Simple Kitchen Hack: 12 Ingredient Dry Rub for Ribs

[Updated on July 6, 2020] Dry rub for ribs is an easy way to add another layer of flavor to your summer grilling. Do you have a spice cabinet stocked with lots of different and interesting herbs and spices?  Are you looking for the perfect rib rub recipe? Why run out to the grocery store to buy a special seasoning for ribs when you can easily make it yourself?

This dry rub for ribs recipe came to fruition because I had 12 adorable Princess House bowls.  And, I wanted to see how far I could push the homemade rib rub envelope!  After all, why use five spices when 12 are better?  Amirite?  I know this probably seems silly, but when developing this recipe and deciding how many spices to use, these little bowls (below) were the deciding factor!

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And, since these are all spices I have in my pantry, I didn’t have to run out and buy anything special to make this dry rub recipe.  The weather is perfect right now for summer grilling, so developing a baby back rib rub seemed appropriate.

Are you curious about Secret Ingredient #1, #2, and #3 in the photo above?  I won’t keep you in suspense any longer and make you try and figure it out from the printable recipe at the bottom of this post.  They are:

Secret Ingredient #1 – steak seasoning

Secret Ingredient #2 – onion powder

Secret Ingredient #3 – dried parsley

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By the way – this is not a sponsored post for Princess House, but I do like their products and have quite a few!  I use these cute little bowls all the time:

• as prep bowls when measuring ingredients
• as bowls on individual dinner plates to serve dipping sauces or special condiments
• as teabag caddies
• milk, food, and treat bowls for my beloved Snowshoe Siamese cat, Coco!

They are very versatile.

I’ve had these cute little bowls for years and you may not be able to find them anymore.   So, I’ve curated a few other types of prep bowls for you in case you are looking for some!

Why Use a Dry Rub?

So, why use a dry rub on pork ribs?  Isn’t slathering them with barbecue sauce enough?  In my humble opinion, adding a dry rub to pork ribs amps up the flavor.  It imbeds in the meat and fat and adds another dimension of flavor to the pork and to the barbecue sauce.  And, yes, you can use barbecue sauce only, but if you are looking to make your baby back pork ribs even more delicious, this BBQ ribs dry rub recipe takes them to the next level.

How Do You Use a Dry Rub?

A dry rub is used on pork ribs as a flavor enhancer.  You sprinkle it over your meat and rub it in (complete instructions below).  And, as much as this dry rub recipe is perfect for ribs, it doesn’t have to be used exclusively for baby back ribs. Here’s another idea:  try it on chicken, beef (hamburgers and steaks), roasts, and how about on shellfish! I bet it’s delicious on grilled shrimp…hmmm, I’ll have to try that!

No special equipment is needed to make or use this dry rub.  In fact, you just need a set of clean hands!  So, whether those hands are yours, a significant other’s, or your child’s, it doesn’t matter.  In fact, creating and using this dry rub on your pork ribs is a good “project” for enlisting help from your kids.

How do you stick a dry rub to ribs?

Here are the easy, step-by-step instructions for applying dry rub to pork ribs:

1. Wash your hands.
2. Remove your pork ribs from the wrapper, whether butcher’s paper or plastic wrap and a styrofoam tray, and set the pork ribs on a baking sheet (this is just to keep your counter clean).
3. Discard the wrappings.
4. Wash your hands.
5. Pick up the pork ribs with one hand and turn on your kitchen sink’s faucet to cold water using your free hand.  Rinse your pork ribs in cold running water and set back on the baking sheet.
6. Wash your hands.
7. Using paper towels, thoroughly pat the pork ribs dry (discard the used paper towels).  Make sure to turn them over and dry both sides.
8. Wash your hands.
9. Use a spoon to sprinkle the dry rub on one side of the ribs; don’t touch the spoon to the meat (using your spoon rather than your fingers is so that if there is any leftover 12-ingredient dry rub you haven’t contaminated the leftover dry rub.  Plus, if you touch the spoon to the meat, you’ve now contaminated the spoon, so don’t put it back into the dry rub bowl!).
10. Using clean hands, massage the dry rub into the pork ribs adding more dry rub in places that seem to need more.
11. Turn the pork ribs over and repeat the process on the other side.
12. Wash your hands!
13. Tear off a large enough piece of plastic wrap to cover the ribs and place the plastic wrap on your clean kitchen counter.
14. Pick ribs up and place in the center of the plastic wrap (you can use a pair of kitchen tongs to do this if you don’t want to dirty your hands again.  But, its a toss-up – wash hands or wash tongs!).
15. Wash your hands!
16. Tightly wrap the pork ribs with the plastic wrap.
17. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

I know this involves a lot of handwashing!  But, your hands can never be too clean, especially when dealing with raw meat of any kind.

How Long Do You Leave a Dry Rub on Ribs?

Leave the dry rub on your ribs (in the refrigerator) for a minimum of 2 hours up to 12 hours.  Which begs the next question…

Can I Leave a Dry Rub on Ribs Overnight?

The simple answer is “yes.”  The more complicated answer is that it depends on the time you are going to finish them up (cook them), whether baking/roasting in the oven or grilling on the grill.  Here’s what I mean:  let’s say you decide to have your pork ribs the next night, so the previous night while cleaning your kitchen after dinner, you take the steps and get those babies ready.  You wash and pat them dry, apply the rub, and wrap them up, stick them in the fridge, and think to yourself “now I’m ready for tomorrow night’s dinner.”  But, tomorrow night’s dinner is actually almost 24 hours away!

If it’s already 8:00 p.m. and they are in the fridge “overnight,” twelve hours later is actually 8:00 a.m. in the morning!  So, timing is everything.  I think it’s best to prepare them in the morning after breakfast, or if you are home around lunchtime, prepare them at lunch.  So, overnight???  Use your best judgment.

From what I’ve read, leaving the pork ribs in dry rub much longer starts to “cure” the ribs, drying them out a bit.  And all of us want fall-off-the-bone, tender, and juicy pork ribs, don’t we?  Especially if you are going to the trouble of rubbing them, roasting them, and grilling them!

Will you do me a favor?  Would you share my post on social media?  The pinnable images scattered throughout this post are for your Pinterest boards so that you can bookmark this post and come back to it later.  I couldn’t decide which one to choose, so I included several!  So, you have choices and that’s a good thing!

Confession:  I haven’t tried a lot of different dry rubs in my life.  And once I developed this recipe, I’ve never used a store-bought product because I think this is the best rib rub recipe for me!  Why?  It’s a brown sugar rib rub along with a spice rub for ribs, which in my opinion makes for the best rib rub!  Sweet plus savory with a tiny bit of heat equals perfection in my book!

Did I mention that this recipe can be used as a dry rub for ribs in the oven?  50% of the time I cook my baby back pork ribs in the oven and finish them on the grill.  The other 50% of the time I just leave them in the oven the whole time.  It really just depends on what time of year it is as to whether or not I cook them on the grill.  So, cooking baby back pork ribs in the oven is my backup plan!

To Sum It All Up…

This baby back ribs dry rub recipe couldn’t be easier: mix together a bunch of spices with brown sugar and, voila’, perfect dry rub recipe!  Sprinkled then rubbed all over baby back ribs, this dry rub is a finger-licking delicious and spicy way to prepare ribs.

Furthermore, you can double or triple the recipe and store it in your spice cabinet or pantry.  Then, you’ll have plenty of the best dry rub for ribs ready for the next time you roast baby back pork ribs in the oven or grill them or both (as I do)!

In a nutshell…lots of spices and brown sugar join forces to make a sweet and savory homemade DIY rub for pork ribs in minutes.  This easy brown sugar rib rub recipe is sure to become your favorite BBQ rib rub for both grilling and the oven.  A dry rub recipe to beat all dry rubs – and, most of all, you made it yourself!

Combine spices & brown sugar to make a sweet & savory dry rub for ribs recipe in minutes with just 12 ingredients from your pantry. #dryrub Click To Tweet

Here’s the recipe for a 12-ingredient dry rub for ribs:

Print

Kitchen Tools and Supplies Needed to Make 12-Ingredient Dry Rub for Ribs:

Small Mixing Bowl || Spoon || Paprika || Black Pepper || Salt || Brown Sugar || Dry Ground Mustard || Garlic Powder || Cumin || Chili Powder || Onion Powder || Red Chili Flakes || Steak Seasoning || Dried Parsley || Plastic Wrap (to cover meat) || Food-Safe Storage Container (to store leftover dry rub)

I’ve been busy over the last several months writing several ebooks.  Be sure to take a minute and check them out here and here.

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Tootles,

Other Grilling Recipes from Toot Sweet 4 Two’s archives:

Easy Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Rubbed, Roasted and Grilled Barbecue Baby Back Ribs

Peach Pineapple Dump Cake with Walnuts

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