Rib Dry Rub Recipe

Make and Share This Dry Rub Recipe for Ribs

I love cooking! Publishing a Rib Dry Rub recipe is one example of why I love to cook.

Cooking ribs, especially barbecue ribs, in and of itself is almost like talking religion and politics!

(My husband likes to explain it this way: “Barbecue - The only sport where a fat, bald man is a god.”)

What’s the “BEST?” Ask the question and get a thousand (different) answers. I love it!

International and USA regional differences in how ribs should be prepared makes cooking interesting AND FUN!

My husband and I have tried ribs in many places in the USA. Every city/state in the south claims to have the best ribs – and they are correct, just as Chicago, New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Columbus, etc. boast excellent ribs.

Even Washington, D.C. has several award-winning rib restaurants (But then, again, that shouldn’t surprise us. D.C. is famous for pork.)

So what does make for a perfect rib, barbecued or otherwise? Tenderness, smokiness (just a “kiss”), sauce (not too much, either), and just the right amount of charring.

When talking about “tenderness,” think “tug-off-the-bone,” not overcooked (“fall-off-the-bone”) or mushy. This has to do with the cooking method. (Please do not boil your ribs - at a bare minimum do not boil them to death). Click here to read more.

And, to achieve a so-called “perfect rib,” you should use a dry rub for ribs. The dry rub recipe, the sauce, and the cooking method = DELICIOUS.

You can choose any type of rib for this rib dry rub recipe: baby back ribs, long ends, short ends, you name it. Works with chicken, too.

Note: You really want to taste your ribs. Even if you have a great sauce, don’t smother your ribs with it. Sauce is supposed to “enhance” the meal …not become the meal.

Ribs, pork or beef, are perfect to occupy a grill or an oven. The meat is generously marbled, which keeps it moist during prolonged cooking. As the fat melts, it should crisp the meat and add the ribs flavoring. Bones help give the meat its wonderful flavor. (Keep the napkins handy!)

Rib Dry Rub Recipe

Preparation time: 15 minutes plus 2 hours of refrigeration time (minimum of 2 hours, over-night is better). Serves 6 pounds of baby back ribs

Cooking times are approximate. When the ends of the bones protrude and the meat is tender enough to pull apart with your fingers, your ribs are done.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons coarse black pepper
1 teaspoon Ancho chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)

Instructions for Seasoning:

Mix all herbs and spices
Rub over both sides of ribs
Refrigerate the ribs for at least 2 hours (over-night is better)
Bake in covered pan at 325 degrees F. for 2 1/2 - 3 hours or until done (see note above)

There is your rub! Please enjoy your rib dry rub recipe and your ribs and the company of those you share them with! ("Ribs Matter") - Donna

“America, it has been observed, is not really a melting pot. It is actually a huge potluck dinner, in which platters of roasted chicken beckon beside casseroles of pasta, barbecue ribs, mounds of tortillas, stew pots of gumbo, and skillets filled with pilafs of every imaginable color."

Andrea Chesman