Dry Rub Texan Ribs

About

Despite the prep and cooking times, you hardly have to spend any time in the kitchen making this Keto rib recipe! These Texan ribs spend loads of time in your refrigerator marinating in a handmade spice rub. The rub consists of flavors of white pepper, cumin, curry, onion, and a hint of lemon. Then, the ribs are simply cooked in your oven. A brushing of extra-buttery barbecue sauce adds sweetness and a sticky texture to the outside of your ribs. It also gives your ribs a glazed, crunchy bite! Use this Keto recipe for your next week of meal prepping. Enjoy Keto ribs with leafy greens, sauteed vegetables, or one of Carb Managers shirataki of zucchini noodle recipes.

Selecting Ribs On The Keto Diet

You probably know a thing or two about selecting meats at the grocery store. When you don’t have to count macros, you can focus on choosing the most valuable piece of meat with the nicest cut and even fat distribution. On the Keto diet, choose ribs that have thicker, meatier parts over fattier ones. Your ribs are already high in fat, and with shrinkage during cooking, you want to make the 25% protein portion of your diet worth every penny! Look for fat strands that stretch throughout the ribs but don’t collect in large chunks.

Marbling 101

If you don’t happen to know a thing or two about selecting meats at the grocery store, you need to know what marbling is. Marbling refers to the fat that is distributed throughout a cut of meat. Good marbling is recognized by an even distribution of fat, hard strips within the meat, and clean white color. When the meat cooks, this fat will melt into the meat to tenderize it and develop flavor.

Ingredients

11 oz pork ribs
1 teaspoon olive or extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
½ teaspoon white pepper, ground
¼ teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon cumin, ground
¼ teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon oregano, dried
2 tablespoon butter, unsalted
1 teaspoon barbeque sauce
10 drops liquid stevia

Instructions

Prepare the ribs in advance so they have time to marinate. Please note the ingredients list only accounts for the rib MEAT. For each ounce of meat, include an ounce of bone. To make 4 servings, you will need at least 22 ounces of raw ribs with bones. Rub a clean rack of ribs down with olive oil, making sure to massage any fat marbling. Combine seasoned salt, white pepper, lemon pepper seasoning, paprika, cumin, curry powder, onion powder, and dried oregano to make the dry rub. Rub the spices into the oiled ribs until the meat is completely coated. Place the ribs in a Ziploc bag or airtight container to marinate in your refrigerator for at least 6 hours, but overnight to a full 24 hours would be best.
After marinating, you can turn on your oven to preheat to 500 degrees. Line a sheet tray with aluminum foil to catch drippings, and set a baking rack over the tray. When the oven is preheated, place the ribs on the baking rack, and send them into the oven to cook for 30 minutes. Near the end of the 30 minutes, melt butter in a small dish and mix it with barbecue sauce and liquid stevia. You can adjust the liquid stevia at your discretion for more or less sweetness.
After 30 minutes, take the ribs out of the oven and reduce the temperature to 300 degrees. Brush the sweet barbecue butter mixture all over the ribs until they are completely coated and glossy. Return the ribs to the oven to cook for an additional 2 hours, minimum. This will leave the rib meat tender and juicy but it will still stick to the bone. If you’d like the ribs to cook to fall-off-the-bone doneness, you can reduce the temperature to 250 degrees and cook for 4 or more hours.
When the ribs are done cooking, take them out of the oven to rest for several minutes. Let the ribs rest for 10-15 minutes before you cut into them. Since not all ribs are the same size, your serving may include 1, 2, or 3 ribs. If you’re measuring with the bone intact, each serving will be about 4 ¼ ounces. Without the bone, each serving will be about 3 ounces.