Memphis style dry shredded pork ribs grilled slowly to perfection!

There are wet, sticky ribs with a juicy and spicy barbecue sauce, and there are dry ribs, where the flavor lies in the dried mixture of herbs and spices, fused by time, smoke and pork fat into something larger than the sum of their parts.

That’s what they do in Memphis, Tennessee, and that’s why Memphis-style ribs are some of the best in the world.

What happens in a Memphis rib Rub is up to you, but most recipes are based on Paprika, brown sugar, black pepper, Cayenne pepper, garlic and onion powder.

All sorts of other ingredients find their way into any “secret recipe”, but the most common are cumin, dry mustard, celery salt or celery seeds, Dried oregano or rosemary, chili powder, ginger, Allspice or even white pepper.

Serious spice masters have been perfecting for years the exact ratio Of spices for their personal style.

Cooking these ribs is simple: rub the spice mixture on the ribs and cook slowly over low heat until ready. Sounds easy, right? He is, sorta.

We prefer to let the spice mixture sit on the ribs overnight before cooking, but you don’t have to. We also prefer to cook our ribs on a wood fire, but you can use charcoal or even a gas grill if necessary. Just do not use an oven.

In any matter, keep the ribs away from the heat source. If using a grill, let the fire slowly turn on one side of the grill and cook the ribs on the other side.

Slowly, it’s still good. I’ve cooked ribs for 12 hours before and I’ve never had good ribs cooked for less than 3 hours.

Use our rib rub as a guide, and play with it to your liking. What are your favorite ingredients in your barbecues?

Try to get sliced ribs from St. Louis for this recipe, not baby ribs. Normal spareribs are also fine.

Ingredient

• 2 St. Louis-Cut or one Spare Rib Racks
• 1/4 Cup Sweet Paprika
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons Cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon Dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon Dried oregano

Method

Remove the Membrane:

For more tender pork ribs that absorb the taste of rubbing better, remove the thin whitish membrane at the bottom of the rack. Place the Rack on a work surface with the folded side up. Grab the Membrane in a Corner and tighten them. If it resists, slide a knife (a table knife works) between the membrane and one of the bones at the end of the rack to loosen the membrane. Wad a paper towel and use it to get a better grip if you must. Keep pulling and the membrane should come off in one piece.

Repeat this operation with the other rack.

Make the dry rub and rub on the ribs:

Mix all the Dry Ingredients together. Rub them on the ribs and, if you have time, put them in the refrigerator overnight.

Grill for 1 hour on low and indirect heat:

Turn on your barbecue or smoker. You want a fairly low heat, about 200-220°F If you can measure it. Make sure that you have a place where you can place the ribs that are not directly above the heat source. Put the ribs down. You should not sizzle. If so, cool the grill until the ribs stop sizzling when you put them down. Cover the barbecue or smoker and leave for 1 hour.

Continue grilling for 4 hours:

Every hour or so after the first hour of cooking, twist and turn the ribs so that they cook evenly. You shouldn’t have to staple them when you do this: the fat in the ribs will do the stapling for you.

When turning the ribs, monitor the temperature of the grill so that it is between 200 and 220 ° F.

Check the cooking:

Depending on the heat of your configuration and the cooking stage you like, your ribs will be ready in 4-8 hours.

How do you know when the Ribs are finished? If you lift a grate with forceps and push the forceps, you should see a crack shape in the slightly charred crust that exposes the pinkish-pink flesh underneath.