Not really ribs, really delicious: Grilled Country-style Pork Ribs

These so-called ribs deliver meaty, grilled flavor in a fraction of the time of true ribs. recipe below.

THE GREAT THING ABOUT GRILLING BABY BACK RIBS is eating grilled baby back ribs. The not so great thing is grilling them. It’s not the prep work so much—it’s the time. To come out fall-off-the-bone tender, baby back (or spareribs or other pork ribs) need to be cooked low and slow. Two-plus hours minimum, but more often three or even four hours or more. By way of contrast, the country style ribs above cooked in 15 minutes.

That’s because country-style ribs aren’t truly ribs. They’re a different cut of pork that was first marketed as a kind of ribs in the 1960s. They’re closer to pork chops, not as fatty as ribs, so if you overcook them, they become dry and tough. The opposite of ribs. But they still pack a decent amount of fat, keeping them juicy and tender on the grill. You can get these “ribs” both bone-in and boneless. Or apparently at our local grocer, in a combo pack of bone-in and boneless.

This past holiday weekend, we picked country-style ribs both for their juicy, tender flavorfulness and for the fact that they grill quickly. You can find all kinds of recipes for this cut, many that include marinating up to overnight. But that would get in the way of quick—and call for planning ahead on a pleasantly busy weekend. So we went with a simple spice rub applied ten minutes before we threw them on the grill.

We’re including our spice rub in the recipe below, but feel free to use your favorite rub or experiment with your own mix. We didn’t use barbecue sauce, but again, make this recipe your own.

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Grilled Country-style Pork Ribs

These so-called ribs deliver meaty, grilled flavor in a fraction of the time of true ribs.

Course Grilling, Main Course, Meat

Cuisine American

Servings 3 to 4 people

Ingredients

• 2 pounds country-style ribs (see Kitchen Notes)
• olive oil

For the spice rub:

• 3 tablespoons chili powder (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1 tablespoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt—see Kitchen Notes)
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Combine all the spice rub ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
• About 1/2 hour before you’re ready to grill, remove the ribs from the fridge, pat them dry and let them come to room temperature. Prepare grill for direct grilling and let it get good and hot.
• About 10 minutes before you’re ready to grill, brush the ribs with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with the spice rub and, using your fingers, rub the seasoning into the meat.
• Lightly oil the grill grates and place the ribs directly over the heat. Close grill and cook ribs for about 15 minutes, turning them every 5 minutes. Move them to different parts of the grill if some are cooking up too fast, getting overly charred. Check internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer; temperature should be at least 140ºF. Continue cooking as needed, but don’t overcook.
• Transfer to a platter and let them rest for about 5 minutes. Serve.

Kitchen Notes

How much meat? Two pounds will serve 3 to 4 people. You’ll have more spice rub than needed, so make more ribs, if you like. If not, save the extra rub for future pork or chicken grilling.

What kind of chili powder? Use your favorite. We used a mix of 2 parts New Mexican and 1 part guajillo.

Garlic powder, not salt. As the name implies, garlic powder is dehydrated garlic. If the name says salt, that is the main ingredient. Don’t use that.