If you spend any time in any bbq or grilling communities, FB pages, forums, etc. one of the questions that comes up often is along the lines of “What is the best rub?”. As you can imagine dozens and dozens of different answers come billowing forth. Everyone has different tastes, everyone likes different spice levels, different meats are better with different rubs, there are regional preferences, and maybe some people have an aversion to specific ingredients in rubs. Either way it is a question that doesn’t have a right answer.
But if you want my answer as to what is the best bbq rub here are 6 I have been enjoying lately.
- Meat Church Honey Hog
- Derek Wolf’s Nashville Hot
- Hardcore Carnivore Black
- Barker BBQ Sweet Lou
- Wright Rub
- Fogo Charcoal Rub
Ask me in a month and that list might change and I only use some of those rubs for specific applications but they are the ones I have been reaching for most often over the last couple months. I will talk about all of those rubs in a bit and give you more of an explanation why I like them.
Of course I have some opinions on rubs but none of them are hard and fast. I realize that what might taste good to someone might taste bad to someone else. Someone might be looking for a sweeter profile in their bbq rub and some might want spicier. So what I think is a good rub might differ from what you like.
Your main choices are to make your own rub or buy a rub from the store.
Make Your Own Rub
BBQ rubs are very easy to make. Just open your spice cupboard and most likely you have everything you need to make a standard rub that will do well on pork, chicken, or beef. Most standard rubs you can buy are some mix of salt, sugar, paprika, cayenne, chili powder, garlic, and onion. Some rubs will have other ingredients to varying degrees (more on this later) but give or take a couple of the above ingredients and you have a standard bbq rub. A decently stocked spice cupboard will have all those ingredients too.
For pork butts and chicken I really like the Memphis Meat Dust recipe from AmazingRibs.com. It adds in some ginger and rosemary powder to add a few more flavor notes to the rub but honestly once a pork butt has been smoked for 12 hours I am not sure it makes a big difference. This rub has a decent amount of sugar so it will give you a nice bark on your meat. It also isn’t overly spicy so pretty much anyone can enjoy it.
If I am grilling a steak I rarely season with anything except salt but if I am cooking a tri tip or flank steak or picanha I enjoy the Big Bad Beef Rub from AmazingRibs. It has less sugar than the Memphis Meat Dust, more pepper, and a bit more spice which helps cut through the beef flavor without overwhelming it.
I know sometimes we are lazy and if you want either of those rubs the folks at Adrenaline BBQ have some rubs available that are very, very similar to those two. There are some minor differences but they are close enough.
Both these rubs are extremely easy to make. Just mix the ingredients together in a bowl and you are done. I keep mine in a shaker like these which has somewhat large holes so the rub can come out easily. Most ground spices keep fine in the cupboard for 2 years which should be plenty of time to use up a batch.
When you make your own rubs you can start with a standard recipe like those above and modify from there. Like a bit more heat? Add more cayenne. Don’t like black pepper? Use less. Do you like a smokier flavor? Try smoked paprika. For that matter try a few different types of paprika for different pungency, different sweetness, or different levels of spice. You can do a quick Google search and find dozens of different rub recipes to use as a jumping off point.
One thing you will notice is neither of my two go-to recipes have salt in them. I like to dry brine most of my meat before cooking which is basically salting it and letting it sit in the fridge overnight. If you do that and then add a rub with salt in it you could end up with some meat that is too salty. If you do have a rub that has salt in it just dry brine with that but for the most part I like to control how much salt I am using.
Store Bought Rubs
Go to your grocery store or hardware store or grilling store you and you will see dozens and dozens of different rubs available. Shop online and you will have hundreds of rubs to choose from. How do you decide which to buy?
Like I mentioned earlier I prefer to make my own rubs but there are some rubs that have ingredients that I don’t tend to keep in my spice cupboard. I could always buy those ingredients but I would rarely use them for anything else besides a rub. The bbq rubs that have some special ingredients are usually the ones I tend to buy. I am talking about ingredients like honey powder or activated charcoal.
Disclosure: This post is monetized with affiliate links. If you buy something through them I earn a commission which helps support this site and lets me buy more meat so I can write about it.
Most rubs will run you $10-$16 for a for a 10-14 oz bottle. Some are smaller, some are larger but most good rubs are in that range.
Now here are the best bbq rubs I have tried and have enjoyed lately:
Meat Church Honey Hog Rub
I first tried this rub a few months ago and I was instantly hooked. As you might guess this rub is a fairly sweet rub due to the honey powder in it. Pork butts, ribs, chicken wings, and chicken thighs have been my favorite applications for this rub. I also want to try it on pork belly burnt ends sometime. Meat Church has a number of other rubs as well but this is the only one of theirs I have tried.
Order Meat Church Honey Hog at Amazon.
Derek Wolf’s Nashville Hot Rub
Derek Wolf of OverTheFireCooking.com came out with a line of rubs a couple months back and this is the first one I have tried. As you might guess it is excellent on chicken, specifically wings. It has some nice spice but nothing that will set your mouth on fire. Cane sugar is also a main ingredient so it has some nice sweetness as well. It is also made by Spiceology which is a company based in my hometown that sells high quality spices and seasonings so it is nice to support a local company.
This rub comes in a big 20 oz bottle and sells for around $19.99 so on a per oz. basis it is very reasonably priced.
Order Derek Wolf’s Nashville Hot rub on Amazon
Hardcore Carnivore Black
This is one of the first commercial rubs I bought when I got heavily into grilling and smoking a few years ago. Hardcore Carnivore Black from Jess Pryles is specifically made for beef and I love it on tri tip and flank steak. The “black” comes from food grade charcoal that is added to the rub which gives the meat an awesome color. It doesn’t taste bitter or chalky like you might expect and when you are eating you don’t really realize it is charcoal except for the color. The main flavors I get are garlic and onion but they don’t overpower the meat at all.
Order Hardcore Carnivore Black from Amazon
Barker BBQ Sweet Lou’s Rub
BarkerBBQ.com is another hometown company. This Sweet Lou rub as you might guess is fairly sweet (again, honey powder) but it also has some nice spice to it. Spicier than the Honey Hog rub but not quite as spicy as Nashville Hot. I have been using this rub on a lot of chicken wings lately and used it on some pork chops but I also want to throw it on some ribs the next time I cook some. The sweet and spicy combo would be a great fit for some pork.
Order your Sweet Lou rub from Barker BBQ
Wright Rub
I first tried Wright Rub when it was included in a Grill Masters Club subscription box and have bought a few more bottles since then. Their all purpose seasoning is a great all around seasoning for chicken, pork and vegetables. You can even throw it on some popcorn for a nice treat. I got a bottle of their beef rub a couple weeks back but haven’t had the chance to use it yet. The beef rub isn’t as finely ground as most other rubs so I am guessing it has some pretty bold flavors in it.
Fogo Charcoal Rub
Fogo Charcoal is most well known for their excellent lump charcoal but I have really enjoyed this rub. As you might guess it is another rub that contains activated charcoal. I think the flavor is a bit bolder than the Hardcore Carnivore Black and there is slightly more heat to it. Like the HCB it gives a great color and finish to the meat but the flavor doesn’t overpower the meat.
Order Fogo Rub from FogoCharcoal.com
Again, these aren’t the only good rubs out there and there are hundreds I haven’t tried yet but out of the ones I have tried these 6 are my favorites. Give me another dozen rubs to try and I am sure I could find a couple more to this list. Try these rubs, try some other rubs (there are hundreds available on Amazon), make your own rubs, and find out what you and your families enjoy.
If you are someone who really likes trying a lot of different bbq rubs and sauces I would recommend trying Grill Masters Club or BBQ Box. Those are subscription services that send new rubs, sauces, and grilling gadgets every month. They make great gifts too.
What are your favorite rubs? What flavor profiles do you like in your rubs?
