Ruby Tuesday Memphis Dry Ribs Recipe
Ruby Tuesday’s Memphis Dry Ribs are smoky, tender and boldly seasoned with a zesty dry rub that delivers a perfect balance of spice, sweetness and Southern charm in every bite.
Make our Ruby Tuesday Memphis Dry Ribs Recipe at home. With our Secret Restaurant Recipe your Memphis Dry Ribs will taste just like Ruby Tuesday.

Photo by William Jones
Ruby Tuesday Memphis Dry Ribs
A Ruby Tuesday Copycat Recipe
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Ruby Tuesday
Ruby Tuesday, a prominent American casual dining restaurant chain, was founded in 1972 by Sandy Beall in Knoxville, Tennessee, near the University of Tennessee campus. Inspired by The Rolling Stones’ song “Ruby Tuesday,” a cultural icon of the time, the restaurant’s name was suggested by none other than the legendary Bob Hope.
From its humble beginnings, Ruby Tuesday has expanded its footprint globally, boasting 209 locations that offer a diverse menu rooted in American cuisine. While the restaurant features a range of dishes, including all-natural chicken, pasta, pork ribs, soups, steak, and seafood, it remains especially celebrated for its signature salad bar and hamburgers—culinary staples that have endured since the chain’s inception.
Ruby Tuesday’s commitment to providing a full dining experience is reflected in its well-stocked bars across all locations, serving up a variety of cocktails, beer, and wine. The restaurant has evolved over the years, adapting to contemporary culinary trends while preserving its core identity. Ruby Tuesday’s enduring popularity lies not only in its menu but also in the relaxed and inviting atmosphere it provides to patrons.
As a testament to its cultural resonance, the restaurant’s name reflects a nostalgic connection to an era when music and dining converged. Today, Ruby Tuesday stands as a symbol of timeless American comfort food, offering a familiar haven for those seeking a blend of classic dishes and a welcoming dining environment.
The Soul of Smoke and Spice: Memphis-Style Dry Ribs
Memphis-Style Dry Ribs are a smoky, sultry expression of Southern barbecue, born in the music-soaked heart of Tennessee. Unlike their saucy cousins slathered in thick, sticky glaze, these ribs sing a different tune—one defined by a bold, complex rub that caramelizes beautifully into the meat as it cooks low and slow. The result? A crusty, flavorful bark that melts into tender pork with every bite, delivering layers of heat, sweetness, and deep umami in perfect balance.
What sets Memphis dry ribs apart is the absence of sauce during cooking. Instead, a meticulously blended dry rub—often featuring paprika, brown sugar, cayenne, black pepper, garlic, mustard powder, and other spices—is massaged deeply into the ribs before they hit the smoker. Some pitmasters apply a finishing sprinkle of fresh rub just before serving, amplifying the flavor and texture. No sticky hands here, just seasoned perfection with a pleasant peppery finish and a pink smoke ring that whispers of hours spent soaking in hardwood smoke—usually hickory.
Dry ribs originated in Memphis in the mid-20th century, though their roots trace back further to African-American culinary traditions that emphasized smoking and spice over saucing. The dry style was later popularized and perfected by institutions like Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous, an underground Memphis eatery that’s been dishing out iconic dry ribs since 1948. Vergos brought Greek spices and vinegar mop sauces into the mix, layering in bold tang and complex earthiness. Today, the Rendezvous is considered sacred ground for rib lovers, along with Central BBQ, Corky’s, and Germantown Commissary, each adding their signature twist.
These ribs are often cooked over charcoal and hickory in specially-designed pits or open-top grills, where basting is rare, and the meat relies solely on rub and smoke for its magic. The meat pulls clean from the bone but never falls off it, preserving a touch of chew that barbecue purists love.
Though deeply rooted in Memphis, the fame of dry ribs has spread far and wide. They grace menus from coast to coast, from rib shacks and roadside stands to upscale barbecue joints. And while Memphis may be the spiritual home, fans everywhere know: when you bite into a perfect dry rib—crispy outside, juicy inside—you’re tasting the soul of Southern barbecue, pure and undiluted.
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Ruby Tuesday Memphis Dry Ribs Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Smoked Paprika
- 1 tablespoon Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground Black Pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Celery Salt
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1/4 cup Apple Juice or Apple Cider for spritzing
- Hickory or Applewood Chips soaked if using charcoal
- 1 full rack Baby Back Ribs (about 2 1/2 pounds) silver skin removed
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine paprika, brown sugar, black pepper, kosher salt, celery salt, garlic powder, dry mustard, cumin, cayenne and onion powder. Mix thoroughly with a whisk.
- Pat ribs dry.
- Apply prepared rub generously to both sides of the ribs, pressing it into the meat.
- Set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes while the smoker or grill comes up to temperature.
Smoker or Charcoal Grill Cooking
- Preheat your smoker to 225°F, using hickory for a punch of smoke or applewood for a sweeter profile. Or made an indirect fire by pushing the charcoal to one side of your grill.
- Place ribs, meat side up, directly on the smoker grates or on grill grates on the side away from the charcoal. Smoke for 3 hours making sure to carefully maintain the 225°F temperature throughout this entire process.
- Spritz the ribs lightly with apple juice every hour to maintain moisture and build bark.
- At the 3-hour mark, wrap ribs in foil and return to smoker or same place on the grill for another 2 hours to tenderize.
- Unwrap ribs, return to the smoker uncovered for the final 1 hour to firm up the bark and deepen the smoke flavor.
- Remove from grill and let rest 5 - 10 minutes.
- Slice between bones and serve dry or with a warm BBQ sauce on the side.
Gas Grill Cooking
- Preheat gas grill to medium heat 350°F with indirect heat setup (Light only one side of the burners, leaving the other off).
- Place ribs, meat side up, on a double layer of heavy-duty foil.
- Add apple juice around the ribs, then seal the foil tightly.
- Transfer wrapped ribs to the unlit side of the grill, close lid, and cook for 2 1/2 hours.
- Remove foil, brush off excess moisture, if needed, and return ribs to grill directly over the flame, meat side down, for 5 - 7 minutes per side to crisp up and char.
- Remove from grill and let rest 5 - 10 minutes.
- Slice between bones and serve dry or with a warm BBQ sauce on the side.
Ruby Tuesday Memphis Dry Ribs
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Photo of “Memphis style dry rub ribs” is by William Jones and is used by permission under the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Creative Commons License. Read the Full License Here – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/legalcode.en. Photo of “”Ruby Tuesday” Restaurant” is by Mike Mozart and is used by permission under the CC BY 2.0 Deed Attribution 2.0 Generic Creative Commons License. Read the Full License Here – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode.en. Thank you, William and Mike. Great Pictures. Photos may be “representative” of the recipe and not the actual finished dish. All photo licenses listed were correct at the time of the posting of the page. Recipe is original to Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes. Recipe created by Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes based on information from the restaurant and other sources on the internet – many courtesy of the Wayback Machine. Additional Information is from original research done by Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes and/or courtesy of Wikipedia and is used by permission.
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