SmokeBarbecue
Memphis dry ribs
No sauce. A paprika crust, a vinegar mop, and a rack you eat with your hands over newspaper.
Made it?
5 hr · 35 min hands-on · pull 195°F · rest 10 min
Ingredients
4 lb on the fire · ~2.2 lb to the table · 4 plates at 8 oz
- baby back ribs1 rack (4 lb)
- paprika2 tbsp
- brown sugar1 tbsp
- kosher salt1 tbsp
- black pepper2 tsp
- garlic powder1 tsp
- chili powder1 tsp
- cider vinegar mixed with water, for mop1/2 cup
Method
- 1
Peel the membrane. Coat with the dry rub. Rest 30 minutes while the cooker hits 275°F.
- 2
Smoke unwrapped, bone-side down. After 2 hours, mop lightly every 45 minutes — shine, not a bath.
- 3
Pull when the rack bends and a probe slides, about 5 hours. Dust a last coat of rub while they rest.
- 4
No sauce on the table unless someone asks. The crust is the point.
If you don’t have it
- Baby backs → St. Louis spares. Longer, same mop. They can take more rub.
- Hickory → Pecan, or hickory cut with apple. Straight hickory on a full cooker can taste like ham.
Same cook, different day
Wet table
Someone wants sauce. Serve it on the side. Do not paint the rack.
Hot and fast dry
3 hours. 300°F, mop twice, same dust of rub at the end.
Oven dry
No smoker. 300°F on a rack over a pan, 2½ hours. You will miss the smoke. The crust still works.
On the plate
With this, try
- With this dish, try making vinegar slaw.
Anytime. Better after an hour in the fridge. Cabbage, carrot, cider vinegar, a pinch of sugar, salt, pepper. No mayo if the meat is already rich.
20 min
- With this dish, try making potato salad.
While the meat rests. Waxy potatoes, salt in the water, mustard-mayo, pickle, celery. Fold when the potatoes are still warm.
45 min
- With this dish, try making pinto beans.
Start when a packer wraps, or at the beginning of a shoulder. Soaked beans, smoked hock, onion, chili. Simmer until creamy. Salt late.
2 hr 30 min