They know a thing or two about BBQ in Kansas City. Here's the classic rub recipe which I use on both chicken and ribs. I then finish with my favourite ... Maple Bourbon BBQ Sauce.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when cooking ribs is not paying enough attention to the rub. The rub is the first thing to touch the ribs and it's what seeps down into the meat giving it a complex flavour. The longer you leave the rub on before cooking, the better the flavour will be.
If you're doing ribs and you have the time, remove your rib membrane and add your rub (at least 2 Tablespoons on each side of the rib) the night before cooking.
Let rub sit on ribs (refrigerated). 4 hours is good but overnight is even better. Kind of like 4 hours of sleep is good, but overnight is even better.
Table of Contents
Kansas City Rib Rub
Kansas City Rib Rub
Ingredients
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup paprika
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together and put in an airtight container.
Nutrition
What makes a good rub?
The fresher the spices you use, the better the rub. So grinding your spices just before mixing everything up will get you the best flavour.
You can even make your own paprika powder from scratch with a few grocery store sweet peppers.
What else can you use a Kansas City rub on?
This rub is fantastic on chicken of any type but especially BBQed chicken and smoked chicken wings. On smoked chicken wings it's CRAZY good.
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Sounds like a great rub! A little heavy on the cayenne though. Next time try covering the ribs in yellow mustard any cheap o kind is good, then apply the rub. Your rubs will be so tender! I can't say I'm an authority but I do live in Kansas City and eat my fair share of ribs!