Name: Air Fryer Country Style Ribs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 16 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 8-10 boneless ribs; olive oil; 3/4 cup BBQ sauce; 2 T brown sugar; 1 tsp garlic powder; 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika (regular paprika will work if desired); 1 tsp oregano; 1 tsp dry mustard; 1 tsp cumin; ½ tsp onion powder; ½ - 1 tsp salt; ½ tsp pepper

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These smothered boneless Air Fryer Country Style Ribs are a simple and quick way to enjoy a finger licking good meal. Only about 5 minutes to prep with a simple dry rub and cooked up in about 20 minutes. This will be a perfect dinner the whole family will love!

Air fryer country style ribs with BBQ sauce on parchment lined tray.

Why You Will Love These Air Fryer Country Ribs:
Recipe Ingredients:
Step-By-Step Instructions:
Recipe Tips:
Storage:
What to Serve with These Air Fryer Country Style Ribs:
Other Pork Recipes:
Air Fryer Country Style Ribs Recipe

This post is sponsored by the Ohio Pork Co u ncil, all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting pork farmers!

Are you a fan of country style ribs? We love these slow cooker BBQ country ribs, but when we need a quick way to whip up some finger licking good boneless ribs, we opt to air fry them.

These barbecue smothered air fryer country style ribs are going to be a new family favorite recipe for the nights when you want a good classic dish ready in under 30 minutes.

Try these other air fryer recipes as well!

Why You Will Love These Air Fryer Country Ribs:

They are so simple to make. This recipe requires simple ingredients and minimal steps for a super easy, stress free meal. Simply prepare the dry rub, add it to the pork, air fry, flip and then cover them in your favorite BBQ sauce. Nothing to it–minimal effort and such an easy recipe!
Air frying adds a crispiness to the edges of the meat. While we love slow cooking country ribs, there is nothing like the brown, crispy edges that come from popping them in the air fryer. The air fryer keeps this cut of meat a handheld option while slow cooking will make it fall apart–both are great, trust me, but do yourself a favor and try the air frying method.
They are a great source of lean protein. Eating 20 – 30 grams of protein per meal helps fuel your body and keeps your energy at its best. Every 3 ounces of pork is packed full of 22 – 24 grams of protein depending on the cut.
Easy to vary just by changing up your sauce. You can make these country style pork ribs different every time simply by changing up the sauce you love. Make your own homemade BBQ sauce to spice it up even more! So many options–apple butter barbecue sauce anyone?!

Did you know? More than 3500 family farms in Ohio raise enough pork to feed approximately 25 million people. When you buy pork at the grocery store, local meat shop or the farmers market, you are supporting Ohio farm families that produce that pork.

Recipe Ingredients:

country style ribs: country-style ribs are technically not ribs at all! They are actually from the pork shoulder or blade end near the shoulder. They typically are boneless, but sometimes there will be bone in options. Both are fine for this recipe but most importantly, you want to make sure your “ribs” are not too lean to avoid ending up with super dry meat. Making sure they come from the shoulder or the butt, and that there is plenty of marbling and a bit of fat will make for the best success in this recipe.
seasoning for dry rub: this combination is my favorite for any kind of ribs. It’s a simple mixture of: paprika, oregano, brown sugar, cumin, onion powder, dry mustard, garlic powder, salt and pepper. I bounce back and forth on paprika versus smoked paprika based on how smoky the BBQ sauce I am using is. It’s a lot to get out all the spices, I know, but it’s so worth it. You can add a bit of chili powder, cinnamon or cayenne pepper to vary the flavor of this rib rub.
olive oil: this is just to brush the air fryer basket so the ribs do not stick to the basket when flipping.
BBQ sauce: the barbecue sauce is where you can have variation in these country style ribs. We love trying new sauces, so I can make this recipe several times a month and it feels new each time!

Step-By-Step Instructions:

Spices in bowl for dry rub before mixing.

Dry rub in bowl with small wooden spoon.

Raw pork boneless ribs on parchment lined baking sheet.

Country ribs on parchment lined baking sheet with dry rub covering.

Remove the meat from the refrigerator, pat dry with a paper towel and line on a dish or parchment to prepare with the dry rub. You want to make sure your ribs are at room temperature before air frying so that they cook evenly. Use this time to allow the meat to tenderize as well by adding the dry rub.
Whisk together the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl and spread generously on all sides of the meat, gently massaging into the ribs. Allow to sit out for about 20-30 minutes with the rub while also coming to room temperature.

Country style ribs with dry rub in oiled air fryer basket.

Air fried country ribs before BBQ sauce spread on top.

When the meat is ready, brush air fryer basket well with olive oil (you can spray with oil, but many air fryer makers say not to do this, so make sure your model can use a spray oil.) Arrange the ribs in an even single layer in the bottom of the air fryer basket allowing space between each–you do not want to overcrowd the !
Working in batches if necessary, air fry at 370°F for 16 minutes, flipping at the 8 minute mark. After flipping, check the internal temperature of the country style ribs every 2-3 minutes so as not to overcook.
When the ribs reach about 140°F internal temperature, brush generously with BBQ sauce and allow to cook for 2-3 more minutes, making sure the internal temperature reaches 145°F.
Transfer the ribs to a warm oven if needed while working on another batch or serve immediately with your favorite sides.

Recipe Tips:

Stay close to your air fryer so as not to overcook your boneless pork ribs. When using a cooking method like air frying for this cut of pork, you do not want to overcook. This can result in dry and tough meat. After you flip the ribs, check every 2-3 minutes so as not to cook too much.
For best results, choose country style pork ribs with nice marbling and a good amount of fat. You can certainly trim some of the fat if you don’t want too much, but it is the fat that makes for the most tender, flavorful meat, so it’s best to leave it on to air fry.
Make sure your meat reaches an internal temperature of 145°F. For food safety, use an instant read meat thermometer to make sure a safe temperature is reached before eating. A touch of pink can be normal in cooked pork so using the thermometer is the best way to make sure it’s ready.

BBQ country style ribs on parchment lined baking sheet with macaroni and cheese in dish.

Storage:

These BBQ country ribs are best when eaten fresh from the air fryer. However, if you do have leftovers, store them either in an airtight container or wrapped in foil for up to 2-3 days.

You can air fry leftovers for about 2-3 minutes at 370°F and add an extra smothering of barbecue sauce.

You can also freeze them after they are cooled, double wrap them in foil for best results. They will keep for up to 3 months.

What to Serve with These Air Fryer Country Style Ribs:

We love our ribs with this cheddar gruyere macaroni and cheese or some Instant Pot mac and cheese. If you love potatoes with your pork, try these parmesan crusted potatoes, cajun potato salad or garlic parmesan mashed potatoes.

If a salad is on the menu, try this spring green salad or this zesty spinach mandarin salad.

Our very favorite thing to serve with these bbq ribs is these simple honey biscuits. A touch of butter and drizzle of honey over a warm biscuit is perfection with the sweet tang of barbecue sauce!

Other Pork Recipes:

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Air Fryer Country Style Ribs