I’ve become more and more a believer in cooking ribs over high heat. Now, I still love my low-and-slow smoked ribs, don’t get me wrong, but high-and-fast ribs are great too. They are still tender, still have great taste, and often have a nice little crust to them that I really like.

But, you have to be careful what rub you use on ribs when you are cooking them over high heat. Anything with brown sugar in it will burn, and burn bad. That’s why I use this great no-burn rib rub. It packs seriously good flavor, but without having to worry about it charring.
I am a huge fan of celery seeds in my rubs, so I have to warn you, this rub has a LOT of celery seed in it. If you’re not as big a fan of it as I am, I suggest adding just a bit of celery seed at a time. Taste as you go, until you get the flavor you want.
I apply a generous amount of this rub to the ribs the night before I’m going to cook them. I wrap them in foil to let them get happy in the fridge. This is the perfect rub for cooking ribs on a charcoal grill over direct heat, or on a Char-Broil Big Easy.
No-Burn Rib Rub
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon celery seed or less, to taste
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients. Keep in an airtight container until ready to use.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.