Chipotle Dry Rub Ribs
Forget the BBQ sauce these Chipotle Dry Rub Ribs are the best ribs for grilling out in the summer!
Yay for grilling season! I know I’ve said it before but I love being able to cook outside on the grill in the summer. I think everything tastes better on the grill, are you with me? I’m from Memphis originally, and even though we moved to Maryland when I was young I was still raised by parents who grew up in the south and I spent my summers with my extended family back in Tennessee. Memphis is all about good BBQ and ribs have always been my favorite. I’m not a huge fan of BBQ sauce, I’ve always preferred a good Memphis dry rub on my ribs. Now that I’m all grown up and don’t make it “home” as often I’ve come up with my own dry rub recipe and I’ve converted some die-hard BBQ sauce fans!
There are a few things you need to do to make mouth-watering, fall-off-the-bone ribs. First, start with a good rack of ribs. Smithfield® St. Louis Style Pork Spareribs are my ribs of choice, and I found mine at Walmart, but Smithfield® also has Pork Loin Baby Back Ribs, and Pork Spareribs, that are delish.
When you get them home the first thing you need to do is remove the silverskin. Silverskin is the thin membrane on the underside of the ribs. Removing it helps make them more tender and easier to eat. It is pretty simple. Turn your ribs over so they are bone side up, then find the beginning of the thin membrane at one end. Pull it up and using a sharp knife gently scrape between the skin and the meat to help separate them. If you can get a good hold on the skin (some people use pliers) you can begin pulling the skin and it will come away fairly easily. Don’t worry if you don’t get every bit of it, just do your best.
Once that is done it is time to make your dry rub. I mix together chili powder, chipotle chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. Then I coat the ribs in a thin layer of yellow mustard, and press the dry rub mix into the top and bottom of the ribs. I get a nice thick layer so there will be lots of flavor once the ribs are cooked. Now, I’m going to tell you a secret, I don’t cook my ribs entirely on the grill. To get them nice and tender I first wrap them in foil and partially cook them in the over at 350°F for 2 hours. I usually do this the night before I want to eat them so when they come out of the oven I let them cool and then wrap them up and put them in the refrigerator.
Then when I’m ready to cook them the next day I put them on the grill for another hour. The trick to getting them nice and tender is to cook them over indirect heat with the grill lid closed. Yes, you can just cook them in the oven, but that hour on the grill gives them so much flavor from the smoke, and a little bit of char on the edges of the meat. To keep the meat moist while cooking on the grill you can use a mop sauce. It is a simple sauce made of water, apple cider vinegar, and yellow mustard. All you do it baste the ribs with it while they cook so they don’t get dried out.
When the ribs are ready take them off the grill and let them rest for about 10 minutes before you cut them apart. And that’s it. Good ribs take a little while to cook but they are totally worth it!
Chipotle Dry Rub Ribs
Ingredients
- 1 rack Smithfield® St. Louis Style Pork Spareribs
- 1-2 Tbsp Yellow Mustard
Dry Rub
- 3 Tbsp Chili Powder
- 3 Tbsp Chipotle Chili Powder
- 3 Tbsp Cumin
- 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Tbsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
Mop Sauce
- 1/4 c Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/4 c Water
- 1 Tbsp Yellow Mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare ribs by removing silverskin and covering ribs in a thin layer of yellow mustard.
- Cover top and bottom of ribs with dry rub.
- Wrap ribs in aluminum foil and bake in oven for 2 hours.
- Remove from oven and let cool then wrap ribs up and place them in the fridge until you are ready to finish them on the grill (you can skip this step if you are cooking them on the same day).
- Combine ingredients to make the mop sauce.
- When ready to finish the ribs cook them over indirect heat on the grill with the lid closed for one more hour.
- Use the mop sauce to baste the ribs as they cook to keep them moist.
- Remove from grill and let the ribs rest for 10-15 minutes then cut and serve.
Oh yea, gonna be makin these!
Just by looking at it i am already salivating. We are already in the beginning of our rainy season here in the Philippines though
You can make them in the oven i do it all the time. Don’t let the rain stop you 🙂
I’m drooling right now! This looks so good. Pinned and tweeted. Thank you for bringing this to our party and we hope to see you on Monday at 7 pm. Lou Lou Girls
Thanks so much 🙂 see you Monday!
Oh, they look incredibly juicy…the perfect summer meal 🙂
Thanks for linking up to Marvelous Monday on Smart Party Planning.
These look excellent! I just started to like ribs and I love how you show all the steps (did not know that about silverskin). (found you on Marvelous Mondays)
I hope you try them and like them. It’s a really simple recipe and it has won over lots of friends who started out saying they didn’t like ribs :).
Ohhhh I loooove ribs! These look delicious and easy to make at home!
Thanks so much for sharing this yumminess at Project Inspire{d} this week!
Thank you. This recipe is just what I was looking for, no sugar !
That’s how I like it too!
I love this recipe – added 3 T of brown sugar and some fresh cracked black pepper. Excellent!