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.

Amazing Dry Rub for Meat and Poultry

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.

Letโ€™s get after it!

Amazing Dry Rub for Meat and Poultry

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.

Amazing Homemade Dry Rub for Meat and Poultry

Recipe Adaptations:

  • Replace coconut sugar with brown sugar.
  • Omit the chipotle chili powder if you donโ€™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, letโ€™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.

Amazing Dry Rub for Meat and Poultry

Turn on your smoker and set the temperature to 180โ„‰ and preheat with the lid closed for 15 minutes.

How to smoke pork ribs

Place ribs on the grill and smoke for 4 to 5 hours.

Amazing Dry Rub for Meat and Poultry

If adding BBQ sauce, remove ribs from the grill and place in aluminum foil and pour ยพ cup of barbecue sauce over the ribs. Close foil and place back on the grill. If you arenโ€™t adding barbecue sauce, skip to the next step.

Increase grill temperature to 350โ„‰ 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.

Amazing Dry Rub for Meat and Poultry

Serving Suggestions:

Here are some of my favorite side dishes to eat with ribs:

Amazing Dry Rub for Meat and Poultry

The BEST Dry Rub for Ribs (and other meat)

4 from 1 vote
The best easy dry rub for ribs, meat, and poultry
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings: 1 /3 cup

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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Tbsp ยท Calories: 27kcal ยท Carbohydrates: 8g ยท Sugar: 8g
Author: Julia
Course: Lifestyle
Cuisine: American
Keyword: dry rub, pork ribs, smoked ribs
Did You Make This Recipe?I want to see it! Tag @the.roasted.root on social media!

The BEST Dry Rub for ribs, meat, and poultry for grilling, roasting, or smoking

Julia Mueller
Meet the Author

Julia Mueller

Julia Mueller is a recipe developer, cookbook author, and founder of The Roasted Root. She has authored three bestselling cookbooks, – Paleo Power Powers, Delicious Probiotic Drinks, and The Quintessential Kale Cookbook. Her recipes have been featured in several national publications such as BuzzFeed, Self, Tasty, Country Living, Brit.co, etc.

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