Country style pork ribs

[Mark V]

Tried country style pork ribs, bone in, today on the PBC. They were on sale. I had not respected this cut enough, first time I ever smoked them, I had done them in the oven 30 years ago. I didn't expect much, so I was pleasantly surprised. No trimming to do, no silverskin. Pieces are easier to work with than racks. You can get seasoning all over each piece. Went with Malcom Reed's suggestions for the most part. An hour and a half on the PBC I was at 130 on the meat (can you call them ribs?), supposed to be 150 but I was pressed on time, that would have been 2 hours for me I think.
Then I put them into a pan with apple juice and bbq sauce (Gates original) and braised for an hour and a half, covered. Got them to 190, you can put temp probes in these they are so big! Glazed them for 5 minutes each side. I was astounded at how good they were. Sure, I have had better spare ribs and baby backs, but I got some great tasting stuff and enough for at least 4 meals for 11 bucks. You should really only need one of these "ribs", but I had to eat two. So, yeah, 8 pieces for 11 bucks.
Where I went wrong had nothing to do with the quality of the cook. When I took them off and braised I decided to not buy a foil pan, I thought I could use a good baking pan I had. That worked, but it stained the pan, and had to use Bar Keeper's Friend to clean it, and I think after another half hour of effort I could get it it to look like new. From now on I use the cheap throwaway pans.
I had also been stuck on competition style bbq sauce, meaning sweet- and Gates is more of a chili, pepper, and celery flavor, I was happy to have that, for my own taste.
So, my take is that this is an incredibly easy and cheap bbq dinner that anyone would be happy with.
Another thing I did was try to use only enough briquettes than I needed in the PBC, which worked fine. But, I tried to save the briquettes that were left by dumping them into a galvanized steel bucket and closing it off. The pieces left are small, I doubt they will burn well for another cook, probably not enough airspace between them anymore. And, maybe I never noticed or because I always let them burn out before, the inside of the PBC was really wet. I don't think that is good. I will burn them out from now on.

[Spinaker]

Good to hear the cook went well. I love Gates sauce. I was there a few months ago, great spot!

You can pick up some of those foil pans a Costco for cheap. I think a 10-pack is like $6.99

I would not even bother saving the left over charcoal. I have never found that briquettes are great for a reload. I always let my PBC burn wide open after I take the food off. Then I burn off any grease, sugar and charcoal left in the barrel. Then I simply tip the barrel over and dump the ash.

[JeffJ]

Yep. If I'm doing a shorter cook I'll put a single layer of unlit coals in the basket and will pour ~40 lit coals on top and go from there. I always let them burn out after I'm done cooking.

[Murdy]

I love country style ribs, and they are about as economical as you can get (along with blade steaks, which are also on my short list--made some yesterday). Beyond BBQ, they were my Grandmother's go-to for pork ribs, sauerkraut, and dumplings.

[jgreen]

Sound like it worked well. I have cooked them without the braise step, and they are OK, but probably better braised. I never save the briquettes either. They just clean the cooker for me.

[Troutman]

I believe what you cooked, from your description, was country ribs which are not technically ribs at all. Typically they are nothing more than shoulder (or butt, another misnomer) that is cut into strips. They normally don't have a bone attached but when they do it's a slice of the shoulder (or scapula) bone. They might also be from the loin end but typically they are cut from the shoulder.

I agree they can be some good but cheap eats. I used to grill them like pork chops. They can be tough so low and slow or even braising works better. Glad to see that you were successful and enjoyed them, again these fall into that category of "cheap meats makes good eats". Next time take a picture or two and share that with us !!!

[IowaGirl]

In my local area, I can find country ribs that are more shoulder meat and others that are more loin meat. I gather some people make a distinction on the name -- country ribs for one type and some other name for the other type -- but they're all called country ribs 'round here. They're cut from the front end of the loin going into the back end of the shoulder. My preference is the shoulder type. I like to watch for a good price and then grill up a big batch, some to eat and some to freeze.

The shoulder cut will be darker meat and tends to be a little more fatty, and works best for low and slow cooking. The loin cuts are lighter in color and often have less fat in the thicker portion. This type needs to be cooked more like pork loin or it gets too dry, IMO. If possible I avoid buying country ribs that have a mix of both types of meat on each rib. I don't see this as often, thankfully -- they're near impossible to cook properly so the meat stays tender and juicy.

I like the bone-in cuts better than boneless, because bone-in seems more juicy, but I've never figured out why.

[Dr ROK]

Bone in portion of butt has more fat in meat than the portion that doesn't have the bone. That's why it's the best

[HawkerXP]

Thanks for the lesson. This may be why the ones I've done were not so good. IowaGirl .

[Murdy]

I worked for butcher shop (quite a while ago) where we'd cut pork sirloins into strips and call them boneless country style ribs

[jecucolo]

Hey Murdy I haven’t seen you post so just thought I would say welcome!

[Murdy]

Thank you much, been enjoying it here!

[Tax Man]

I smoke country style ribs on my PBC occasionally and the family loves them. Same method you used. My wife said to me last time I made them that she would rather have those than baby backs or SLC. They are good.

[lonnie mac]

I'll never forget when this vid went live back in Jan 2010 or so. I have done this recipe so many times since. The sauce alone is fantastic. I have made it and bottled it.

I used to boil my country ribs with salt and pepper. So there's that...

[tdimond]

I know Meathead will revoke my pit membership it I admit it, but:

My mom has a boiled country rib recipe that I like - the key, though, is to take the broth and use it to make rice. The rice is killer with the rendered pork fat.