BBQ Rub

At a glance

What stands out: This BBQ rub is the reliable sweet and savory rub for pork, chicken, and so much more. It’s straightforward to mix with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. Don’t grill without it!

How long it takes: 5 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: small bowl or jar with tight-fitting lid
Servings: makes ½ cup

Our BBQ Secret

This DIY BBQ rub is one of those small things that makes a big difference. It takes maybe five minutes to mix up, but suddenly your grilled chicken, ribs, or salmon taste like you know what you are doing. You’ll love that your BBQ rub is custom-made in your own kitchen!

The rub is sweet, smoky, savory, and just spicy enough to keep things interesting. We keep a jar of it in our pantry at all times because a good BBQ rub turns basic into impressive, without any extra effort.

What makes it special:

• Best caramelization. Our special blend of spices mixed with brown sugar ensure that your meat will grill up evenly. When the brown sugar hits the hot grill, it caramelizes with the meat juices to give you that prized crust or “bark.”
• Versatile. This rub is absolutely reliable for pork and chicken but that’s not all. Try it on broiled salmon, or if you’re a vegetarian, sprinkle this BBQ rub on portobello mushrooms before you grill them. It works great for meats that you broil, fry, bake, or even slow cook (like these slow cooker ribs!).

What goes in

Each ingredient adds a layer of complexity to the BBQ rub. Feel free to tweak the recipe to your preferences but we highly recommend you make it as written at least the first time. Scroll down for the full recipe, but here are some notes about why we chose to include what we did.

• Dark Brown Sugar: You can use light brown sugar if you’re in a pinch but dark brown sugar has a richer, more molasses-like flavor that enhances the caramelized flavor.
• Kosher Salt and Coarse Black Pepper: Meat always needs salt and pepper!
• Chili Powder: Choose your favorite brand. Chili powder is a blend of spices that adds so much flavor!
• Smoked Paprika: You could use regular paprika but you would miss out on the smoky flavor that enhances grilled food.
• Garlic Powder: Garlic powder has a more subtle flavor than fresh garlic and it’s easier to use in a rub because it keeps well in your spice cabinet.
• Onion Powder: Similar to garlic powder, onion powder is another basic savory addition. Remember, onion powder is NOT the same as onion salt (same for garlic powder). It’s nothing more than dehydrated onion ground into a fine powder, no salt added.
• Ground Mustard: Dry mustard powder is in many barbecue sauce recipes and it’s a great component of this rub, adding another layer of flavor.
• Celery Seed: Like the mustard, celery seed adds another layer of savory flavor that makes this rub completely irresistible. If you’re not familiar with celery seed, it’s actual small brown seeds from the celery plant. We also use it in our coleslaw dressing.
• Cayenne Pepper: Cayenne adds a little bit of heat and complexity to this rub. You could leave it out but it’s a small amount that doesn’t make this rub spicy at all. On the other hand, if you like things a little spicier, we'd recommend bumping this up a bit to bring more heat to the mixture.

How it comes together

Simply mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl or a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Use immediately or store for future use. It will keep for up to 6 months as long as your spices are fairly fresh.

How To Use BBQ Rub

Use it with any cooking method. Often you use a BBQ rub when you’re cooking meat on the grill or in the smoker. However, a BBQ rub is a blend of seasonings that you can use for any cooking method including roasting in the oven, pan frying, baking (like oven baked ribs), or even air frying. We love it for slow cooker meats or Instant Pot recipes, too. (Be sure to try our Instant Pot ribs! They’re like magic!)

Use it on all kinds of meats. We often use this blend when we bake or grill salmon (have you tried air fryer salmon yet?). It goes well with pork, of course, but it’s equally at home on baked chicken breasts. Rub it into portobello mushrooms or eggplant planks.

Make the sauce, too! Don’t forget that you’re gonna want sauce! You’ll want to make our from-scratch BBQ sauce to go along with your smoked or slow cooked meat. It’s kind of like the frosting on cake, don’t you think? The more the better!

From-scratch Seasoning Recipes

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• Yield: 12
• Prep: 5 minutes
• Total: 5 minutes

Ingredients

• ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons coarse cracked black pepper (halve this if using a finer grind)
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder (NOT garlic salt)
• 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder (NOT onion salt)
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon celery seeds
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Method

1. In a small bowl or jar, mix all ingredients together. Store in an airtight container until ready to use. Makes about ½ cup.
2. When ready to use, rub the BBQ rub on both sides of the meat, using your fingers or the backside of a spoon. Use as much or as little as you prefer.

Notes

What to use this rub for: This rub is especially good on pork or chicken. You can also use it for steaks (or try our steak seasoning ). This BBQ rub is great on salmon or portobello mushrooms. Use the rub for grilling, but it adds flavor to meats that are air fried, broiled, pan-fried, or baked, too. We've used it as a shortcut for our slow cooker ribs.

Storage: Store the BBQ rub in an airtight container. We use a small recycled jar with a tight-fitting lid. You can keep it in your pantry for up to 6 months. It will keep longer than that but it will begin to lose flavor.

Make a double batch. If you grill often, it can be a timesaver to have a jar of BBQ rub on hand. It’s straightforward to double the recipe (click on the 2X button above).

Adjust the seasoning. Since it’s DIY, you can change up the BBQ rub to fit your preferences. Cutting back on salt? Use less. Don’t like the heat? Use less black pepper and skip the cayenne.