Oven Barbecued Country-style Ribs
By Kath Dedon
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Here’s another favorite from Sunset Cooking for Two…or Just for You. It takes a bit of time, but it’s easy to make. It’s worth the wait, and you’ll be rewarded with the wonderful smell of pork ribs baking in your oven.
I make the recipe’s barbecue sauce substituting fruit-sweetened ketchup and maple syrup for regular ketchup and brown sugar. I really like the barbecue sauce; it adds great flavor without being overwhelming. It starts out thin, but thickens as the ribs bake. If you really want to simplify the recipe, you could use your favorite commercial barbecue sauce.
The ribs were great served over steamed Yukon Gold potatoes with a big salad.
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Oven Barbecued Country-Style Ribs
Adapted from the recipe in Sunset Cooking for Two…or Just for You
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Serves 2 (easily doubles)
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1 – 1½ pounds country-style pork ribs (bone-in or boneless)
½ lemon, thinly sliced
½ onion, thinly sliced
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Barbecue sauce:
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
¼ teaspoon celery seed
¼ teaspoon garlic salt
½ cup water
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ teaspoons soy sauce
(¼ teaspoon salt, if needed)
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1. Preheat the oven to 350˚.
2. Arrange the ribs in an 8×8-inch pan. Cover with the lemons and then the onions. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
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3. While the ribs are baking, make the barbecue sauce. Combine all sauce ingredients (except the ¼ teaspoon of salt) in a sauce pan and cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 5 minutes.
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4. Taste the sauce for seasoning, and add the ¼ teaspoon of salt if needed. (It will depend on the saltiness of your brands of ketchup and soy sauce.)
5. After the ribs have baked for 1 hour and 15 minutes, remove the pan from the oven. Discard the lemon and onion slices. Remove the ribs from the pan and pour out the accumulated pan drippings.
6. Return the ribs to the pan and pour the barbecue sauce over the ribs. (You can see how thin the sauce looks in the photo below. It thickens as it bakes.)
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7. Bake the ribs, uncovered, for 45 minutes more. Spoon the sauce from the pan over the ribs 2 or 3 times during this 45-minute baking time.
In the kitchen with Kath 
that is a great rib recipe….but your picture is phenomenal!!! wow…what a beautiful image, food buzz should definitely pick that one…..submit it to food gawker too!
Wow, thank you Dennis! Your opinion means a lot to me. I have submitted it to food buzz, foodgawker and tastespotting, but haven’t heard yet from foodgawker and tastespotting.
I have these ribs in my oven as we speak…I can’t wait to try them. They smell AMAZING. Thank you for posting, Kath!
I’m glad you’re trying them, Laura! What a perfect fall dinner. Enjoy! 🙂
I agree they smell really good!
Thanks, Regan!
Kath, I’m posting a link to your site on my blog: http://www.grocerygirlcooks.com. I think the methodology for cooking them is genius. 🙂
Thank you, Regan! I’ve been using this recipe for at least 30 years and it has withstood the test of time. I give all the credit to the folks at Sunset, though, for the methodology. 😉
I am trying the recipe now!!! I am trying to stay within my cabinets, so vinegar is being substituted by Balsamic Vinegar. Hope it taste well!
I have never cooked ribs myself! I have always eaten everyone else’s for fear of messing them up. After all, no one wants to eat bad ribs. Anyway, tonight I tried your recipe and the ribs came out amazing, even for a beginner like me! They were a huge hit with my family and my husband is already looking forward to me making them again!
So glad you and your family enjoyed them, Alicia! Thanks for letting me know!
Well – since everyone else has said so – – – I’ll tell you your ribs are in my oven as we speak – mmmmmmmmm – the idea is to have them tomorrow after a long day’s work – – – but they might not make it! I love the way you posted the instructions – but I found you after I had a dry rub on my ribs overnight – so it may be a little different – I’ll keep you posted
Your dry rub will surely make the ribs even better! I’m looking forward to hearing how they turned out. Thanks for your comment!
Goodness they were falling apart when I took them out to drain the juice – – your sauce is on them now and my boyfriend is hovering around the oven – although he has already had dinner – – – – these are for tomorrow!!
Ribs are baking now and smell phenomenal! Can not wait to try them – serving with au gratin potatoes! The pics definitely sold the recipe for me – and the simplicity! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!!
Thanks for your comment, Natalie! I love the idea of serving the ribs with au gratin potatoes!
this is a fabulous recipes, i,ve done it a couple of times and never disappointed. i would like to point out that if you use pure syrup ,it sure makes a world of difference. thx for the grt recipe, and great pictures. JON
Thanks so much, Jon, for letting me know how much you enjoyed it! And, yes, pure maple syrup is the best!
Wow! Didn’t think they would turn out so good .. I didn’t have any lemons, so had to use orange slices. Still delicious. This recipe is worth printing.
That was a great idea to use orange slices, Traci!
Mine are baking now. I used orange slices also:-) I will let you know how wonderful they are.
LuAnn, you and Traci make me want to try using oranges slices, too. 🙂