Country-Style Ribs

Recipe adapted from mountainkitchen.com

Country “ribs” are not ribs at all! This is meat usually from the pork shoulder. This difficult to market cut, which needs quite a bit of time to cook was marketed as a meatier alternative to ribs. These can be slowly cooked in an oven but have an extra boost of flavor when smoked or cooked on a grill. But there is some technique to make them tender.

• 1/8 C brown sugar

• 1 t paprika

• 1 t black pepper

• 1 t sea salt or kosher salt

• 1 t garlic powder

• 1 t onion powder

• ½ t cayenne pepper

• ½ t smoked paprika

• 3lbs country ribs

• 1 ½ C barbecue sauce

Mix brown sugar through cayenne pepper together in a small bowl. Dust the pork ribs with this mixture, ensuring they are all coated. If you think ahead and can let the pork sit overnight with this rub it will be amazing but even coating it twenty minutes before grilling works just fine.

Heat the grill to 350°F, leaving some burners off. Alternatively, bank the coals of a charcoal grill to one side. Place the ribs on the side without heat. Let cook until the meat reaches between 110-120°F, between a half hour to 45 minutes. While the meat is cooking, add your BBQ sauce to a pot and heat up, keeping warm as you wait. Using a cold sauce slows down the cooking by dropping the temperature.

Move the ribs to direct heat and cook, turning to get a nice char on both sides.

When charred to your liking, dunk the meat in the BBQ sauce and move back to indirect heat. Let cook until the meat temps at 145°F. They are ready to eat at this temperature but these will be even better if you leave them to reach higher temperatures, between 160-190°F. The long, slow cooking will melt the collagen and connective tissue, leading to the most tender and juicy country ribs.

Serve with slow cooked greens, grilled corn and/or cornbread, beans, mashed potatoes, coleslaw or other crunchy salads.