What Makes a Good BBQ Rub?

A Good BBQ Rub is one that has an empty shaker bottle! When it comes to BBQ, one of the foundations of the cook is what BBQ rub you use. However, there are many factors that come into play with a good BBQ rub. Let’s talk about a few!

What is a BBQ Rub

First, let’s quickly discuss what a BBQ rub is. At a high level, a BBQ rub is a blend of herbs, spices, sugar, salt, and pepper. It is dry and granular in texture. We have a blog post that explains "Dry Rub vs Seasoning - What is the Difference".

Good BBQ Rub – Different Types

There are several different types of good BBQ rubs. Here are a few we will highlight:

• Texas Style Rub
• SPG Rub
• Fruit Rubs
• Rubs with Nut Flavor

Texas Style Rub

If you are from Texas, you know the Texas pitmasters only use two ingredients for a good BBQ rub. Those ingredients are salt and pepper. The salt is to infuse a brine, and the pepper is for bark formation. It’s a good beef brisket rub that is simple and hard to beat. Just visit any of the BBQ restaurants on Texas Monthly's Top 50 BBQ Joints.

SPG Rub

SPG Rub takes the Texas style and adds one more ingredient, garlic. Adding garlic enhances the salt and pepper flavors with the aromatic and slightly sweet taste. This is a staple for pitmasters across the country for burgers, brisket, beef ribs, etc. We have a blog that explains “What is SPG Seasoning” that goes more into detail.

A Good BBQ Rub with Fruit

With some meats, like pork ribs, pairing cherry wood and a cherry flavored rub is a win-win situation! Then top it off with a cherry glaze or cherry BBQ sauce, now that is all for the pitmaster with a sweet tooth! A good BBQ rub can be used for those family members who don’t care for the heat on the back end. So keep that in mind for your next BBQ.

Rubs with Nut Flavor

BBQ rubs with nut flavors can again be paired with the same type of wood. A good pecan BBQ rub, for example, can be paired with pecan wood or pecan wood pellets. It is a good dry rub for pork ribs. Pecan rubs are mild and add a delicious nutty flavor to your BBQ. These rubs go great on pork ribs, chops, tenderloins, and Boston butts.

In Conclusion

Ok, so now you know what makes a good BBQ rub. Mainly it comes down to what you are planning to cook and what flavor profile you are looking for. Summertime is upon us so get some rubs and fire up that smoker!