Smoked Country Style Ribs with Mustard BBQ Sauce and Texas Toast: perfectly smoked country style ribs with apple wood that is served up with an absolutely delicious mustard based BBQ sauce and Texas Toast!
I’ve been having a ball the past 2 years whipping up delicious smoked goodies out on my smoker. From smoked salmon, to chicken to pulled pork, to this smoked country style ribs recipe, I’ve been loving experimenting and of course eating all of it. Something about being outside smoking food and then lighting up the grill to finish it off is just so therapeutic.
The grill to me means spring, summer and fall, which in Chicago means nice weather comes in spurts and is always welcome. Whether it be grilling a delicious steak to making some amazing BBQ, I just want to be outside cooking over the flames.
What are Country Style Ribs:
Country style ribs come from either the blade cut or shoulder cut, but when those are left whole and smoked then you’ve got some delicious pulled pork. Essentially, it’s that big pulled pork shoulder sliced down to what are called country style ribs.
There are a few ways to cook these delicious meaty ribs and you can do it in the oven, in a slow cooker, on the grill or smoked. Since I love cooking I decided I wanted to smoke them and then char them up over the grill once finished.
How to Smoke Country Style Ribs:
Before you do anything you have to start this smoked country style ribs recipe by getting your apple wood smoke rolling to 225°. This can be in a digital smoker or a wood smoker, totally up to you!
Almost all BBQ starts with some form of seasoning or rub to further enhance the flavor. As intricate as I can be with cooking techniques I usually like really simple flavors, and the same applies to rubs. I used a simple combo of onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. You of course can get as creative as you’d like for the rub or even buy a pre-made one, but this one here is easy and always delicious.
Once you make the rub you want to generously rub them all over the country style ribs, literally over every square centimeter. I like to let whatever I’m smoking to sit in the rub at room temperature for about an hour. This will allow the chill to come off of your meat and will let the smoke penetrate it much more quickly.
Now if you don’t have a smoker don’t worry. Once your ribs are rubbed down, simply transfer them to a casserole dish, add in a little chicken stock, cover with foil and slow cook in the oven at 325° for about 3 hours. However, if you do have access to a smoker, be a true BBQ’er and smoke these up!
Grilling the Country Style Ribs After Smoking:
Once the ribs are done smoking, or cooking in the oven, it’s time to baste them up and get to grilling. You want to set your grills to medium-high heat, around 450°. I know that may seem pretty hot but for a grill it’s perfect! We aren’t cooking these country style ribs, we simply want to mark them.
Place the country style ribs directly onto the grill and cook for 2 to 4 minutes per side or until they develop a very light char. Don’t forget to base them up with BBQ sauce during the grilling period and for sure afterwards.
How to Make a Mustard BBQ Sauce:
I’m always interested in trying out new recipes so instead of the traditional red BBQ sauce I made a really tasty mustard based BBQ sauce and whoa is it good. It has a perfect blend of sweet, tangy and spicy and compliments the pork perfectly.
You can absolutely use one of your favorite BBQ sauces or make your own, it’s completely up to you but this mustard BBQ sauce is really good and compliments the pork perfectly. Just like making a homemade bbq sauce you simply add all of the ingredients together in a pot and cook it over low heat until they are combined. Obviously the mustard bbq sauce will get better with time so maybe cook it a day or two ahead of time.
Serving and Eating BBQ:
If you’ve ever been to Texas and had the opportunity to eat BBQ, which I hope you have, you’ll notice that with every BBQ plate you order, you almost always get a side of Texas Toast. If you’ve never had the chance to eat country style ribs then I must say that you’ve been missing out.
With that being said, you definitely want to brown these up and get some nice grill marks on them. If you happen to have a second shelf on your grill just pop these up top until they are nice and toasty.
Talk about some amazing BBQ, these Smoked Country Style Ribs with Mustard BBQ Sauce and Texas Toast will definitely hit the spot!
Definitely try serving this up with my Vinegar Coleslaw.
Video
Smoked Country Style Ribs with Mustard BBQ Sauce and Texas Toast
Ingredients
For the Rub:
- 1 teaspoon of paprika
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of chili powder
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- 1 teaspoon of dry oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoons of Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 7 pounds of boneless country style pork ribs
For the Sauce:
- 2 cups of yellow mustard
- ¼ cup of grainy mustard
- 1 cup of white balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup of brown sugar
- ½ cup of honey
- 1 ½ tablespoons of soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 1 loaf of New York Bakery Garlic Texas Toast
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker to 225° or the oven to 325°.
- Combine all of the spices and herbs together in a small bowl and generously season the pork ribs on all sides with the rub. let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Next place the ribs on a smoker rack or directly on a grill and smoke for 3 hours, or until it reaches 200° internally. Alternately place the ribs in a casserole dish with 1 cup of chicken stock, cover and cook in the oven for 3 hours.
- While they are cooking combine all of the sauce ingredients together in a pot and bring it to a boil. Remove from heat and keep warm.
- Once the ribs are done cooking baste them in the sauce, making sure to reserve some of the sauce for later, and grill them on the grill at 400° to 450° until grill marks are formed and a light char is on the outside.
- While the ribs are on the grill, remove the Texas toast from the freezer, unwrap and place directly on the grill and cook until lightly brown and toasted.
- Remove everything from the grill and serve alongside additional mustard BBQ sauce.
Annette says
I love BBQ so it’s hard to pick just one. As much as I love beef and pork, I’d go with chicken. I’m not normally crazy about chicken, but when it’s BBQed it’s delicious.
Sandy says
My all time favorite BBQ recipe growing up was my dad’s BBQ sauce. He uses ketchup, chili sauce, molasses, liquid smoke, lemon and butter. SO good!
Lisa says
Going to try this recipe in my turbo convection oven
Patricia Lamagno says
My own dry-rub spices on country style ribs prepped the nite before, then roast or grill slowly.
Mike Bucceri says
My favorite is pulled pork but by the looks of those ribs, they could be a contender. Definitely going to try the receipe.
Pamm Kesselring says
My favorite is brisket with a great smoke ring