Smoking country style pork ribs in masterbuilt electric smoker

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Have you ever smoked boneless country style pork ribs? A lot of people cook country style ribs in the oven, or in their crock pot. I smoke country style pork ribs on the Traeger, and my wife says they’re one of the best things I’ve ever made. If it gets her seal of approval, you know I’m doing something right!

What are Boneless Country Style Pork Ribs?

Well first, they’re delicious.

They are strips of meat from a pork shoulder. They’re typically about 6-8 inches in length, and about 2 inches wide and 2 inches thick. There is a significant amount of marbling, and when they are cooked, they taste very similar to ribs. If you’re still not sure what they are, check out the Kitchn guide on what country style pork ribs are.

If you love bbq ribs, but don’t love hassling with bones, you’ve gotta try smoking boneless country-style pork ribs. This recipe is quickly becoming one of the most popular recipes on the site, and for good reason. Take a look at the comments if you’re on the fence!

Country Style Pork Rib Prep

One of the reasons I like making these is because the prep is simple. I try to trim up each piece to about 4 inch long strips and cut away any stray pieces of meat or fat hanging off of the pieces.

After each piece is trimmed, place them on a foil-lined cookie sheet or in a disposable pan and rub them down with some olive oil. Follow the olive oil up with your favorite bbq rub. I used my Pork Sweet Rub on these country-style ribs and it was perfect.

Set up your smoker to cook at 225 degrees. For this recipe, I used oak pellets, which are what I use most often, but Apple or Cherry pellets work well with pork too.

Place each of the pork ribs on a grill rack, and place it in your smoker.

How Long Does it Take to Smoke Country Style Pork Ribs?

Good question. I’m gonna answer, but bear with me. After placing the pork ribs in your smoker, setup your Thermoworks Smoke to monitor the internal temp of one of the ribs. If you have hot spots in your grill, monitor the temp of the rib closest to the hot spot.

Set an alarm on the Smoke to go off when the internal temp hits 155 degrees. It took my boneless country-style pork ribs about 4 hours to hit this temp. Spritz the ribs with apple juice every hour until they get up to temp.

When the country style ribs hit 155, remove them from the smoker, and use tongs to place each of them in a large roasting dish or disposable pan. Add a half cup of apple juice to the roaster, along with four one tablespoon pats of butter. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil, and return the ribs to your smoker. Push your smoke probe through the foil into one of the ribs, and set up the temp alarm to go off at 180 degrees.

Adjust the temp of your smoker to 275, and let those ribs cook. It will take about 60 minutes for them to come up to temp. When the smoke alarm goes off spot check them with your Thermapen, and if they are all up to temp, remove the ribs from the roasting pan and place them back on the grill rack and return to the smoker.

Brush each of the ribs with your favorite bbq sauce, and let them cook at 275 until the internal temp of the ribs hits 195.

How Do I Eat These Ribs?

You can definitely eat these with your hands, but I prefer to use a knife and slice each bite thin. The flavor profile is really unique. They taste like ribs, but since we were able to add plenty of rub all the way around each piece, you get a lot of great flavors too. Anytime you can add more bark, and extra moisture/fat/meat, I’m in!

I really enjoyed smoking these ribs. They’re super affordable, easy to prepare and smoke, and like I said in the beginning, my wife loved them. Give this recipe a try, and let me know what you think!

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

Total Time: 6 hours 15 minutes

Smoked Country Style Ribs are my wife's favorite smoked meat recipe. They're easy to make, super affordable, and you get ample amounts of barbecue bark in every single bite.

Ingredients

• Country Style Pork Ribs
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp bbq rub
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 cup apple juice
• Cherry Pellets

Instructions

1. Trim up each piece to about 4 inch long strips, and cut away any stray pieces of meat or fat hanging off of the pieces.
2. Place them on a foil lined cookie sheet or in a disposable pan and rub them down with the olive oil. Follow the olive oil up with your favorite bbq rub.
3. Setup your smoker to cook at 225 degrees.
4. After placing the pork ribs in your smoker, set up your Thermoworks Smoke to monitor the internal temp of one of the ribs.
5. Set an alarm on the Smoke to go off when the internal temp hits 155 degrees. It took my boneless country style pork ribs about 4 hours to hit this temp. Spritz the ribs with apple juice every hour until they get up to temp.
6. When the ribs hit 155, remove them from the smoker, and use tongs to place each of them in a large roasting dish or disposable pan.
7. Add a half cup of apple juice to the roaster, along with four one tablespoon pats of butter. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil, and return the ribs to your smoker. Push your smoke probe through the foil into one of the ribs, and set up the temp alarm to go off at 180 degrees.
8. Adjust the temp of your smoker to 275, and let those ribs cook. It will take about 60 minutes for them to come up to temp. When the smoke alarm goes off spot check them with your Thermapen, and if they are all up to temp, remove the ribs from the roasting pan and place them back on the grill rack and return to the smoker.
9. Brush each of the ribs with your favorite bbq sauce, and let them cook at 275 until the internal temp of the ribs hits 195.

Notes

Temp is key on these. Pay close attention to the internal temp and if they finish early cover in foil and let them rest in a high quality cooler like a Yeti. They'll hold temp for a few hours.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

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