Barbecuing is one of the most popular summer hobbies. Unlike grilling, which often entails cooking over shorter periods of time at higher temperatures, barbecues enable you to cook low and slow, which is a terrific method to give a strong, delectable taste to a variety of meats. As a result, it’s useful to have a range of BBQ rubs on hand to assist offer the tastes you want. While there are as many taste profiles as there are barbecue enthusiasts, some are more popular than others. The top 12 BBQ rubs on the market are listed here, along with tips on how to pick the finest rubs for you.
Best Selection
With paprika, chipotle, onion, garlic, and salt and pepper, Bad Byrons Butt Rub Barbeque Seasoning is our top selection for taste for individuals who love a little heat. This rub is utilized by everyone from amateur cooks to expert chefs, and although it was intended for smoked pig, it may also be used for barbecue.
Budget Selection
Killer Hogs BBQ Rub is an all-natural rub created in the United States that comes in multipacks so you can get more for your money. Moreover, it is an award-winning product that is utilized by both professional pitmasters and home chefs.
Contents
- Top 12 Best BBQ Rubs in a Nutshell
- 1. Bad Byron’s Butt Rub Barbeque Seasoning
- 2. Killer Hogs The BBQ Rub
- 3. Traeger Grills SPC174 Traeger Rub with Garlic and Chili Pepper
- 4. BBQ BROS RUBS {Southern Style} – Ultimate Barbecue Spices Seasoning Set
- 5. Dirt – Sasquatch BBQ Espresso Chile Beef Rub
- 6. Plowboys Yardbird Rub
- 7. BBQ BROS RUBS {Western Style} – Ultimate Barbecue Spices Seasoning Set
- 8. Bone Suckin’ Sauce Bone Suckin’ Original Seasoning and Rub
- 9. Lambert’s Sweet Rub O’ Mine
- 10. Slap Yo Daddy BBQ Rub
- 11. Rudy’s Texas Bar-B-Q Dry Rub
- 12. The Salt Lick BBQ Original Dry Rub
- How to Select the Best Barbecue Rub to Enhance Flavor
- Conclusion
Top 12 Best BBQ Rubs in a Nutshell
Product Name | Grade |
---|---|
Bad Byron’s Butt Rub Barbeque Seasoning | A |
Killer Hogs The BBQ Rub | A |
Traeger Grills SPC174 Traeger Rub with Garlic and Chili Pepper | B |
BBQ BROS RUBS {Southern Style} – Ultimate Barbecue Spices Seasoning Set | A |
Dirt – Sasquatch BBQ Espresso Chile Beef Rub | A- |
Plowboys Yardbird Rub | A- |
BBQ BROS RUBS {Western Style} – Ultimate Barbecue Spices Seasoning Set | A |
Bone Suckin’ Sauce Bone Suckin’ Original Seasoning and Rub | A- |
Lambert’s Sweet Rub O’ Mine | B |
Slap Yo Daddy BBQ Rub | A |
Rudy’s Texas Bar-B-Q Dry Rub | A- |
The Salt Lick BBQ Original Dry Rub | B |
1. Bad Byron’s Butt Rub Barbeque Seasoning
Highlighted Characteristics
Bad Byrons Butt Rub is a favorite dry rub seasoning option among professional BBQ cooks and restaurant chefs around the nation who like a good BBQ rub. This product is created in the United States, and many people like the taste it gives to pig, although it can be used on almost any meat.
The taste isn’t hot, but it may be a little salty if you don’t use caution when adding salt afterwards. Taste the rub before and throughout cooking to avoid over-salting and ruining a delicious roast. This rub may be used immediately or added to a marinade to rest overnight for delicious ribs that fall off the bone. Its adaptability is what propels it to the top of the list.
2. Killer Hogs The BBQ Rub
Highlighted Features
Killer Hogs’ general purpose rub was created after years of expertise by skilled BBQ pitmasters who know their way around barbecue tastes. The rub has a sweet and spicy taste that works well on a variety of meats, but it appears to work best on ribs and other pork items.
This rub may be used while cooking or combined with a marinade to soak and provide depth of flavor. This rub imparts a deep, smokey color and excellent taste to the meat, and it may be used with liquids to produce even more interesting flavor combinations.
3. Traeger Grills SPC174 Traeger Rub with Garlic and Chili Pepper
Highlighted Elements
The Traeger Grills Traeger Rub is an excellent option for individuals who want a little heat in their cooking, with the robust taste of chili pepper complementing chicken, pig, and beef equally. This is just one of many products available from Traeger Grills, a market leader in dry rubs and grill spices for a variety of purposes and cooking requirements.
The beautiful thing about Traeger spices and rubs is that they are specifically created to combine with Traeger pellets that operate in the company’s smokers and grills. This may provide a wide range of tastes that a rub alone cannot produce.
4. BBQ BROS RUBS {Southern Style} – Ultimate Barbecue Spices Seasoning Set
Highlighted Characteristics
The BBQ BROS Southern Style gift set includes a variety of wonderful spice blends for creating a variety of tastes. You may purchase it for yourself or as a present, and each set comes with a complimentary keychain bottle opener. Moreover, this handmade set has a five-star rating and a money-back guarantee on every transaction.
These rubs have sweet and smokey Southern aromas that will complement a variety of meats. Every rub is MSG- and gluten-free, making them an excellent choice for anybody with dietary restrictions or searching for a healthier alternative. The Carolina Style seasoning contains hot red pepper, the Memphis seasoning has smokey paprika, and the New Orleans seasoning contains the characteristic creole spice that everyone enjoys.
5. Dirt – Sasquatch BBQ Espresso Chile Beef Rub
Highlighted Features
BBQ Sasquatch Dirt dry rub is created in the United States and contains a unique blend of chilis, espresso, activated charcoal, and a touch of brown sugar to balance off the heat. It’s an excellent spice for grilling, smoking, and barbecuing, and it’s also delicious in stews, braises, and other foods.
Sasquatch BBQ Dirt spice may even be mixed with ground beef to create astonishingly rich, robust burgers that put a whole new perspective on the basic burger. Moreover, it has no preservatives, MSG, or fillers. This all-natural rub is packaged fresh to keep taste and comes with a satisfaction guarantee.
6. Plowboys Yardbird Rub
Highlighted Elements
The Plowboys Yardbird Rub is made up of a mix of spices and ingredients that combine to produce a spicy, smokey taste with a touch of sweetness and lots of black pepper. It is mostly intended for use on chicken, although it may also produce excellent pork and other meats. Some people have even taken it beyond the grill and used it to provide a fiery flavor to other chicken meals.
This rub may be used with other Plowboys spices to create a selection of grilled meats with complementary tastes and styles. It can also be marinated, smoked, fried, and utilized in other ways, allowing amateur cooks and professional chefs alike a plethora of exciting options to explore with this rub. Moreover, this particular brand is chosen by many well-known chefs and experienced BBQ pitmasters, giving you assurance that it is a true, high-quality rub on which you can depend.
7. BBQ BROS RUBS {Western Style} – Ultimate Barbecue Spices Seasoning Set
Highlighted Characteristics
The BBQ BROS Western Style spice set has three amazing tastes in one box, enabling you to broaden your barbecue horizons or just give someone special a terrific present. Each handmade rub contains the typical regional flavors you’d expect, and they’ve all placed among the top in local and regional BBQ rub competitions.
These adaptable rubs may be used on both chicken and ribs and are useful for more than just fantastic barbeque. It also works well as a seasoning on the grill or in the kitchen, and all goods are kosher. The Kansas City Style rub has that popular smokey, fiery taste, but the California mix includes paprika and garlic. Lastly, the Texas rub has a sweet finish that includes sugar for that wonderful slightly glazed taste.
8. Bone Suckin’ Sauce Bone Suckin’ Original Seasoning and Rub
Highlighted Features
Bone Suckin Original Spice & Rub is ideal for dry rubs and all-purpose cooking, such as BBQ, ribs, beef, poultry, and pig. It’s also great for fish, veggies, marinades, pastas, dipping sauces, and a variety of other dishes. Brown sugar, paprika, and a unique blend of bell pepper, mustard flour, and natural ingredients create the spicy-sweet taste.
This sauce is popular for being more tangy than spicy, which is ideal for chicken and other barbecue meats. It has been featured in various magazines, including In Style, Woman’s Day, Food & Wine, and Newsweek, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest BBQ rubs and sauces on the market today.
9. Lambert’s Sweet Rub O’ Mine
Highlighted Elements
Lamberts Sweet Rub OMine was originally intended for use with pork, but it is now Mark Lambert’s go-to spice for all types of meat, and it is gradually becoming a popular favorite among home cooks and pitmasters as well. It’s fantastic for ribs, poultry, and more, whether you season ahead of time, make a brine or marinade, or season as you cook. Since it is so flexible, everyone who appreciates a sweet, tangy taste will find a way to use it.
Lamberts may also be used outside of the grill, making them an excellent option for grilling, baking, and even general seasoning. This rub is perfect for anything that may benefit from a rich, sweet flavor that screams BBQ. Several individuals have even reported positive results when putting it on veggies, demonstrating how adaptable it can be.
10. Slap Yo Daddy BBQ Rub
Highlighted Characteristics
The Slap Yo Daddy BBQ Rub has a sweet and spicy taste that goes well with anything from ribs to brisket and everything in between. Unlike many mass-produced commercial items, this spice may be used on vegetables and potatoes and has no preservatives or chemicals.
This rub’s taste is evocative of a Southern-style barbecue, and the company also offers various speciality rubs for chicken, beef, and other meats. You may try one or all of them, but if you want a wonderful base seasoning that can be used for a number of BBQ purposes, this multi-purpose rub is the one to add to your collection.
11. Rudy’s Texas Bar-B-Q Dry Rub
Highlighted Features
Rudys’ general dry rub spice is all about taste, and it’s fantastic on ribs, chicken, brisket, pig, and more. It has less salt than many other rubs on the market, providing you greater control over your taste. It also has a distinct spicy sweetness from a combination of brown sugar and black pepper, as well as other ingredients.
Rudy’s Texan Barbecue Dry Rub may be used to marinate and pre-rub meats for extra taste, or as a simple rub before cooking. It may also be added to other recipes and used for grilling, baking, sautéing, and many other things.
12. The Salt Lick BBQ Original Dry Rub
Highlighted Elements
The Salt Lick BBQ Original Dry Rub has a unique combination of spices, including cayenne pepper and garlic powder, to create a taste profile that is evocative of handmade Texas barbecue no matter what you use it on. This rub may be used for grilling, smoking, and even marinating by combining it with apple cider vinegar or another liquid.
This rub is fantastic on ribs, brisket, chicken, pig, and a variety of other meats. It can even be used to produce a lovely smokey glaze for pork ribs, adding depth of flavor without the need for a variety of additional ingredients. It is also gluten-free and manufactured from natural components, much like a homemade rub, and comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
How to Select the Best Barbecue Rub to Enhance Flavor
BBQ rubs are applied to a range of meats that are grilled or smoked on a grill. There are so many different sorts of rubs, inspired by various places and styles of barbecue, that it might seem virtually difficult to figure out which one would offer you the greatest bang for your buck. Thankfully, we’ve put together this guide to help you learn all you need to know about selecting the greatest rubs and generating the right tastes every time you grill.
If you’re new to BBQ rubs or simply seeking for fresh ideas, there’s plenty to choose from, from prepared goods to recipes for making the ideal rubs at yourself. For the sake of this tutorial, we will concentrate on the readily accessible prepared rubs, such as those in the list above. Since many individuals do not have the time or money to produce their own rubs and sauces, pre-packaged goods are quite popular.
Continue reading to discover all there is to know about selecting the best BBQ rubs, including what criteria to consider when making your purchase. You’ll be ready to go shopping in no time so you can start cooking, no matter what flavors you choose.
Dry Rubs vs. Wet Rubs
When most people hear the words BBQ rub, they immediately think of a dry rub. Yet, it is not the only choice for BBQ cooking. Wet rubs are also available, and they often contain a vinegar, tomato, or mustard basis, similar to a good classic BBQ sauce. You will often have a choice between salty and sweet taste characteristics.
Of course, you must remember that rubs are intended for barbecue, which is a lower and slower method of cooking than regular grilling. The use of rubs, whether wet or dry, is not suggested for conventional high-heat grilling. While experimenting with the magic of BBQ rubs, keep to moderate heat and gradual cooking.
Wet rubs are often done using a brush, and dry rubs are typically performed by hand. There is no benefit to any mode of application. Wet rubs, on the other hand, must generally be reapplied during the cooking process, while a dry rub may only need to be applied once.
The flavors available are the most notable distinction here. If you enjoy Worcestershire sauce in your rub, you won’t find it in a dry rub. Since each one barely penetrates a few millimeters into the surface of the meat when applied, the application technique has little effect on taste.
Whether you use dry spices or liquid flavoring for your barbecue is mostly determined by the tastes you want to achieve and the sort of barbecue you want to produce.
Ingredients
The components in a BBQ rub are crucial to comprehend or at least be aware of for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, what is in the rub will influence how it tastes. We’ll delve into it further with the taste profiles later. Dietary concerns and salt intake, on the other hand, are critical.
For example, if you are allergic to a specific spice or ingredient, you must ensure that it is not included in the rubs you choose. This may seem obvious, but with so many components on a label, it may get confusing.
Salt is important not just for nutritional reasons, but also for taste. Knowing how much salt is in your rubs can help you determine how much salt to add throughout the cooking process and before serving, if any. This manner, you can certain that you receive the exact taste you want.
Profiles of Flavors
The taste profile is the single most important consideration when selecting the finest BBQ rub. Look at the components to evaluate what sort of flavor profile the rub has in comparison to the tastes you have in mind or enjoy in your grilling. For example, if you want acidic sauces, go for a vinegar-based sauce, or if you prefer something sweeter, look for a brown sugar-based rub.
Flavor profiles are nothing to be afraid of. That just refers to the taste of the rub you’re applying. For example, sweet and spicy may be called a taste profile. It’s not long, but it describes the taste of the rub in issue.
Various taste profiles will emerge as a result of the rubs applied on various meats. What one rub works for a wonderful rib roast may not work for a complete bird. Be careful to choose profiles that are appropriate for the meats or proteins you will be preparing.
Regions
The regional style is one of the most heated debates in the barbecue industry. Everyone has a personal favorite. Some individuals favor Texas-style barbecue, while others prefer Kansas City or California BBQ. While the tastes that you receive from each will influence the sort of barbecue that you pick, it is primarily a question of personal choice.
Texas-style BBQ is distinguished by a sweet, spicy taste that is often derived from mesquite. When cooked low and long, dry rubs form a crust or glaze, providing the authentic sour, spicy BBQ that Texas is renowned for.
Carolina: This cuisine varies greatly depending on the location, incorporating tastes such as vinegar-based sauces and mustard sauces, all intended with a strong emphasis on pig butts, ribs, and even the entire hog.
Kansas City is more sweeter, and tomato-based sauces are much thicker. When it comes to dry rubs, they like to crust it up and enjoy a sweet, savory, less spicy finish.
Memphis ribs are rich and powerful, with a sweeter flavor similar to Kansas City BBQ, and a solid base of tomato paste and molasses, among other spices and sauces. The dry rubs are intended to bring out the softness of the meat while also adding depth of flavor.
California-style BBQ, also known as Pacific or Pacific Northwest BBQ, is centered on combining smokey, sour sauce with fresh ingredients. Californians like adding fruity tastes to their sauces, such as utilizing cherry and apple wood to grill pork, shellfish, and other light meats.
The regional style of a dry rub will influence the overall taste of the meal you prepare. If you are unfamiliar with the variations between the areas or are unsure of what you like, feel free to experiment with a few or choose for one of the multi-packs listed above, which include a range of rubs for you to test.
So, how about the meat?
There is no one rub that can meet all of your cooking and grilling demands. Even if you discover a taste profile that you like on a superb steak, it may not transfer to pork chops or those ribs you’ve been craving. The truth is that various meats will need different rubs since they effect taste differently.
Certain rubs may be used on a variety of meats, but this does not ensure that everyone will like the resultant taste when using the rub on various meats. As a result, you need carefully analyze the sort of meat you are cooking in order to locate the correct BBQ rub to get the desired taste.
Conclusion
Barbeque is more difficult than many people know, but it doesn’t have to be impossible. A little knowledge may help you pick the finest dry rubs for your Barbecue requirements, whatever they may be. Remember to consider taste profiles and choose rubs that go well with your favourite meats to get the finest results every time.
Any of the rubs on the list above will provide a rich, dynamic flavor that will result in consistently outstanding Barbecue. Yet, if you decide to go out and look for something new, you’ll also know how to choose the greatest possibilities available.