No-Burn Rib Rub

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. And that’s where my no-burn rib rub comes in.

No-Burn Rib Rub

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.

Store any leftover rub in spice bottles in your pantry.

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.

Also try my basic BBQ rub.

No-Burn Rib Rub
Print Pin
5 from 1 vote

No-Burn Rib Rub

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.
Course Spice Rub
Cuisine American
Keyword ribs, seasoning
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 1 batch
Calories 119kcal
Author Mike

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients. Keep in an airtight container until ready to use.

Nutrition

Calories: 119kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 2478mg | Potassium: 496mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 3240IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 184mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Chimney-Fired Strip Steak

I actually came across the idea of cooking a steak over a charcoal chimney in a recent issue of Cook’s Illustrated magazine. There are variations of the idea of a chimney-fired strip steak on the web, but most of them use a small charcoal grate over a lit chimney of charcoal. This approach uses skewers, which I found to be a little less precarious and actually kind of fun.

Chimney-Fired Strip Steak

I lit up a large Weber charcoal chimney full about 3/4ths of the way with charcoal. I seasoned a boneless strip steak with salt and pepper while I was waiting for the charcoal to get going. You could easily do several steaks while the charcoal is still lit, or do what I did and just use the charcoal in your smoker. It’s a great way to make use of all that great heat while the chimney is getting going.

I skewered the steak and over the fire it went. It cooked fast, as you would expect. I had a few flare ups, but I dealt with those by temporarily lifting the steak (using a set of long barbecue gloves) away from the flames.

I flipped the steak after a few minutes and cooked it until the internal temperature hit about 120 F, and actually a little higher. Then I removed the steak from the skewers and let it rest 10 minutes before slicing. It came out great. Perfect flavor with a bit of char.

If you want a little kick to your steak, try marinating it first. For more of a kick try my Cajun steak marinade. My favorite side dish for a great steak? My copycat of Outback Steakhouse’s green beans.

Chimney-Fired Strip Steak
Print Pin
5 from 1 vote

Chimney-Fired Strip Steak

This approach uses skewers, which I found to be a little less precarious and actually kind of fun.
Course Main
Cuisine American
Keyword grilled, steak
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 2 steaks
Calories 470kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Fill a charcoal chimney 3/4ths of the way with charcoal and light.
  • While you’re waiting for the charcoal to start, remove the steak from the fridge and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
  • Once the charcoal is fully lit, skewer a steak and place on top of the chimney.
  • Sear the steak for 3-4 minutes per side, watching for any flare-ups.
  • Flip the steak and continue cooking until the desired doneness is reached.
  • Let steak rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Nutrition

Calories: 470kcal | Protein: 45g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 138mg | Sodium: 118mg | Potassium: 606mg | Vitamin A: 34IU | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

High-Heat Smoked Pork Butt

I’m a low-and-slow smoking kind of guy. Well, usually. Sometimes, I don’t have 12-14 hours to get a cook done. I gotta roll. That’s when I use this high-heat smoked approach that cuts the time to 5-6 hours and still produces tasty, tender pulled pork (although not quite as good as the low-and-slow approach as the fat doesn’t have as much time to truly render).

This approach also calls for an injection, which I don’t usually do when I cook low-and-slow. It’s easy, helps tenderize the meat, and adds a nice flavor. I used my stainless steel injector. It totally rocks. It’s heavy-duty enough to handle serious injecting. I wouldn’t get any other kind. Admittedly, I had a El Cheapo Plastico injector before and it lasted three or four uses. The Bayou Classic Injector is the real deal.

I smoked this butt on my Weber Smokey Mountain smoker for about 6 hours total.

High-Heat Smoked Pulled Pork

I ended up with plenty of pulled pork (using my bear claws) from an 8 pound butt. We had it on sliders the first night, some topped with slaw and others topped with red onions. All sauced with Weber Original BBQ sauce. I also made pulled pork stromboli and nachos, among other yummy things!

If you have more time, try my low-and-slow smoked pork butt.

High-Heat Smoked Pulled Pork
Print Pin
5 from 1 vote

High-Heat Smoked Pork Butt

This high-heat smoked approach cuts cook time to 5-6 hours and still produces tasty, tender pulled pork.
Course Main
Cuisine American
Keyword pulled pork, smoked
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 10 minutes
Servings 3 pounds
Calories 1364kcal

Ingredients

For Chris Lilly’s Championship Injection

For the butt

Instructions

  • Combine all of the injection ingredients and whisk until the sugar and salt have dissolved.
  • Inject marinade into pork butt every inch or so. Don’t worry if some squirts out. It will. Just get the needle down deep into the meat and inject away.
  • Pat outside of butt dry with a paper towel. You don’t have to go crazy, just get the worst of the leaking marinade off.
  • Cover the butt in the rub. Don’t be shy.
  • Place onto a smoker that is cooking at 325 F – 350 F. Use a light smoking wood, such as hickory or apple. If you are using a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker do NOT add water to the water pan or you’ll never reach the temperatures you need. Just foil the water pan to make cleanup easier.
  • Smoke until the internal temperature reaches 165 F.
  • Wrap the butt tightly in foil and continue smoking until the internal temperature reaches 195 F for 30 minutes.
  • Remove the butt and let rest 30 minutes (still foiled) before pulling. Add any juices that have accumulated in the foil to the pulled pork. You don’t want to waste any of that great flavor.

Nutrition

Calories: 1364kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 170g | Fat: 52g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 544mg | Sodium: 10137mg | Potassium: 3231mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 151mg | Iron: 12mg

Nutritional values are approximate.