An easy recipe for the best dry rub for ribs! All you need is 6 ingredients, and you can use it on just about any animal protein for grilling, smoking, and/or roasting. This refined sugar-free dry rub is paleo friendly.
If you enjoy eating and cooking animal protein, you are going to LOVE this dry rub recipe. It is great for flavoring just about any animal protein for just about any cooking method.
Think: beef or pork ribs, tri-tip, pork roast, whole body chicken or chicken pieces, whole body turkey, even seafood!
Also think: grilling, smoking, roasting, Instant Pot-ing, pan searing, broiling, etc.
I made this dry rub specifically for smoked pork ribs, but I have used a rendition of it for whole body smoked chicken and tri-tip several times.
Let’s get after it!
How to Make The Best Dry Rub For Ribs:
Add all ingredients for the dry rub to a small jar. Secure the lid and shake well until spices are well-combined.
Use dry rub for grilling, roasting, or smoking pork ribs, Tri-Tip, pork shoulder, whole body chicken or chicken pieces, etc.
This rub makes enough for 2 large roasts (tri-tip, pork shoulder, etc), 1 large turkey, lots and lots of chicken, or 1 4 to 5-lb rack of pork ribs.
Recipe Adaptations:
- Replace coconut sugar with brown sugar.
- Omit the chipotle chili powder if you don’t have any on hand and/or prefer your food mild. The chipotle chili powder adds some heat, but does not make the ribs particularly spicy.
- Add your favorite seasonings to the rub – consider ground cumin, coriander, lemon pepper, dried sage, etc.
- Double or triple the recipe to have extra dry rub on hand.
Now that we have the dry rub situation nailed down, let’s discuss how to put it to use on smoked pork ribs.
How to Make Smoked Pork Ribs:
Procure a large rack of ribs – 4 to 5 lbs recommended.
Peel membrane from back side of ribs and trim any excess fat. Season both sides of ribs with the dry rub. Note: This recipe makes enough rub for a 4 to 5-lb rack of ribs.
Turn on your smoker and set the temperature to 180℉ and preheat with the lid closed for 15 minutes.
Place ribs on the grill and smoke for 4 to 5 hours.
If adding BBQ sauce, remove ribs from the grill and place in aluminum foil and pour ¾ cup of barbecue sauce over the ribs. Close foil and place back on the grill. If you aren’t adding barbecue sauce, skip to the next step.
Increase grill temperature to 350℉ and place rib foil packet back on the grill. Cover and cook for 45 minutes longer.
Remove from grill and let rest 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
Serving Suggestions:
Here are some of my favorite side dishes to eat with ribs:
- Ricotta Pesto Potato Salad
- Kale and Blueberry Salad with Vegan Buttermilk Dressing
- Broccoli Salad with Honey-Toasted Walnuts
- Kale Pesto Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Broccoli
- Pasta Salad with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing
The BEST Dry Rub for Ribs (and other meat)
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp paprika
- 1 Tbsp onion powder
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp chipotle powder optional
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients for the dry rub to a small jar. Secure the lid and shake well until spices are well-combined.
- Use dry rub for grilling, roasting, or smoking pork ribs, Tri-Tip, pork shoulder, whole body chicken or chicken pieces, etc.
