(August 30, 2024) Hallelujah! It's football season! Let the tailgating commence!

Ribs are a staple of game day cuisine, and every chef has their own secret recipe. Am I going to share mine with you? No. What part of "secret" do you not understand? What I will do is give you a darned good recipe you can use as-is. Then, once you've done a few slabs of ribs, use this as a starting point for developing your very own secret recipe.

This rub works well on pork, beef or lamb, but it's good on chicken, too. It's best for "long and slow" cooking methods like grilling, smoking or baking.

The Rub:

4 Tbsp paprika

4 Tbsp dark brown sugar

2 Tbsp pepper

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp dry mustard

2 tsp celery salt

2 tsp kosher or sea salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix well and store in an air-tight container for up to 6 months

The perfect rub gives your ribs a balanced savory/sweet/spicy taste. Since everyone's taste is different, feel free to adjust the recipe as you like. I've used both sweet and smoked paprika, with a little extra brown sugar with the smoked. Freshly cracked black pepper is always better, with a dash or three of white pepper if you like. If you like more heat, try adding a tsp of chili powder or a little more cayenne. This is YOUR recipe, so do it however you want!

Hint: unless you're cooking them for show, cut long slabs of ribs in half or thirds. They're easier to handle and taste just as good.

-Pat ribs dry and let them come to room temperature while you're making your rub.

-Cover ribs with a generous amount of rub and pat firmly into the meat. Flip and repeat.

-Let ribs sit at least 1-2 hours (or overnight in the fridge) to let the flavor seep into the meat.

-Allow meat to come to room temp before grilling/smoking

Want simpler tailgating? To make awesome ribs the day before the game, put your dry-rub ribs in a deep aluminum pan and cover with foil. Bake in a 275 degree oven for 22-25 minutes per pound, then turn the oven off and leave the ribs in for 1-2 hours more. Remove and serve warm or refrigerate overnight.