My Tried and True Rib Rub


 
J

Jonny K

TVWBB Fan
When I first purchased my WSM I went on a quest to find the perfect rub for my taste which is not too salty, not too sweet and not too spicy. I searched high and low in all the forums and tried many rubs. I even purchased Steven Raichlen's Ribs, Ribs, Ribs book and tried a few recipes there most were too salty or peppery for my taste.

My finding is that most of the recipes were too salty for my taste. I met a guy on the BBQ Bible Forum and we exchanged several emails and he gave me a simpler version of the rub below which I modified it by adding several ingredients and adjusting here and there. I tried it several times and this is what I've concocted.

It's perfect for me. It's sweet but not too sweet. Little salt since I don't like too much salt. It's got just enough heat too. I've only made it dry but I'm sure if you slathered some sauce on the ribs towards the end they would turn out awesome.

I usually spray my ribs after a few hours with an apple cider and a little bourbon combination to keep them moist.

Without further ado here it is. I hope that someone with find it to their liking.

My rub uses a fair amount of brown sugar, very little salt and a little spice. I recommend removing the back membrane, which is easy if you start pulling from the narrow end of the rack. I coat my ribs with simple yellow mustard overnight or several hour before I put on the rub. It's doesn't effect the taste and it will make the rub stick easily. You can cover your ribs moderately with the rub. A large shaker works great. The kind that the pizza places put the crushed red pepper in.

You can adjust to your taste.

2 Cups Dark Brown Sugar
2 tblsp Onion Powder
2 tblsp Garlic Powder
2 tblsp Paprika
2 tblsp Old Bay (contains salt and a little heat)
1 tblsp Kosher Salt
1 tblsp Black Pepper
1 tblsp Onion Flakes
1 tsp Mustard Powder
1 tsp Cayene or Chili Powder.
1 tsp celery seeds

Thanks for checking out my post!

Jonny
 
Thanks for the feedback Tim. Please let me know how they turn out. I plan making some ribs on Christmas day. I will try my Piedmont double water pan for the first time.
 
I gave your rub a whirl, and I must say you did a fine job. Very tasty stuff. I made two small modifications for my tastes which I thought I would share.

1. I went half regular and half hot paprika to give it some more heat. Not a lot, but kind of a sneaky heat that you don't notice right away.

2. And since it was Christmas, I added about 3/4s of a tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg.

The ribs themselves turned out ok, but I definitely overcooked them. For some reason these ribs never pulled away from the ends of the bones like they should have, so they stayed in the smoker for an extra hour, hour and a half longer than they needed to. They were still pretty good, but I am becoming a rib snob now and thought they were a little on the tough side. My friend who sampled them said he liked them better than my last rib cook, so I must have done something right.

The best thing about this cook is that I am starting to develop a feel for the smoker, which shows in my improved temperature control. It's like the smoker is beginning to become predictable, and I am starting to learn how to make it go where I want it to as opposed to wondering where it will go next.

I can't wait to fire it up again next weekend.
 
Tim,

I'm glad you liked the rub. That's the great thing about recipes you can modify them to your taste. I'll have to try the regular/hot mix next time I make it.

I am confused about one thing though. You said you over cooked your ribs. Are you sure you didn't under cook them? Sometimes cooking too low can turn the ribs hammy. I did this several months ago. What I found out was that cooking ribs that are really thick didn't work as well for me. I bought ribs at the local Sam's and they only turned out ok for me. I had to put them back on the smoker for a couple of hours with higher temps and the meat finally recessed from the bone.

The bone should be dry after the meat is pulled away in my opinion. Last night I made 4 slabs cooked about 7 hours and they were perfect! These ribs were picked up at my local super called Woodmans, which were a little thinner and cook more evenly. I try to pick slabs that cook similar to each other which means they will finish at the same time.

I think if I buy the Sam's ribs again I will cook at a higher temp. I usually cook my ribs @ 250 lid temp which is about 240 top grate, but with thicker ribs I will cook closer to 280. Contrary to popular belief you can do the ribs around 300 lid temp. They will just finish faster. Also, depending on the meat/fat consistency you might need higher temps to melt the fat. I'm getting pretty good at doing ribs, at least that's what all my friends say.

Now, when I finish off my ribs I crank up the temp about 50 degrees 2 hours before finishing to give it a little bark.

I hope this helps, by no means is advice perfect it's just what I've learned along the way.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

I am confused about one thing though. You said you over cooked your ribs. Are you sure you didn't under cook them? Sometimes cooking too low can turn the ribs hammy. I did this several months ago. What I found out was that cooking ribs that are really thick didn't work as well for me. I bought ribs at the local Sam's and they only turned out ok for me. I had to put them back on the smoker for a couple of hours with higher temps and the meat finally recessed from the bone.
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I didn't think of them being undercooked, but it is a possibility. These weren't very thick ribs, in fact they weren't cut very well at all. I noticed after I brought them home that they had even been cut down to the bone in a few spots. I cooked them for six hours at an average temp of around 250 degrees. This is a little lower than what I cooked them at last time, but they were also left on for an extra hour as well. The ribs had a nice smoke ring to them, but the exterior seemed a little tough for my liking. The bones seemed to be dry when the meat was pulled off of them.

Next time I will do a pull test as well as look for some bone separation.
 
I agree Tim, the pull test or the toothpick test is good. One thing about ribs is there is no exact recipe for cook times or temps because each slab is different. Please post some pictures of your next cook.

I don't know if you know what the Piedmont double pan mod is but I used it for the first time yesterday and it worked perfectly for me. I will never again deal with water in the pan anymore.
 
I agree with the above post. Personally, the only way I have gotten perfect ribs is with the toothpick test. I dont remember who posted it. Slide the toothpick between the bones, when it slides through like butter then they are done. Too soon or too late it wont feel the same. It takes a few times but when you feel it you will know.
 
Just wanted to thank everyone for their advice on my tough ribs. Turns out they weren't over cooked, they were under-cooked. I fired up a batch yesterday and I am very happy with the results. I used Jonny K's rub recipe with a couple of modifications here and there and came out with the most tender, flavorful ribs I've ever had. I think I'll go home and have some for lunch right now!
 
Tim,

I'm glad you liked the rub, I'm always trying to better my rub, could you post what additions/changes you made on this post. I'd also like to know what effect your additions had. Congratulations on a great smoke! I'm sure you'll have many more to come.

Jonny
 
I stuck pretty close to your recipe, but made the following modifications:

1. Instead of brown sugar, I used turbinado sugar. I like a little bit of bark, but not a lot of bark. The turbinado sugar gives me the consistency I am looking for.

2. I used one tblsp of regular paprika and 1 tblsp of hot paprika. This keeps it kind of mild, but adds a degree of "sneaky hot" to it as well.

3. i add a tsp each of nutmeg and cinnamon. It gives it a little extra zing.

Other than that it is all you. This has become my standard rib rub recipe.
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Tim,

I'm glad I was able to make your BBQ experience more enjoyable. This board is a great resource. Next time I make my rub I will try your additions. From the sound of it, I'm sure it will take it to the next level.

Happy Q'ing!

Jonny
 
I tried this Rub on a rack of Baby-Backs last night...I must say it was pretty good!!!!
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Thanks for sharing this recipe!!!

Ron
 
Ron,

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Please post some picks if you have any. Feel free to modify it anyway you want.

I'm going to try substituting the brown sugar with Turbinado a.k.a. sugar in the raw for my next batch also the add the additions that Tim used.

Jonny
 
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