Instant Pot Country Style Ribs [+Video]

Country-style ribs in the Instant Pot? Total game changer. These come out tender, flavorful, and taste like they’ve been on the grill for hours—but they’re ready in under one hour! A bold, no-fuss BBQ rub adds all the depth, and one secret step will make you swear these came off real flames.

You don’t need a grill or a smoker. You just need this method…. oh, and maybe some napkins!

We have several rib recipes on the blog, like our Asian Sticky Slow Cooker Ribs or our Oven Braised Short Ribs, but this is our first country ribs recipe. I don’t know why it took us so long because we’ve been eating them for years, and they are so dang delish!

A typical meal in our house with these pork ribs would include our Best Baked Beans and something light like our Garden Balsamic Avocado Salad. My kids love having cornbread with the ribs, too, so sometimes I am nice and make that as well!

If you are looking for more Instant Pot recipes for making dinner in a hurry, you can find all our Instant Pot recipes here! Another one of our Instant Pot favorites is our super viral Award Winning Instant Pot Chili. And if you need a quick guide for cooking all your Instant Pot basics, you can find everything you need on our Instant Pot Cheat Sheet! Ok, I’ve gone off on an Instant Pot tangent…back to these juicy Instant Pot country-style ribs!

What Cut of Meat are Country-Style Ribs?

I hope you’re sitting down for this one, but country-style pork ribs aren’t even ribs. They are cuts of pork shoulder (aka pork butt) and is the same meat you use to make pulled pork and carnitas.

Are Country Style Ribs Beef or Pork?

Country-style ribs can be either beef or pork. It just depends on what you prefer. Beef will be quite a bit meatier. For this recipe, we prefer pork country-style ribs. We also prefer boneless over bone-in.

Read more

Traeger Smoked Ribs

These Traeger ribs are coated in a bold dry rub and smoked to mouth-watering perfection! They fall right off the bone and are perfect for picnics and BBQs!

The Best Traeger Ribs Recipe

When I went out to South Carolina to meet Cade’s family, he took me to a traditional southern restaurant to try real southern BBQ for the first time. It was delicious!

I couldn’t believe that a dry rub was all that they needed as I’d only had ribs slathered in sauce, but more important than that, they were falling off of the bone. The tenderness could not be beat! I was sold! Since then we’ve tested and tested rib recipes and this one is one of the best smoked rib recipes ever.

We have several rib recipes on the blog that we love, like our slow cooker Asian sticky ribs or our smoky BBQ Instant Pot ribs. They are all different in cooking techniques and flavors, but this is our first smoked ribs recipe — you’re going to love it!

Make a batch of homemade BBQ sauce, and get ready for your mouth to water, your fingers to get messy, and for these Traeger smoked ribs to become a regular on your menu! They are the best ribs I’ve ever had!

Traeger Smoked Pork Ribs Ingredients 

These Traeger pork ribs are flavored both with a dry rub and additional flavorings that are added halfway through the smoking time. A dry rub is simply a blend of dry ingredients that gets rubbed on meat before smoking or grilling. 

Here’s what you’ll need to make the best smoked ribs: 

• Pork Ribs 
• Smoked Paprika
• Dark Brown Sugar
• Black Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Cumin
• Kosher Salt
• Cayenne
• Honey
• Dijon Mustard
• Apple Cider 

Keep scrolling to the recipe card down below to find the measurements needed for each ingredient.

What Are the Best Ribs for Smoking?

We prefer St. Louis style ribs for smoking, but baby back ribs would also work great. St. Louis style ribs cook fast and have great flavor. Baby back ribs are meatier and may take a little longer to cook to a safe temperature. Spare ribs also work, but they tend to have less meat on them and will need even less time to smoke.

How to Smoke Ribs

We’ve given detailed instructions on how to make smoked pork ribs in the recipe card below. Are you ready for tender ribs that melt in your mouth?? Here are the basics to mastering this Traeger ribs recipe: 

1. Combine the smoked ribs rub ingredients in a small bowl and set it aside.
2. Mix together the mustard and apple cider and brush it all over both sides of the ribs (be sure to remove the silver skin first!).
3. Then, generously