Best Dry Rub for Country Style Pork Ribs
The best dry rub for country style pork ribs is so easy to make and enhances the flavor of meaty boneless country ribs. With the right amount of sweet, spicy, salty, and savory, you have the perfect balance of flavors for your country style ribs.
You can also use this dry rub for baby back ribs or more of your favorite pork recipes. If you’re looking to expand your grilling repertoire, exploring Memphis-style dry rub recipes can introduce new dimensions of flavor to your dishes. Whether you’re preparing pork, chicken, or even vegetables, a good Memphis-style dry rub brings a unique blend of spices that elevates any meal.
Experimenting with different blends can help you find the perfect mix to suit your taste preferences.
You can make a larger batch ahead of time or just enough for a recipe like this air fryer country style ribs recipe. This dry rub is very easy to make ahead of time and can be stored for up to 12 months. The whole dry rub recipe makes enough for about 8 pounds of boneless country-style ribs, but it is easy to adjust for larger or smaller quantities.
Easy Dry Rub for Country Style Pork Ribs
Often, a pork rib recipe will call for only salt and pepper. This dry rub adds a more complex flavor to boneless country-style pork ribs with a mixture of brown sugar, herbs, and spices.
This dry rub seasoning is one of my favorite ways to make flavorful ribs because it enhances boneless ribs without overpowering their flavor. Use this recipe with these Boneless Air Fryer Country Style Ribs and your favorite BBQ sauce for a tasty all-around flavor.
For great flavor the whole family will love, use this dry rub for country style pork ribs along with this homemade barbecue sauce or another favorite barbecue sauce for pork.
🥘 Simple Ingredients
- Dark brown sugar adds a sweetness and complexity with a hint of molasses.
- Smoked paprika is made by smoking and drying peppers over oak. This process gives the paprika a nice rick smoky flavor which makes it perfect for ribs. You can find smoked paprika in mild, medium, or hot so select the paprika according to your tastes.
- Onion powder and garlic powder add full flavor to the dry rub. By using powders in this rub, you get the effect of onion and garlic without overpowering the other flavors.
- Ground mustard adds just enough tangy heat to the rub that makes it an ideal complement to the pork.
- Cumin adds warmth and citrus notes to the pork dry rub.
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper for well seasoned and tender meat.
- Cayenne pepper if you want to add more spiciness to your rub.
The exact measurements and steps for this dry rub recipe are included in the recipe card.
🔪 How To Make Dry Rub for Country Style Ribs
- Add the brown sugar, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, kosher salt, dry mustard, ground cumin, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to a small bowl and mix well.
- Measure out the amount of dry rub you need for your pork rib recipe. Using your fingers, sprinkle the dry rub all over the ribs. Then gently pat the dry rub into the ribs.
- Store the remaining dry rub for country style pork ribs in an airtight container for up to 12 months.
Cooks notes: Feel free to use this rub on a pork shoulder roast, pork chops, spare ribs, or other rib recipes.
💭 Top Tips
Never touch the dry rub mixture in the storage container with your hands or any utensils that have come in contact with the raw pork.
FAQs for the Best Ribs With Homemade Rub
What do you put on ribs before rubbing?
For cooking methods other than using a charcoal or gas grill, there is no need to put anything on the ribs before adding the spice rub. Do make sure to pat the boneless pork ribs dry with a paper towel before sprinkling on the pork dry rub for best results.
How long should dry rub be on ribs before cooking?
For tons of flavor, it is not necessary to add dry rub to boneless country style pork ribs well in advance of cooking. The time is takes the ribs to get to room temperature, usually 30 minutes or less, is just fine.
What temp should I cook my country-style ribs?
For low and slow oven-baked country-style ribs, 300° F is a good temperature for fork tender ribs. For air fryer country style ribs, 375° F is the ideal temp for this faster cooking style.
How long should you cook country-style ribs for?
For truly fork tender ribs, the ribs should reach and internal temperature between 190°F and 205°F when tested with an instant-read thermometer. For slow oven roasting, cooking will take about 3 hours. For air fryer ribs, air frying will take about 25 minutes.
📖 Variations
You can customize this dry rub for country style pork ribs to suit your tastes. When you do make substitutions, do so in small increments, testing as you go.
Brown sugar. Use more or less brown sugar. You can also replace the dark brown sugar with regular brown sugar. You won’t have the deep molasses flavor, but it will still work nicely on boneless country style ribs or a similar cut of meat.
Smoked paprika. You can substitute paprika for the smoked if that is all you have on hand. However, I would highly recommend buying a smoked paprika then next time you shop for the added barbecue-like smoky flavor.
Chili powder can be used in place of the smoked paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Use 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of chili powder and omit the mentioned ingredients.
Cayenne pepper. Omit this ingredient for a less spicy rub.
🧂 Storage
This dry rub for country style pork ribs can be stored for up to 12 months. According to the USDA, the dry rub can be stored indefinitely. However, the seasoning mixture will begin to lose its robust flavor the longer it is stored.
Use a pint canning jar with a resealable lid. I also like to use specialty spice jar lid covers that fit onto canning jars.
Best Dry Rub for Country Style Pork Ribs
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
- 1-1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1-1/2 tablespoons onion powder
- 1-1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1-1/2 tablespoons kosher salt Morton's Brand
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add the brown sugar, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, kosher salt, dry mustard, ground cumin, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Mix well until combined.
- Use immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 12 months.
