I think it would work but I've never tried it. It's basically corn syrup, artificial maple flavor, and various other chemicals. CORN SYRUP, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, WATER, CELLULOSE GUM, CARAMEL COLOR, SALT, SODIUM BENZOATE AND SORBIC ACID (PRESERVATIVES), ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL FLAVORS, SODIUM HEXAMETAPHOSPHATE. You might consider real maple syrup instead. Or, if you want to save some money and avoid the chemicals, there are several good recipes online for homemade pancake syrup. I like some sweetness with ribs. I usually use brown sugar in my rub, but if I did use a sweet binder, I'd leave some of the sugar out of the rub. I like to use oil on my ribs, since most of the spices used in rubs are oil soluble, but I also enjoy the zing of mustard, so I often use a combination of oil and mustard.