These sous vide boneless country style pork ribs cook low and slow at 165°F for 6 hours until incredibly tender, then finish in a hot oven with char siu sauce and honey for sticky, caramelized edges. The sous vide does almost all the work — and the final blast of heat gives you the charred edges that make Chinese-style boneless ribs so good.
Sous Vide Country Style Ribs at a Glance
Temperature: 165°F
Sous vide time: 6 hours
Marinate: 18–24 hours
Finish: 450°F for 30–35 minutes
Result: Tender pork with sticky, caramelized edges
I am always up for experimenting when it comes to cooking. Whether it is with spices, ingredients, gadgets or different cooking methods. My nerdy twist to these scrumptious Chinese boneless ribs is in my method of cooking. Best of all you can use these sous vide pork ribs leftovers to make Pork Fried Rice. You can use your own favorite spices, BBQ or other marinade, I just chose to try to copycat my local Chinese restaurant’s boneless ribs.
This recipe is for my favorite Chinese Take out – but you can use any BBQ sauce, fresh herbs, garlic, olive oil, apples you name it in the sous vide vacuum bag while these pork ribs are cooking.
Sous Vide is super new to me so I really wanted to flex my culinary muscles. I wanted to see if I was able to create the most tender pork ribs along with that yummy char from the broiler. My favorite part of Chinese boneless ribs where I used to get them almost on a daily basis for lunch was the charred ends. Sweet bites of ribs that have some fat and the flavor of the charred ends mixed with the sauce is heaven.
Cooking the pork ribs first in a bath of hot water with my new sous vide machine almost guarantees tender pork. Why not test this new almost hands off method and see if I am right? Note: If you do not have a Sous Vide machine you can use your oven and bake the ribs at 225°F for 4 hours until tender, then carry on with the charring process.
How to Prepare Boneless Country Style Ribs for Sous Vide
For the pork, I had 3 lbs of boneless country ribs I found on sale cheap at my local grocery store. I paid something like $6, not bad. Buying the ribs boneless means no messing around with that membrane on the back of the ribs that is definitely not fun to remove. Time saver.
Next I was told by a friend about packet of marinade called NOH Chinese BBQ Char Siu. I was able to find it at an Asian market near my house. I picked up a few packets of it the other day for something like $1.79. Mix the powder marinade with 1/2 cup of water. Next you pour it over the pork in a big plastic ziplock bag and marinade 24 hours.
I will have to warn you, I was super surprised about the color of this marinade. Seriously its like super pink like lemonade lol. This marinade gives you that reddish pink you see around roast pork in Chinese food. It also contains spices to tenderize and flavor the meat.
I put my pork in a vacuum bag with the marinade then used my food-saver to lock in the flavors. This vacuum bag is great for marinades because when you vacuum out the air it forces the marinade into the pores of the meat. Additionally sous vide means “under vacuum” so this bag then doubles as the bag for sous vide. Winner winner…
Sous Vide Country Style Ribs: Time and Temperature
After 24 hours in this pink lemonade marinade, its time to test my nerdy sous vide technique to get this pork super tender. My goal is 6 hours in the 165°F water bath before finishing the ribs in a hot oven to caramelize and char the edges.
To Sous Vide, I took out a large pot, filled it with water, set the sous vide machine to 165°F. Once up to temp, then dropped the vacuum bagged pork in the water and walked away. After 6 hours the pork was perfectly cooked and tender. I used my trusty Inkbird Smart Sous Vide machine.
Next, I took out a sheet pan, lined it with aluminum foil then topped with a wire rack. The wire rack ensures that air can get under the pork and make it crispy all the way around. Next take the pork out of the bags and cut it up into 2” pieces and placed in a mixing bowl.
How to Get Sticky, Caramelized Edges on Sous Vide Pork Ribs
Here is the second secret part of this amazing ribs recipe. The BBQ sauce. Using the sauce to coat the pork and ensure that it gets charred and tastes like heaven. At the same asian food market I bought Lee Kum Kee Char Siu sauce. This sauce is what layers in that yummy takeout Chinese ribs taste we all know and love. I used half of the jar of sauce and to amp up the sweet flavors. I drizzled honey over the pork in the bowl and mixed it up.
Next, Preheat your oven to 450°F, then arrange the bits of pork on top of the wire rack in a single layer. Once oven is up to temperature, place the sheet pan on the center rack and roast for about 35 minutes. Take the ribs out of the oven when they are charred to your liking.
That’s it.. done and on the cheap! This made about 6 servings for approximately $12 not bad huh?
Get My Sous Vide Country Style Boneless Pork Ribs Recipe Below
Sous Vide Country Style Pork Ribs (Tender & Juicy)
Tender sous vide boneless country style pork ribs cooked at 165°F for 6 hours, then coated with char siu sauce and honey and finished in a hot oven for sticky, caramelized edges.
Ingredients
- 3 Lb Boneless Pork Country RIbs
- 2 Packets NOH Chinese Char Siu Marinade Mix
- 1 Cup Water
- 4 oz Lee Kum Kee Char Siu Sauce
- 3 Oz Honey , for drizzling
Instructions
- Mix 2 Packets of NOH Marinade with 1 cup of water and place ribs into a ziplock or vacuum bag, marinade for 18-24 hours in the fridge
- Preheat water in a large pot with the sous vide machine to 165°F, Add the sealed ribs and cook for 6 hours
- Preheat oven to 450°F
- Line a aluminum sheet pan with foil and top with a wire rack
- Remove the ribs from the bag and cut into approximately 2-inch pieces.
- Toss the ribs with 4 oz Lee Kum Lee Char Siu sauce and coat all pieces of ribs, then drizzle with honey
- Layer ribs onto the sheet pan on the rack in a single layer for even cooking
- Roast on the center rack for 30–35 minutes, until the sauce is caramelized and the edges are charred to your likingr
Notes
Plan ahead: The ribs need to marinate for 18–24 hours before sous vide cooking.
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