Grilled Boneless Pork Ribs – 101 Cooking For Two
Learn how to grill boneless country-style ribs with fantastic tenderness and moisture in 30 minutes. Using just a dry rub and BBQ sauce, you can quickly and easily barbecue country-style pork ribs on your gas grill with these step-by-step instructions.
🐖Ingredients
Boneless pork ribs—also known as boneless country-style ribs
Dry rub of your choice
Barbecue sauce of your choice
Optional brine—water, salt, brown sugar
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Featured Comment from Michelle:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Finally, a recipe for boneless country-style ribs I really love!! Everyone agreed it was the best ever! I did the brining and rub, and those who usually use bbq didn’t because it was so delicious! Thank you!”
Boneless country-style pork ribs are my favorite “cooking for two” meal. They are economical and the right size with two large servings or 3-4 more reasonable size servings. Quick and easy to grill in only 30 minutes—grilled boneless ribs are lean and healthy with great taste. Plus, if grilled correctly, they are moist and tender boneless ribs.
👨🍳How to Grill Boneless Pork Ribs—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Optional: Brine first if you have time.
2. Clean and oil grill grates, then preheat to 450°-500°.
3. Trim ribs of any excess fat. Deepen the cuts already in the ribs to about 75% through.
4. Coat both sides of the ribs with the dry rub of your choice.
5. Place over direct heat and close the lid. Flip every 4-5 minutes and grill until the internal temperature is about 145°-150°, about 20 minutes.
6. For the last few minutes, coat both sides with sauce and grill until brown. Let set off heat for 5 minutes before cutting.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
⏰How long to grill boneless ribs
It takes about 20 minutes to grill boneless ribs to 145° (the best final internal temperature) on a gill at 450°. There will be a little pink left, and they will be moist and tender.
- Rare (less than 145°)—pink—Not recommended due to USDA safety recommendations
- Medium-Rare (145°-150°)—a little pink—will take about 20-25 minutes—Recommended.
- Medium (150°-155°)—no pink—will take about 24-26 minutes
- Medium-Well (155°-160°) will take about 28+ minutes—starting to dry a little.
- Well Done (160°+)—Not recommended due to dryness and texture.
The exact time will vary by the size and thickness of the pork tenderloin, your grill’s surface temperature, and your desired final internal temperature. Use a grill surface thermometer and an instant-read thermometer to get this right.
As always, cook to a final internal temperature and never by time alone.
🥣The dry rub, BBQ sauce, and other seasoning
You don’t have to use a BBQ rub since they are like pork chops. I usually use seasoning salt and pepper on pork chops.
Use your favorite BBQ sauce. I love my Gate’s BBQ Sauce from Kansas City, which I buy by the case. Cooks Illustrated recommends Bull’s-Eye Original Barbecue Sauce. Or you can make my fantastic homemade Memphis BBQ Sauce.
If you have a favorite pork chop recipe, you can use it here. I have included a version of my BBQ Dry Rub for Ribs in the recipe card.
♨️Grill Temperature
Unlike regular pork ribs, these boneless ribs are a lean cut, so there is no need for indirect heat or low and slow cooking. Use a medium grill temperature of about 450° surface temperature. You can use a higher temperature, but they will dry out more.
You can use either a gas or charcoal grill. To learn about controlling the surface temperature of your grill, please see Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill.
🍽️Serving and leftovers
Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce and side dishes you would use with any ribs like cole slaw, baked beans, potato salad, French fries, or many others.
Leftovers should be sealed airtight and refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen for 3 months. Reheat leftovers in the microwave or air fryer, but thaw completely if frozen.
❓FAQs
Because boneless pork ribs are lean, they can tend to dry if overcooked. But if not overcooked, they can stay moist like a nice pork chop. A brining would fix moisture issues and add taste depending on the brine. But this would add hours and take it out of the weeknight recipe class.
If I have time, I do brine. A suggested brine would be 2 tablespoons of table salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 2 cups of water for 1-4 hours. Other spices, like allspice, garlic, pepper, etc., can be added.
According to the USDA, the minimum safe internal temperature for boneless ribs is 145°. The same is true for any pork that is not ground.
🐖What are Boneless Country Style Pork Ribs?
Boneless country-style pork ribs are not real ribs. They are the blade end of the loin cut in half and scored to make “ribs.” So, it’s more of a pork chop than real ribs.
Unfortunately, there are also “bone-in country-style pork ribs,” which may get confused with the boneless variety. Bone-in country-style ribs are more like a slice of pork shoulder and need to be cooked more like a pork shoulder (AKA pork butt), meaning low and slow, while the boneless ribs are lean and are usually cooked more rapidly.
If you have bone-in country-style ribs, check out Slow Grilled Bone-In Country Style Pork Ribs.
📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
Grilled Boneless Pork Ribs
Learn how to grill boneless country-style ribs with fantastic tenderness and moisture in 30 minutes. Using just a dry rub and BBQ sauce, you can quickly and easily barbecue country-style pork ribs on your gas grill with these step-by-step instructions.
Ingredients
Step-by-Step Instructions
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Optional: Brine first if you have time. 2 cups water, 1 tablespoon table salt, and 1 tablespoon brown sugar for 1-4 hours in the refrigerator. Rinse well and use a rub without salt.
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Clean and oil grill grates, then preheat the grill to a grill surface temperature of 450°-500°.
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Trim ribs of any excess fat. Deepen the cuts that are already in the ribs to about 75% through.
-
Coat both sides of the ribs with the dry rub of your choice, being sure to get in the cuts. Let the ribs rest for 10 minutes while preheating the grill.
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Place over direct heat and close the lid. Flip about every 4- 5 minutes and grill until an internal temperature of about 145°-150°. It takes about 20 minutes, depending on the grill and the thickness of the meat.
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The last few minutes, coat with sauce on both sides and grill until brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- I remove most/all of the fat pad.
- Extend the “rib cuts” to 75% of the thickness.
- Brine, if you have time. If you brine, use a rub without salt.
- Use the rub and sauce of your choice.
- Grill over a medium grill with a surface temperature of 450°.
- Do not overcook. 145°-150° is nice.
- If you don’t have a rib, try this version of 8311. This makes about twice what you need, so cut in half or keep the extra for later. Also, if you brine, leave the salt out of the rub.
½ cup brown sugar
3 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Calories : 229 kcal (11%)Carbohydrates : 5 g (2%)Protein : 22 g (44%)Fat : 13 g (20%)Saturated Fat : 3 g (15%)Cholesterol : 82 mg (27%)Sodium : 290 mg (12%)Potassium : 387 mg (11%)Fiber : 1 g (4%)Sugar : 2 g (2%)Vitamin A : 97 IU (2%)Vitamin C : 1 mg (1%)Calcium : 61 mg (6%)Iron : 2 mg (11%)
Editor’s Note: Originally Published March 26, 2010. This has been a constant popular post on this blog, even though it hasn’t been updated for over eight years. The post has been completely rewritten, all photos re-shot, expanded options, and a table of contents to help navigation.
