Memphis Magic Dust

Memphis ribsMany purists in Memphis don't like to smother their pigs with sauce. Instead they lay on a dry "rub," a mixture of spices and herbs, and eat their slabs crunchy, sans sauce. There are restaurants that only serve "dry" ribs. No sauce in the joint.

Rubs are seasoning mixes and there are scores of recipes. Some cooks apply a rub just before cooking, some let it sit on the meat overnight as a sort of curing process. I think there is a reaction between the rub and the surface that helps form a nice crust, called bark, if the rub is on for at least two hours in the fridge.

There's no need to buy rubs in the store. They're easy to make. Here's my recipe for a great all purpose rib rub. Feel free to modify it to suit your taste.

Yield. Makes a bit more than two cups, enough for about 12 pounds of ribs.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup kosher salt *
4 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons ground ginger
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons ground rosemary

Option. 2 tablespoons crushed dried chipotle, cayenne, chili powder, or other hot pepper. Be careful with this ingredient. Not everybody likes it as hot as you do! You can leave it out if you are serving to a large crowd that is bound to contain a few wimps, and serve pepper flakes on the side.

* Note. If you use a brine, leave the salt out of your rub.

Do this
1) Mix the ingredients thoroughly. If the sugar is lumpy, crumble the lumps by hand or on the side of the bowl with a fork. If you store the rub in a tight jar, you can keep it for months. If it clumps just chop it up, or if you wish, spread it on a baking sheet and put it in a 250F oven for 15 minutes to drive off moisture.

2) If I am serving Memphis style ribs without a sauce, I will apply the rub thick enough to make a crunchy crust, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it overnight before cooking.

A word of caution. If you plan to brine your ribs, leave the salt out of your rub.

Keep your powder dry. To prevent cross-contamination, one hand sprinkles on the rub and the other hand does the rubbing. Don't put the hand that is rubbing into the powder.

This page revised 7/18/07
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