Country Ribs Texas Style — we love ribs in every form. These cuts, often called country strips, are thick and meaty. You can choose bone-in (our preference) or boneless. Season them simply with a bold Texas rub and baste generously with a sweet, smoky barbecue sauce and a touch of smoke for depth. The result is tender, flavorful, and perfect for a backyard date night.
Patti and I reserve one evening each week as our date night. Sometimes we fire up a grill or smoker, other times we cook inside, but we always eat outside on our patio. It’s a comfortable space with a rainforest theme: wood-pellet patio heater, soft lights, candles, lanterns and music. We enjoy wine or frozen strawberry margaritas, good food, a little music and sometimes a dance.
Check Out All of Our Cookbooks — They’re “How To” BBQ Picture Books
And: Got Ribs?: 7 Easy Rib Recipes Anyone Can Do
Backyard BBQ — A Wood Pellet Grill Recipe
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes at 400°F (205°C)
Grill: Green Mountain Wood Pellet Grill
Pellets: Use your preferred blend — experiment to find what you like.
Ingredients: Texas Style Country Pork Strips
- 7 ½ lbs. country pork ribs, bone in (or boneless if preferred)
- Texas-style seasoning, to taste
- Bourbon bacon barbecue sauce, to taste
Our Favorite Grill Accessories
A few tools make cooking easier and more consistent: heavy-duty grill grates for better heat control, a cold smoke generator for added smoke flavor, a wedgie for blending pellets, bull racks for off-grill smoking and racks for multi-level cooking, and a downdraft insert to hold smoke in the cooking chamber longer. These items help tailor smoke levels, searing and overall results on pellet grills and other BBQs.
Cooking Directions: Texas Style Country Pork Strips
Preheat your grill grates to 400°F (205°C). While the grates are heating, season the country pork ribs thoroughly with your Texas-style seasoning.
When the grates are hot, place the ribs directly on them. Cook about 15 minutes per side, giving each piece a quarter turn after roughly seven minutes for attractive crosshatch sear marks. After the second seven-minute interval, brush the ribs with your barbecue sauce and continue cooking, turning and saucing as you go.
When the internal temperature reaches about 140°F (60°C), baste again and flip the ribs, repeating the sauce every couple of minutes until you reach an internal temperature around 155°F (68°C). Pull the ribs when they reach approximately 145°F (63°C), cover and let rest for 5–10 minutes; carryover heat will raise the temperature slightly. The USDA recommends a safe internal temperature of 145°F (63°C) for pork. Use an instant-read thermometer to check temperatures for best results.
Cooking times will vary because no two pieces of meat are the same. Adjust timing and technique as needed to match the size and thickness of your ribs.
Note: Pellet choice is flexible. A recipe is an outline—feel free to experiment with different pellet blends to find flavors you like. When smoking at temperatures below 250°F (122°C) you’ll get more smoke character; higher temperatures produce less smoke and more direct cooking.
BBQ Tip: A simple silicone brush works great for saucing. You can find quality brushes at both restaurant supply and hardware stores—look for something durable and dishwasher-safe.
About Our Recipes
We prepare recipes on our patio where we keep a lineup of grills and smokers. Our methods work across pellet, gas, wood and charcoal setups. The important factors are time and temperature. You can adapt many recipes to different equipment, though outdoor cooking adds flavors you won’t get indoors.
A recipe is a guide, not a rulebook. Adjust seasonings, sauces, pellet blends and techniques to fit your taste and equipment. Experiment, learn and make each dish your own.
Live your passion and do what you love — Ken & Patti
Check Out Our Cookbooks — They’re “How To” BBQ Picture Books
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Acknowledgments
- Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce
- Maverick Industries, Inc.
- Green Mountain Grills LLC
- Grill Grates
- Smoke Daddy
- Bull Rack System — EarthWorks Supply
- Don Godke’s Downdraft
- BBQPelletsOnline
- Grandville’s Gourmet BBQ Sauces
