Memphis Dry Ribs
intro
Tender, smoky pork ribs coated in a bold spiced dry rub, with a crispy, flavorful bark—no sticky sauce required for this iconic Memphis BBQ staple.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep the rib racks
Pat 1800g of St. Louis-cut pork spare ribs completely dry with paper towels. Flip each rack bone-side up, slide a butter knife under the thin silverskin membrane at one narrow end, grip the loose membrane with a paper towel for traction, and peel it off in one full sheet. Trim any loose, hanging fat from the rib edges with a sharp paring knife.
Mix signature dry rub
In a small mixing bowl, combine 45g sweet paprika, 25g packed dark brown sugar, 9g garlic powder, 7g onion powder, 18g kosher salt, 2g freshly ground black pepper, 5g celery salt, 3g dry mustard powder, 2g ground cumin, and 1g cayenne pepper. Whisk vigorously for 30 seconds to fully combine, pressing any clumps of brown sugar against the bowl wall with the back of the whisk to create an even, consistent mix.
Coat ribs with rub
Sprinkle roughly two-thirds of the dry rub evenly across all sides of the trimmed rib racks, pressing the spice mix firmly into the meat surface with your fingertips to ensure it adheres. Let the seasoned ribs rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the salt and spices to penetrate the meat, reserving the remaining one-third of the rub for a final coating. Use this rest time to preheat your grill.
Prep grill for smoking
Set up a charcoal or gas grill for indirect, low-heat cooking, targeting a steady internal grill temperature of 110°C (225°F). For charcoal grills, bank fully lit charcoal briquettes to one side of the grill chamber; for gas grills, light only the burners on one half of the grill. Add 60g of drained, pre-soaked hickory wood chips directly to the coals or to a metal smoker box on gas grills, close the lid, and wait until thin, pale blue smoke begins to wisp from the grill vents.
Smoke ribs low and slow
Arrange the seasoned rib racks bone-side down on the unheated, indirect side of the grill grate, making sure no part of the ribs sits directly over the heat source. Close the grill lid, maintain a steady 110°C (225°F) temperature, and cook for 2 full hours. Every 30 minutes, quickly open the lid to spritz the rib surface lightly with 60ml of apple cider vinegar to keep the meat moist and build a crisp, dark bark; close the lid immediately to avoid temperature drops.
Apply final rub coating
After the initial 2 hours of smoking, sprinkle the reserved one-third of dry rub evenly over the top surface of the ribs. Close the grill lid, hold the temperature steady at 110°C (225°F), and cook for an additional 1 to 1.5 hours. Test for doneness when the meat pulls back 6mm (¼ inch) from the cut ends of the rib bones, and a wooden toothpick slides into the thickest part of the meat with no resistance.
Rest and serve ribs
Transfer the fully cooked ribs to a clean wooden cutting board, tent loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil, and let rest for 15 minutes to allow internal juices to redistribute through the meat. Slice between individual rib bones with a sharp knife, and serve immediately, with extra dry rub on the side if desired—no barbecue sauce is needed for authentic Memphis dry ribs.
Tips
2.Avoid opening the grill lid unnecessarily during cooking; each lid lift can lower the internal temperature by 25–50°C, extending cook time and leading to tough, dry ribs.
3.Wait for thin, pale blue smoke before adding ribs; thick, billowing white smoke indicates incomplete wood combustion, which will leave a bitter, acrid taste on the finished ribs.
OMG these are legit! I’ve been chasing that Memphis dry rub flavor for years after a trip to Beale Street, and this rub is spot on. Cooked these on my offset smoker for the full 3h45m, bark was perfect, not too salty, just the right hit of paprika and garlic. Brought em to a neighborhood cookout and people were begging for the recipe. SO good!
My kids devoured these! I was worried the dry rub would be too spicy for my youngest who hates anything with a kick, but it was perfectly balanced—smoky, a tiny bit sweet, zero overwhelming heat. Served with baked mac and cheese and vinegar coleslaw for our Sunday family dinner, and even my super picky middle son asked for seconds. Total win, will be making these at least once a month!
Tasted amazing, but I ran into a little trouble! My ribs came out a touch tougher than I expected even after following the cook time exactly. Did I mess up the temp on my oven? I had it set to 300F like the recipe said, but my oven runs hot I think. Flavor was 10/10 though, the rub is chef’s kiss.
Brought these to our church potluck last weekend and I swear the pan was empty in 10 minutes. So many people asked for the recipe I had to send the link to half the congregation! Love that there’s no sticky sauce to make a mess, people could just grab a rib and mingle without saucy fingers. 10/10 for potluck friendly eats.
Made these for my roommates for our first ever backyard grill night and they thought I was a professional chef lmao. Didn’t have a fancy smoker, just used my cheap charcoal grill with a smoke box, followed the rub measurements exactly, and they turned out insane. Way cheaper than ordering ribs from the local BBQ joint too, will be on rotation all semester.
Really solid rib recipe! I added a 1/2 tsp of cayenne extra to the rub because I love a spicy kick, and it was perfect for my taste. The only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is I wish the recipe noted if you should remove the membrane first—totally forgot to do that on my first rack, oops.
Wait, has anyone tried making these ahead for meal prep? I’m thinking of making a big batch on Sunday to eat for lunches throughout the week, but I’m worried the rub will get soggy if I store them in the fridge.
Cooked these for my old fire station crew on shift yesterday, and let me tell you, these guys are tough critics when it comes to BBQ. Every single one of them went back for thirds. The rub has that perfect balance of sweet, savory, smoky that you expect from real Memphis ribs, no fancy gimmicks, just good solid flavor. A+ recipe.
Made these for the Bills watch party yesterday and they were the real MVP. Forgot to pick up BBQ sauce entirely and didn’t even need it— the rub has so much depth of flavor no one even asked for sauce. We demolished two full racks before halftime. Will 100% be making these for every game day for the rest of the season.
Quick question! I picked up spare ribs instead of baby back by accident—will this cook time still work, or do I need to adjust? Rub smells incredible already, just don’t want to ruin dinner.
Obsessed with this dry rub! I mixed up a double batch and used it on chicken thighs and even roasted potatoes last night too, not just ribs. It’s so versatile, I’m gonna keep a jar of it in my spice cabinet from now on. The ribs themselves came out juicy, flavorful, perfect bark—zero notes.
I run a small weekend catering side gig and added these ribs to my menu last week after testing the recipe. Customers went crazy for them! I’ve already had three repeat requests for the dry rub ribs for upcoming graduation parties. The recipe is easy to scale for big batches too, which is a total lifesaver for events.
Really great flavor, but I found the rub a little heavy on the salt for my preference. Next time I’ll cut the kosher salt by about a teaspoon, and I think it’ll be perfect. Cook time was spot on, ribs were tender, the smoke level was just right for an oven cook too!
I was so nervous to make these because I usually stick to super easy, 30 minute meals, and the difficulty said medium! But the steps were so straightforward, no weird ingredients, and they turned out better than ribs I’ve paid $25 for at restaurants. My husband is already asking when we’re making them again.
Made these on my Traeger at 225 for the full cook, added a little apple wood smoke, and they were absolute perfection. The rub doesn’t compete with the smoke flavor, it complements it perfectly. I’ve tried a dozen dry rub recipes and this one is my new go-to, no contest.
Grew up eating Memphis-style ribs at my granddaddy’s cookouts, and this recipe tastes exactly like his. The brown sugar in the rub gives that tiny bit of caramelized sweetness, the paprika is just smoky enough, no weird overpowering spices. Total nostalgia trip, I’ll be passing this recipe down to my own kids.
Wow, this is such a budget-friendly recipe! I already had all the spices in my pantry, didn’t have to buy any fancy specialty seasonings, and a rack of ribs was on sale for $10 at my grocery store. Fed me and my partner for two nights, way cheaper than takeout. Obsessed.
Flavor was incredible, but the total cook time was closer to 4.5 hours for me because my oven is a little older and doesn’t hold heat super well. Just a heads up for anyone with older appliances to budget a little extra time! The end result was totally worth the wait though, my whole family loved them.
So happy this recipe is naturally gluten free! I have celiac and so many store bought rib rubs have hidden gluten or weird additives, but making it from scratch with this recipe means I know exactly what’s in it. Tastes just as good as any gluten-filled BBQ joint rib, no cross contamination worries at all. Perfect for our family cookouts where I have to be careful about what I eat.
Accidentally doubled the brown sugar in the rub when I was mixing it up, and honestly? It was still amazing. A little sweeter than intended, but my kids went crazy for it, so I’m not even mad. Next time I’ll measure correctly, but even my mistake turned out delicious, which says a lot about how good this base recipe is.