How to Cook BBQ Pork Spare Ribs With Dry Rub Seasoning

Cooking tender Texas barbeque pork ribs is not rocket science. Anyone can do it. Dry rub seasoning and "Slow and Low" smoked cooking is the key.

Here is our fool-proof method for smoking a great rack of ribs. For more detailed instructions, we have cooking videos below to walk you though all the steps.

    • We prefer to cook with a 2 ½ pound St. Louis-style cut pork spare ribs. They are cut to fit nicely on the grill. You can find these easily at a supermarket or get a 3-pack at Costco. Most are labeled spare ribs. Few mention St. Louis-style. It's the most common cut of ribs.
    • Use 1/4 cup of Texas Brothers Dry Rub and apply only to the rib meat, not the bones and not the membrane. Grab a bottle of our rub here.
    • You can immediately start to put the ribs on the grill and smoke as soon as you apply the rub. If you want to use the dry rub as a marinade, wrap the rack of pork spareribs up tight and place it in the refrigerator for several hours. It’s your taste preference.
    • We don’t remove the membrane when prepping our ribs. This membrane will cook off in the cooking process.
    • Since are smoking these ribs, you will need to use indirect heat at around 270 to 300 degrees. 
    • It’s ok to foil wrap our ribs during cooking to regulate the amount of smoke and if you want to avoid any caramelizing since our dry rub is a sweet rub mixture. Try it both ways, unwrapped and wrapped to see which method you like.
    • The total cooking time for the spareribs is about 2 ½ to 3 hours. The easiest way to test doneness is use a toothpick and poke the ribs. If the toothpick goes through easily, you are ready to feast.

You can use this same method for beef ribs but with subtle differences. Beef spareribs tend to be a tougher meat that pork so they need extra time on the grill.

Here our two-part instructional video that walks you though the entire process.



If you dont' have access to a smoker with indirect heat, here's our video show you how to grill your ribs on a gas grill.

Texas Brothers
Dry Rub

Long-held family recipe of all natural ingredients that bring out the authentic taste of Texas-style barbecue

This is a sweet dry rub that is great for cooking pork, beef, chicken, turkey and fish.

Ingredients: Sugar, Salt, Paprika, Celery, Cumin, Garlic, Onion, Black Pepper and Chili Pepper.

All Natural and Gluten Free.

 


One of the pioneer bbq cooking teams that helped start the Barbeque festival tour circuit over 25 years ago.

They have traveled and won at barbeque festivals such as Ribfest in Nappervile, Illinois (Chicagoland) Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off in Reno, Nevada, World Pork Congress in Des Moines, Iowa and Pioneer Days in the Fort Worth Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas, to name a few.