The Best Smoked Ribs Recipe (2024)

ByLynda SelfPublishedMay 25, 2021September 13, 2023Updated onSeptember 13, 2023

You don’t have to drive to the Carolinas or Memphis to enjoy the best Smoked Ribs. This recipe will allow you to make them wherever you are. The rib rub has some serious sweet heat – so be sure to have your favorite beverage nearby when you eat them.

Rain or Shine it’s time for ribs. Not just any ribs. My husband’s Smoked Ribs. You’re in luck because I am sharing his special recipe with you. Cooked right, they will more than likely be thebest smoked ribs you have ever eaten.

Why You Should Make Your Own Rib Rub

The advantage of making your own rub for Smoked Ribs is that you control the quantity of the individual ingredients that go into the mix. If you or someone you love has hypertension, you can always cut back on the salt. My husband’s rub has only one tablespoon of salt = 7200 mg of sodium.

According to the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs): Tolerable Upper Intake Levels chart, for most people the maximum amount of sodium we should consume each day is 2300 mg. (The American Heart Association has a good article about sodium if you would like to learn more.)

Now with the above information, you may think that there is too much sodium in the rub, but keep in mind that this rub will cover at least two slabs of ribs. Though they are fantastic, you really should not eat two slabs of ribs by yourself.

A quick look at other rubs, our recipe has at least half the sodium. Bobby Flay’s recipe calls for 2 tablespoons. A copycat recipe of Famous Dave’s Rib Rub calls for ¼ cup of salt – that is 4 tablespoons. Are you surprised at how much sodium they have?

Ingredients

To make the best ribs at home, you need the following:

• 4slabs of pork ribs
• Mountain Dew
• ¾cupbrown sugar
• 2TablespoonsPaprika
• 1Tablespoonblack pepper
• 1 ½teaspoonsalt
• 1Tablespoongarlic powder
• 1Tablespoononion powder
• 1Tablespoon + 1 ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1bottle of Sweet Baby Ray’s Original BBQ Sauce
• Wood chips
• Charcoal

Instructions

To make these smoked pork ribs, you actually get started the day/night before.

The night before you plan on smoking, the first step that you need to do is to remove the thin membrane (it looks like silver skin) from the underside of the ribs. Soak the ribs in Mountain Dew overnight in the refrigerator in a large container. (I buy JUMBO ZipLock bags to do this.) Soak wood chips in water.

Though you can make the dry rub the day that you smoke the ribs, I recommend that you go ahead and prepare it the night before. It’s one more way to help ensure that you have all of your ingredients.

The Day of Cooking: Drain the Mountain Dew from the ribs. Combine the spices and rub over the ribs and let them sit in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Heat coals in the smoker. Once it is at the ideal range, place the ribs in the smoker on the top rack. (We place chicken drumettes on the bottom rack to get the most use out of the charcoal.)

Smoke the ribs for approximately 4 hours. During the last half hour, generously apply Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce. Check to ensure that the internal temperature reaches 165° Fahrenheit.

When the ribs have finished cooking, remove them and let them cool for about 10 minutes before cutting. We like to place the ribs on a rimmed baking sheet to make transporting them from the smoker to the kitchen easier. It also helps contain the barbecue sauce and minimize the mess.

Here are some dessert recipes that pair well with these sweet ribs:

• Homemade Banana Pudding
• Old Fashioned Tea Cakes
• Key Lime Pie
• Paula Deen’s Ooey Gooey Butter Cake (Clone)
• Small Batch Lemon Cupcakes

Be sure to come back and tell us how your ribs turned out!