back ribs) and are easier to eat (in my opinion) . No bib wearing or finger licking necessary (unless you want to), a fork works perfectly!
Don’t Skip the Final Step ( It’s optional but recommended)
To take these BBQ Country Ribs to the next level, I highly recommend finishing the cooking process by placing ribs (with some extra BBQ sauce) in the oven for about 5-8 minutes. The sauce will become a bit caramelized and the edges of the ribs will get a nice char. Oh so perfect!
- 2 ½-3 lbs. Country Style Pork Ribs (sometimes called “Pork Loin Country Style Ribs”) bone-in or boneless
- ¾ cup beef broth (or water)
- ½ cup BBQ sauce, divided (plus more for serving)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- Combine the dry rub ingredients (brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper and cayenne) together in a small bowl. Apply rub evenly on both sides of the meat. Lightly pat so dry rub sticks to meat. Set aside.
- Pour beef broth into the Crockpot and add the Country Style Ribs. Pour the BBQ over the ribs to cover meat.
- Cover Crockpot and let cook on high 3-4 hours or low for 6-7 hours.
- About 10-15 minutes before you are ready to serve ribs preheat oven to broil (400 F ) and line a sheet pan with aluminum foil or a silicone baking mat.
- Open the Crockpot and transfer the ribs (carefully with tongs or a slotted spoon, the meat will be very tender) to the prepared sheet pan, discarding any cooking liquid.
- Brush the top side of ribs with BBQ sauce and broil for about 8- 10 minutes, until the ribs have become browned and BBQ sauce is caramelized.
- Combine the dry rub ingredients (brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper and cayenne) together in a small bowl. Apply rub evenly on both sides of the meat. Lightly pat so dry rub sticks to meat. Set aside.
- Pour beef broth into the Instant Pot and add1/4 cup BBQ sauce. Mix thoroughly. Add the Country Style Ribs to the bottom of the pot (trying not to overlap too much). Pour the remaining ¼ cup BBQ sauce over the ribs to cover meat.
- Secure/Lock the lid and set the Pressure release to sealing. Select the Manual setting and set the cooking time to 30 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. While the pressure is releasing, preheat oven to broil (400 F ) and line a sheet pan with aluminum foil or a silicone baking mat.
- After pressure has released for 10 minutes, move the Pressure Release to Venting/Quick Release and allow any remaining steam to be removed. Open the Instant Pot and transfer the ribs (carefully with tongs or a slotted spoon, the meat will be very tender) to the prepared sheet pan, discarding any cooking liquid.
- Brush the top side of the ribs with BBQ sauce and broil for about 5- 8 minutes, until the ribs have become browned and BBQ sauce is caramelized.
- recipe adapted from The Salty Marshmallow Instant Pot Country Style Ribs
The original photos (eeks!)
Will this work with country style Beef Ribs ?
I’m trying these today. They sound great. I’ve never been a “rib person” but my honey is, so I am looking forward to his reaction!
Thanks Melissa! Hope you and your “honey” enjoyed!
How do you apply rub to frozen ribs or any meat
Hi Carla…If you’re planning on making this with frozen ribs I’d skip the dry rub or you could add the dry rub spices to the water and BBQ sauce combo at the bottom of the pot before placing the ribs in the pot.
I had just a little over three lbs of boneless ribs and I needed more dry rub than the recipe called for. I’s suggest doing 1.5 times the recipe if you have a larger batch.
Thanks Stephanie! I’m with you on that one…more rub is never a bad thing!
Will these still be good (slow cooker version) if I skip the oven part? I won’t have access to an oven.
Emily, absolutely! They are fully cooked and ready to go right out of the slow cooker. Finishing them in the oven just gives them a few crispy edges but it’s an optional step. Hope you enjoy!
How long in the instant pot if the ribs are frozen?
Gerry, I haven’t made this recipe with frozen ribs before so I can’t say for sure. I’ll give it a try and let you know shortly … oh darn, ribs for dinner again 🙂 I’m thinking 35-40 minutes but will let you know.
Using Instant Pot when do you use the dry rub?
Valerie…you’ll use the dry rub on the ribs BEFORE placing them in the Instant Pot. The specifics for the Instant Pot version are below the directions for the Crockpot version. Hope you enjoy!
The recipe below is identical to yours but theirs calls for 45 min in the Instant Pot and yours says 30 min. An extra 15 minutes in a pressure cooker is a lot.
https://thesaltymarshmallow.com/instant-pot-country-style-ribs/#wprm-recipe-container-3251
Hi Bill.. Yes, you are correct the cooking time is different. I’m opting to cook the ribs in the Instant Pot for 30 minutes and then finish the cooking process (with some additional BBQ sauce) under the broiler for 5-8 minutes so the edges of the pork get that nice crispy char. If you don’t want to finish the ribs in the oven, you can increase the cooking time in the Instant Pot. You’ll see in the photos that cooking for 30 minutes in the Instant Pot + broiling for 5-8 minutes = “fall off the bone” juicy tender ribs. Hope you enjoy! and would love to hear how you decide to cook them.
I just did the 30 minutes in my Instant Pot Ultra (this is the very first thing I ever tried to make in an Instant Pot, actually). I didn’t realize the broiling was a required part of the recipe. But when we took them out after a 20 minute natural release, they were obviously done. We were really hungry so we skipped the broiling step entirely, and they were still super tender and delicious. So I guess it’s optional, and the cooking time still seems fine. I think another 15 minutes would be excessive.
Hi Jennifer- I’m happy to hear you liked the ribs! This was also the first thing I made in the Instant Pot too. Broiling isn’t required it’s definitely an optional step. Appreciate your thoughts on the cooking time! and I agree…unless the ribs are extra thick 30 minutes would yield super tender and fully cooked ribs. Finishing them off under the broiler chars the edges of the pork a bit but ribs are still super juicy and tender. Depending on my mood ( and hunger level) I cook them both ways. Thanks for taking the time to let me know your thoughts! it means a lot!