"Wet or dry?" is a question that you are most likely to only hear when ordering smoked ribs in Memphis, TN. Unlike most of the country where ribs are coated in barbecue sauce (wet) before being served, Memphians celebrate the true flavor of perfectly smoked ribs but skipping the sauce and eating them with nothing more than a final dusting of dry rub (dry).
In case your travel plans don't take you to Memphis anytime soon, we've created our own version of Memphis Dry Rubbed Ribs below!
MEMPHIS DRY RUBBED RIBS
Ingredients
¼ cup smoked paprika
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1.5 tbsp. Kosher salt
1 tbsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. granulated garlic
½ tbsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. ground mustard
1 tsp. ground oregano
1 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 rack baby back ribs
¼ cup yellow mustard
Instructions
Create dry rub by mixing paprika, brown sugar, salt, onion powder, granulated garlic, pepper, dry mustard, oregano, thyme, and cumin together in a bowl and set aside. Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs and coat both sides with a layer of yellow mustard. Season well with the dry rub mixture, reserving 1 tbsp. of the dry rub mixture.
Prepare smoker or grill for indirect cooking (see how here) and heat to 250 degrees.
Place the ribs on the smoker or grill, cover, allow the ribs to smoke for approximately 4 hours until tender (note: ribs should bend at a 45 degree angle when held on one end with tongs). Remove the ribs from the grill and season with remaining tablespoon of dry rub. Slice ribs and serve.