Oven Baked Country Style Pork Ribs made with root beer and lots of spices. These oven baked ribs are juicy, tender and full of flavor!

These Country Style Oven Ribs are absolutely amazing. Amazing flavor but with no bones and a lot less mess! They are made with a lot of different common spices like salt, cumin, paprika, pepper, cinnamon and cloves. The sauce is made with root beer, barbecue sauce, tomato paste, white vinegar, Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce.

These ribs are baked in the oven in about 2 hours. If you have the time and you have a smoker, you can smoke them instead (directions below). Both methods yield amazing ribs!

Country Style Pork Ribs baked in the oven

What is the difference between Country Style Ribs and short ribs?

Country Style Ribs are actually not even ribs – they come from the shoulder instead of the rib area. They have a lot more meat and a lot less bone. In fact, most of the time, they don’t have any bones in them at all! Which makes them so much easier to eat!

You can just cut them up and eat them with a fork like you would a steak. A lot less messy and easier to eat than traditional short ribs! I love the taste of ribs, but don’t always love the mess, so this is the perfect solution.

What is the internal temperature of Country Style Ribs?

Country Style Ribs are best when the internal temperature is about 195°. Technically, pork is safe to consume at about 145, but the ribs will still be pretty tough at that point.

To know when your meat reaches the right temperature, your best tool is going to be a meat thermometer. My all-time favorite meat thermometer is the Thermapen. It’s super fast and incredibly durable. Another great meat thermometer is the ThermoPop which is a more basic version that works just as well!

What to serve with Country Style Pork Ribs?

Ribs go really well with sides like Creamy Parmesan Potatoes and Peas or Sugared Asparagus. My family loves when I serve this with Baked Sweet Potato Fries or Pepperjack Mac & Cheese as well! And don’t skip dessert! Have some Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies or some Texas Sheet Cake for the perfect ending to your meal.

Ingredients in Oven Baked Country Style Pork Ribs

Spices: These ribs are so flavorful because of the variety of spices used in the rub. Luckily, all of the spices used are pretty common and ones that are likely in your pantry. You will need salt, cumin, paprika, black pepper, cinnamon and ground cloves.

Ribs: You will need 3 1/2 pounds of country-style pork ribs. Country style ribs have a lot more meat than other types of ribs. You can use regular short ribs if you’d like, but they may cook a little faster since there isn’t as much meat on them.

Root beer: You will need 4 cups of root beer to make up the base of the sauce. You can use any brand of root beer that you prefer, but just make sure it isn’t diet!

Barbecue sauce: You can use any type of barbecue sauce that you have on hand. I like the Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey BBQ Sauce, but any kind will work!

Tomato paste: Just 2 tablespoons of tomato paste are needed in the sauce.

White vinegar: A tablespoon of white vinegar adds a lot of flavor and helps to tenderize the meat as well!

Dijon style mustard: Just a couple teaspoons of Dijon or spicy mustard is needed in the sauce recipe.

Worcestershire sauce: Anyone else have a hard time pronouncing this? I just can’t say it right! But make sure to put a teaspoon of it in the sauce.

How to make Oven Baked Country Style Pork Ribs

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a small bowl, combine the salt, cumin, paprika, ground pepper, cinnamon and cloves. Rub all over the ribs, coating all sides.

Place ribs, bone side up, in a greased shallow roasting pan. Bake uncovered for 75 minutes; drain.

When the ribs have about 30 minutes left of baking time, bring the root beer to boiling in a large saucepan. Boil gently for about 20-25 minutes, or until it is reduced to about 1 1/4 cups. Remove from heat. Stir in barbecue sauce, tomato paste, vinegar, Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Return mixture to boiling and boil gently for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

Turn the drained ribs, meaty side up. Spoon about half of the root beer sauce over the ribs. Bake for about 45 minutes more, basting once or twice with the remaining sauce. Spoon the cooked sauce from the bottom of the pan over the ribs to serve.