Boneless Country Style Pork Ribs

[BreezyCooking]

Since hubby doesn't eat red meat & will be out tonight for dinner, I splurged on myself & bought a package of boneless country-style pork ribs. I did originally want bone-in ribs, but the store was out.

So did a cookbook, websearch, as well as a search on here & primarily found recipes for bone-in ribs or only crockpot/inside-baking recipes for boneless ribs.

I'd like to grill them outside, but since I no longer cook red meat a lot, aren't sure about the timing. Plus, I've only grilled bone-in ribs, so the boneless thing is new to me. The barbecue sauce I have no problem with - don't need a recipe for that. Just cooking the meat itself.

Anyone here have experience with grilling boneless pork ribs?

 

[Jeekinz]

45 minutes maybe? 2 hours in a marinade would be good too.

 

[kitchenelf]

Ribs should be done, depending on how thick they are, after 4 - 5 minutes per side. To be sure you can use a thermometer to check internal temp. If they are thinnish I would check after about 3 minutes per side. Let them rest for about 10 minutes first though but you already know they will increase in temp.

 

[keltin]

I’ve grilled these many times before. They’re just rectangular hunks of meat, and I swear that some places will actually cut a Boston Button into rectangular pieces and call them boneless country style ribs.....and charge more it!

What kind of grill will you be using.....gas of charcoal? If it is large enough, I’d suggest putting the coals to one side, and grill the ribs for about 5 minutes on the top and bottom over medium-high, then 2-3 minutes for the smaller “sides” for color (they are rectangular and have four “sides”). Then move them off to the side to a cool spot, and add some soaked wood or a foil pack to the coals for some smoke. When they reach 150 degrees, take them off to rest. It should take about 20 minutes if indirect heat to finish them......start checking temp at around 10-12 minutes. When you move the meat to the cool spot, this is a good time to start adding your sauce or baste.

If it’s a gas grill, and you have dual burners, do the same. Keep one burner off, go about 5 minutes for top and bottom over heat, then move to the cool side to finish indirectly.

You can also grill them like you would a pork chop. Over medium coals or fire, just throw them on the heat and turn them ever 4-5 minutes or so to ensure they don’t burn. Since they are rectangular, you have four sides you will turn to. This will put them on the fire for about 20 minutes at which time they should be done. You’ll want to add the sauce once you have flipped to the fourth side, then cover the grill and let the sauce set. Leave them on at this point until the temp is 150 or better.

They’re pretty easy to grill directly. Typically I’ll start them with the thinner side walls down first (and usually less time on these sides, say about 3-4 minutes each), then finish by grilling the “top” and “bottom” (5-6 minutes each) so that the last turn has the meat resting on the wider top of bottom surface, and you can then sauce them.

Just think of them as pork chops or small loins, and you’re good to go.

 

[Jeekinz]

Does that cut have a loin section by any chance? My market has a 'loin rib' that looks exactly like a boneless country rib.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I'm pretty sure they look like Keltin's description - long thick rectangular cuts of pork, about 2-1/2 inches thick - well marbled with fat. Obviously I won't be worrying about my cholesterol tonight - lol!!

I have a charcoal grill, & that's how I'd like to do them. It's been ages since I've cooked pork, & all I can remember is that the last time I did bone-in ribs, I parboiled them for about 10-12 minutes or so, & then tossed them on the grill for another 10-15 minutes, then basted them with sauce while cooking for another 10-15 minutes. But that was bone-in, which were a lot thinner than these suckers are.

 

[GrillingFool]

For "country style" ribs like that, I like to parboil them on the grill, then
take them out and grill them. I use beer, bay leaf, garlic in the boil, then
season them with a bit of BBQ rub and onto the grill!
Once they get nicely browned, I move them to indirect heat, slather them
with sauce and let em cook till done.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Retailers may sell pork butts three different ways. (1) A whole butt. (2) Sliced, and labeled/advertised as “pork steaks’ (3). The slices sliced once or twice more and labeled/advertised as “Country Style Ribs” This is called marketing for profit. As each time the meat is cut the price goes up. Thus you may see 99 Cent Whole Butts, $1.29 pork steaks, and $1.59 Country style Ribs. Obviously this in no way a “Rib” by any stretch of the imagination. In times past this “rib” cut was referred to as “Western Style Ribs” to distinguish them from true Country Style Ribs which are cut from the blade end of a bone-in pork loin, consisting of no more than the first 6 ribs. I don’t see this cut merchandised very often in retail markets anymore, but rather packages of “Boneless Country Style Ribs” (Boneless Rib. Is that an oxymoron??) have taken their place, and demand a higher price. Bottom line, both cuts can be delicious. The “ribs” from the butt require, browning and slow cooking to render them tender. The “boneless ribs” from the blade end of the pork loin will cook very quickly. They are more akin to pork-chop meat so use caution not to over cook. They respond well to grilling methods while the “ribs" from the butt respond better to BBQing.


Have Fun & Enjoy!

 

[keltin]

Retailers may sell pork butts three different ways. (1) A whole butt. (2) Sliced, and labeled/advertised as “pork steaks’ (3). The slices sliced once or twice more and labeled/advertised as “Country Style Ribs” This is called marketing for profit. As each time the meat is cut the price goes up. Thus you may see 99 Cent Whole Butts, $1.29 pork steaks, and $1.59 Country style Ribs. Obviously this in no way a “Rib” by any stretch of the imagination. In times past this “rib” cut was referred to as “Western Style Ribs” to distinguish them from true Country Style Ribs which are cut from the blade end of a bone-in pork loin, consisting of no more than the first 6 ribs. I don’t see this cut merchandised very often in retail markets anymore, but rather packages of “Boneless Country Style Ribs” (Boneless Rib. Is that an oxymoron??) have taken their place, and demand a higher price. Bottom line, both cuts can be delicious. The “ribs” from the butt require, browning and slow cooking to render them tender. The “boneless ribs” from the blade end of the pork loin will cook very quickly. They are more akin to pork-chop meat so use caution not to over cook. They respond well to grilling methods while the “ribs" from the butt respond better to BBQing.


Have Fun & Enjoy!

Heh, I knew it! I knew some of those cuts of “Country Style Ribs” that I’ve seen had to be Boston Butts that had been cut up!

I knew the Pork Steaks were cut from butts as well. Occasionally I’ve seen them cut from a blade roast too, but they cost more.

I’ve actually sliced a boneless Boston butt up into “steaks” before. A few weeks ago, I was looking for bone-in Country Style Ribs and couldn’t find them (I was at Kroger), but I did find “Western Style” ribs which were the rectangular chunks of meat. There were a few slivers of bone in one or two of the “ribs”, but for the most part they were boneless.

So, “Western Style” is just a fancy terms for “we cut a Boston Butt up into rectangular pieces”? I had never seen it labeled as western style before, so this is good info. Thanks for posting this!

But you know, true boneless ribs are probably acquired from those imaginary hogs you keep under that pecan tree!

 

[Uncle Bob]

"Western Style" is rarely used in these parts any longer. Everything is labeled as "Country Style" whether cut from a pork butt or the blade end of the loin. You just have to know where it comes from to make the correct decision on cooking methods.


Fun!

Oh, the imaginary hog, that lives under the real pecan tree, is nothing but bones. Any meat you see is just your imagination!

 

[BreezyCooking]

Okay - here's how the rib thing panned out.

First off, let me say that these were "Smithfield" ribs, & as I'm sure most of you know, "Smithfield" is one of the (or THE) prime producers of quality pork in the country. Upon opening the package, I discovered that the ribs were actually half-&-half with & without bones, & the pieces with bone were definitely rib bones.

I brought a big pot of water to a full boil on my stovetop, added the ribs, then lowered the heat a bit & let them simmer for about 20 minutes. I then drained them in a colander & placed them in a large pyrex bowl where I tossed them with a full bottle of Kraft's "Hot" barbecue sauce, which I amended with additional vinegar & pepper. I left them to semi-marinate in this while I started my coals outside. When the coals were at the medium-hot stage, I put on the ribs & closed the lid of my Char-Griller. After 10 minutes I turned them & cooked for an additional 10.

They. Were. FABULOUS!!!!! Perfectly done with nice crispy exteriors - but no unpleasant "burnt sugar" taste. Interiors were moist & juicy with an incredible pork flavor that came thru the sauce perfectly. These easily could be the best ribs I've ever had, & certainly the best I've ever cooked myself. I was in hog heaven - lol!!!

Luckily, since it was a 5-pound package of meat, I have plenty of leftovers to pick at for the next couple of days. In fact, I'm almost ashamed to admit that I snuck a little piece cold before breakfast this morning.

Again - thanks for all your help & suggestions guys. It sure was fun - especially since this has to be the first time I've cooked ribs in about 12 years!!