If not cooking outdoors, I am cooking on the stovetop with my 14" carbon steel wok, 12" CI skillet, or in the oven with my two Lodge CI pizza pans, or two dutch ovens. I've also got a nifty Lodge carbon steel grill pan that rocks for veggies outdoors.
My favorite sugar free BBQ rub is Meathead 's version of the Rendezvous dry rub, made to be as close as he could get it to the one used at the famous restaurant in Memphis:
This Rendezvous Dry Rub Recipe is closer to Charlie Vergos' famous seasoning rub than they are handing out.
I actually prefer this to MMD for ribs. And no sugar involved. And if you are missing an ingredient or two, no big deal. I don't keep both whole and ground allspice or coriander, so just tweak those, and use 1.5x as much of the ground allspice, and since I have coriander seeds but not ground, I'll throw some of the coriander seeds in my spice grinder to make ground.
However, I would like to point out the science of rubs, from our industrious leader Meathead:
Herb & spice rubs and blends are a great way to bring major flavor to food. But there is a science and art to making and using them.
Basically, yes - you can make a sugar free rub (and like I said - I PREFER the above sugar free rub myself to MMD *for ribs*), but the fact is, the amount of sugar per serving from the sugar in your rub is miniscule. Read the section "Sugar in Rubs" in its entirety. Even with the sugar in MMD, the sugar in a 1/2 rack of cooked ribs is down to about 1.5 teaspoons. And I imagine you lose some of that during the cook.
I have the same discussion with my SO about sugar in rubs! Per serving, the sugar in a rack of ribs is very little. A lot less than in a cafe mocha, a muffin, sweet roll or most breakfast cereals.
I too need to watch my A1C. It is less than 6 and I use a sugared rub a couple times a week. The sugar in the rub is very helpful for building bark and keeping the spices from the rub on the meat. That said, I also use Dalmatian (mostly salt and pepper) rubs and they work well, especially on beef.
Thanks for showing/reminding me that Meathead had a version of the Rendezvous Dry Rib rub. I remember reading it now years ago, however, despite the fact I loved eating at Rendezvous Ribs when I was in Memphis in the early '90's I've never made the ribs this way at home. I fixin' to correct this error!
Sweaty Paul I used to buy the seasoning from the actual restaurant in Memphis, by the case, and on the bottle they directed you to baste the ribs with a mix of vinegar and water during the cook, to help the seasoning to adhere. I've not done that in years, but just remembered that. I'll have to try it next time I make ribs with this seasoning blend - cider vinegar might be good, cut with water.
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