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    🏠Home » Recipes » Pork Recipes

    How to Grill Boneless Country Style Pork Ribs

    May 22, 2020 | Last Updated Mar 30, 2022 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.55 from 98 votes

    Learn how to grill boneless country-style pork ribs with these easy to follow step by step photo instructions. Great taste with minimal work.

    picture of a done boneless pork rib slab on a blue plate

    Table of Contents
    • 🐖What are Boneless Country Style Pork Ribs?
    • 🧂To Brine or Not
    • ♨️The Grill
    • 🌡️⏰Temperature and Time
    • 🥣Rub and Sauce
    • 📖Boneless Country Style Pork Rib Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • 📖Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    Introduction

    Boneless country-style ribs are one of my favorite "cooking for two" meals. It is about the right size with two large serving or 3-4 more reasonable size servings.

    They are also cheap, cook rapidly, and freeze well. And finally, they are lean and healthy with great taste.

    It is leaner than lots of pork (healthier). And they can be prepared in many ways (grill, stovetop, and oven). You just need to know-how.

    My Rating

    My rating system. Great 5 out of 5

    Low 5 or high 4. Great taste and the drying was minimal.

    🐖What are Boneless Country Style Pork Ribs?

    Graphic of hog with location of Boneless Country Style Pork Ribs/ Image licensed from Fotolia. Copyright by foxysgraphic - Fotolia. Image modified in accordance with the license.
    Image licensed from Fotolia. Copyright by foxysgraphic - Fotolia. Image modified in accordance with the license.

    Boneless country-style pork ribs are not real ribs. They are the tail end of a whole pork loin cut in half and scored to make "ribs." So more a pork chop than real ribs.

    Usually, that scoring is not very deep, so I like to deepen the cut to a little over half the thickness of the meat. I consider this to be more surface area for seasoning.

    Unfortunately, there are also "bone-in country-style pork ribs," which may get confused with the boneless variety. The boneless are the tail end of a pork loin and are lean while the bone-in variety is more like a slice of pork shoulder.

    The bone-in ribs need to be cooked more like a pork shoulder (AKA pork butt), meaning low and slow while the boneless ribs are lean and are usually cooked more rapidly.

    If you have the bone-in country-style ribs, check out Slow Grilled Bone-In Country Style Pork Ribs.

    🧂To Brine or Not

    These "ribs," because they are lean, can tend to dry if overcooked. But if not overcooked, they can stay moist like a nice pork chop.

    A brining would fix some of the moisture issues and add taste depending on the brine. But this would add hours and take it out of the weeknight recipe class.

    A suggested brine would be 2 tablespoon table salt 1 tablespoon sugar and 2 cups of water for 1-4 hours. Other spices like allspice, garlic, pepper, etc. can be added.

    I will be continuing to do these ribs by this method and brine if it fits my schedule.

    ♨️The Grill

    These are a lean cut, unlike normal ribs, so low and slow is not recommended. I suggest a nice medium grill temperature of about 450° surface temperature. You can use a higher temperature, but they will dry out more.

    To learn about controlling the surface temperature of your grill, please see A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill.

    🌡️⏰Temperature and Time

    For many years, due to the fear of trichinosis, which was a parasite found in undercooked pork, pork was cooked to 170 by common wisdom. However, with modern farming methods, that has not been a risk in the USA for decades.

    The FDA went to a recommendation of 160° for a number of years. Then in 2012, went to the current recommendation of 145° with a 3-minute rest.

    Taste and moisture wise, 145° is correct. There will be a little pink left in the pork at 145°, and if you are like my wife, who wants no pink, you will be more comfortable at 150° or even 155°. Please do not go over 155° for this cut, or it will begin to dry.

    Also, the 145° recommendation is not for ground pork, which is 160°. And cuts like pork butt and ribs like baby back ribs, although safe at 145°, would not be considered done cooking.

    The grilling time is about 20 minutes, depending on the grill, the thickness of the meat, and the final internal temperature you want. As always, cook to a final internal temperature and never by time alone.

    🥣Rub and Sauce

    First, you don't have to use a rub. Since they are so like pork chops, if you have a favorite pork chop recipe, you can adapt it here. But I like to do the "rib" thing.

    I tend to use a premade rub with this recipe since it is all about laziness. So you will see rub from Gate's of Kansas City in the pictures along with their sauce.

    But here is a great homemade rub that I keep around during grilling season. This makes enough for 2 slabs. Cut in half to have less leftover if you want, but I save it for next time.

    8 tablespoons (½ cup) brown sugar
    3 tablespoons kosher salt
    1 tablespoon chili powder
    1 teaspoon black pepper
    1 teaspoon onion powder
    1 teaspoon garlic powder

    What Sauce to Use?

    Again, I tend to use premade out of laziness. I love my Gate's BBQ Sauce from Kansas City, which I buy by the case. Bull's-Eye Original Barbecue Sauce is recommended by CI.

    But if you want the best sauce ever, try my Memphis  BBQ Sauce. 

    📖Boneless Country Style Pork Rib Recipes

    Grilled Boneless Country Style Pork Ribs with Simple Rub

    Grilled Memphis Boneless Country Style Pork Ribs

    30 Minute BBQ Boneless Pork Ribs

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    Grill Recipes, Grilling Techniques, Pork Recipes, Pork Rib Recipes
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    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    boneless ribs with sauce and rub

    Optional: Brine first if you have time. 2 cups water, 1 tablespoon table salt, and 1 tablespoon brown sugar for 1-4 hours in the refrigerator. Rinse well and use a rub without salt.

    clean and oil grill crates

    Clean and oil grill grates, then preheat grill to a grill surface temperature of 450°-500°.

    deepening the cuts on the ribs with a knife on a brown board

    Trim ribs of any excess fat.  Deepen the cuts that are already in the ribs to about 75% through.

    Coat both sides of ribs with a rub of your choice. Be sure to get in the cuts.  Rub in and let rest for 10 minutes while preheating the grill.

    placing slab of boneless ribs over direct heat on a gas grill

    Place over direct heat and close lid. Flip about every 5 minutes and grill until an internal temperature of about 145°-150°. About 20 minutes, depending on the grill and the thickness of the meat.

    brushing boneless ribs with sauce on a grill

    The last few minutes, coat with sauce on both sides and grill until brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

    grilled boneless ribs on blue plate cut
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    📖Recipe

    grilled boneless ribs on a blue plate

    How to Grill Boneless Country Style Pork Ribs

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    Learn how to grill boneless country style pork ribs with these easy to follow step by step photo instruction. Great taste with minimal work.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.55 from 98 votes
    Print Email Text CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 4 servings

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 1 slab boneless country style pork ribs
    • rub of your choice
    • Barbecue sauce of your choice

    Optional brine

    • 2 cups water
    • 1 tablespoon table salt
    • 1 tablespoon brown sugar

    Instructions

    • Optional: Brine first if you have time. 2 cups water, 1 tablespoon table salt, and 1 tablespoon brown sugar for 1-4 hours in the refrigerator. Rinse well and use a rub without salt.
    • Clean and oil grill grates then preheat grill to a grill surface temperature of 450°-500°.
    • Trim ribs of any excess fat. Deepen the cuts that are already in the ribs to about 75% through.
    • Coat both sides of ribs with a rub of your choice. Be sure to get in the cuts. Rub in and let rest for 10 minutes while preheating grill.
    • Place over direct heat and close lid. Flip about every 5 minutes and grill until an internal temperature of about 145°-150°. About 20 minutes depending on grill and the thickness of the meat. Always cook to the final internal temperature and never by time alone.
    • The last few minutes, coat with sauce on both sides and grill until brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

    My Private Notes

    Click here to save your own private notes only you will see. These will print and be saved for your next visit.
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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips:

    1. I remove most/all of the fat pad.
    2. Extend the "rib cuts" to 75%
    3. Brine if you have time. If you brine, use a rub without salt.
    4. Rub and sauce of your choice.
    5. Grill over a medium grill with a surface temperature of 450°.
    6. Do not overcook. 145°-150° is nice.
    7. If you don't have a rib, try this version of 8311. This makes about twice what you need so cut in half or keep the extra for later. Also, if you brine, leave the salt out of the rub.
      ½ cup brown sugar
      3 tablespoon kosher salt
      1 tablespoon chili powder
      1 teaspoon black pepper
      1 teaspoon onion powder
      1 teaspoon garlic powder

    To adjust the recipe size:

    You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

    Nutrition Estimate

    Calories : 229 kcal (11%) | Carbohydrates : 5 g (2%) | Protein : 22 g (44%) | Fat : 13 g (20%) | Saturated Fat : 3 g (15%) | Cholesterol : 82 mg (27%) | Sodium : 290 mg (12%) | Potassium : 387 mg (11%) | Fiber : 1 g (4%) | Sugar : 2 g (2%) | Vitamin A : 97 IU (2%) | Vitamin C : 1 mg (1%) | Calcium : 61 mg (6%) | Iron : 2 mg (11%)
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Main Course
    Cuisine : American

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Editor's Note: Originally Published March 26, 2010. This has been a constant popular post on this blog even though it hasn't been updated for over eight years. The post has been completely rewritten, all photos re-shot, expanded options, and a table of contents to help navigation.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Robin

      May 28, 2021 at 11:41 am

      5 stars
      Wow, these were excellent. Thanks DrDan for all you do. I have tried many of your recipes and haven’t had a bad one yet!

      Reply
    2. Donald

      April 24, 2021 at 5:59 pm

      After reading the recipe and most all the reviews I'm sure looking forward to trying this. I never knew pork could be brined so definitely anxious to give it a try. I wanted to pass along another no# 1 favorite rub I use from Savory Spice Shops, and it's called Team Sweet Mama's Kansas City Rub, I would love to see your review in comparing it to your homemade and the Gates you have suggested. I live in Western NE and this rub originated in Colorado, so it's easy to acquire for when I'm too lazy to make my own, even though I've done pretty well, I find there's nothing better than the professionally made rubs.
      Thanks for this recipe, I will post my review as soon as I get to enjoy it!

      Reply
    3. Thyra

      September 21, 2020 at 8:04 am

      5 stars
      This is a great recipe and my one tweak was my brine—I use pickle juice, as we usually have pickles in the fridge. I’ve used pickle juice to brine all types and cuts of meats—the sour pickle variety, but I’m sure it would work with sweet as well—and there is no pickle taste, just juice ness. I don’t add extra salt as pickle juice has plenty.

      Reply
    4. Michelle

      July 19, 2020 at 6:09 pm

      5 stars
      Finally, a recipe for boneless country style ribs I really love!! Everyone agreed it was the best ever! I did the brining and rub and those who usually use bbq didn’t because it was so delicious! Thank you!

      Reply
    5. Rick

      July 09, 2020 at 12:03 pm

      My great aunt & uncle owned a small, independent meat packing plant when I was growing up and we prepped both the bone-in and "boneless" pork ribs; however, when you ask the person in the meat department at your local supermarket they often don't know that there's a difference, that's why I buy most of my meats at a butcher shop, especially if I need large amounts of meat. That being said, I've found brining pork, chicken or turkey breasts, & lean cuts of beef never fails. As far as cooking style I lean more towards fast and hot initially, low and slow to finish to temp, with a quick hot grill/mop prior to plating. I go to KC every other year and buy 2 cases of assorted local BBQ sauces, Haywood's is my favorite. Love your recipe and have shared it with many newbies to grilling pork, everyone reports success. Keep on sharing.

      Reply
    6. Matt

      May 17, 2020 at 11:08 pm

      5 stars
      Very tasty. The brine made a huge difference from when I’ve cooked these in the past. And using a good rub is a good tick as well! I was a sauce and go guy before reading this and have now learned the errors of my ways. Great recipe!

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        June 05, 2020 at 9:49 pm

        Hi Matt,

        Welcome to the blog.

        I will be doing some of these next week. They are just so good on the grill. I'm on my last bottle of Gates rub. I need to stock up for the summer. I use it when I'm too lazy to mix my own... which is becoming more common.

        Thanks for the note and rating.

        Dan

    7. Raymond J.Grayson

      September 09, 2019 at 1:16 pm

      5 stars
      I recently purchased the top of the line weber grill. It seems that for what I paid for it it should tell me what the surface temperature is. Just learning to use it.

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        September 09, 2019 at 2:24 pm

        Hi Raymond,

        Welcome to the blog.

        I don't know of any grill that includes it. Even the $20,000 Kalamazoo Grills only have useless hood thermometers. Mine is a Weber Summit S-670, so not the top of the line but near there. Just take some time and learn the grill, time well spent.

        I assume you saw my discussion on surface temperature at https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/grill-temperature/

        Thanks for the note and rating. If you have questions, please let me know.

        Dan

      • Jackie Martin

        May 29, 2020 at 11:36 am

        5 stars
        This turned out amazing. My boneless ribs came already cut into separate pieces instead of the whole slab. Followed the same directions and they were the best country ribs I've ever made. The whole family raved about it.

      • Katherine

        June 05, 2020 at 9:25 pm

        5 stars
        This is a great recipe! I was gonna cook a couple hours after I brined the boneless ribs, but ended up grilling them the next evening. So, they were brined for 24 hours. They were super tender! We cut them with a fork. Don't tell anyone, I used Gates rub, but used Sweet Baby Rays Original for the sauce. Omg, the pair together were yummy! I am definitely grilling these again!

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