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A good BBQ spice rub adds a foundation of savory barbecue flavor to your food, and making your own gives you full control over its balance of sweet, smoky, and savory notes. This rub recipe is a flexible blend of flavors that works on a variety of proteins, so whether you’re prepping for a backyard cookout or just want to add bold flavor to a weeknight dinner, this rub is a great go-to seasoning.
Notes From the MGC Kitchen
We originally created this BBQ rub recipe to enhance the flavor of our juicy brined and grilled pork chops, but we’ve used it on other cuts of pork, chicken, steak, and seafood with great success. In addition to adding flavor, it helps to retain natural juices during cooking, and enhances tenderization.
Key Ingredients
Here are the ingredients for our BBQ spice rub recipe. The quantities we recommend are in the printable recipe card below, but feel free to play with them a bit to tweak the flavors to your liking.
- KOSHER SALT: Kosher salt is an essential choice for making dry rubs because its large, coarse grains dissolve slower than table salt during cooking and impart more flavor. In addition, because kosher salt has less salt by volume, it provides better coverage without excessive salt flavor.
- BROWN SUGAR: Either light or dark brown sugar will work in this rub. We like the dark variety because it has deeper notes of molasses flavor.
- PAPRIKA (SWEET AND SMOKED): Paprika is the foundation of a barbecue rub, and we use a combination of sweet and smoked in our recipe. The smoked version lends the rub that classic, smoky barbecue flavor, and the sweet variety adds an overall depth of flavor that can’t be substituted.
- GARLIC AND ONION POWDER: Feel free to use powder or the granulated (slightly coarser) version of both of these seasonings. We’re partial to the granulated version because it’s a little easier to get even coverage when seasoning your food, but either one will do.
- DRY MUSTARD: Dry mustard adds a bit of tangy heat to the rub and enhances overall flavor without being overpowering. Check the “best buy” dates on your dry mustard before making up a batch of this rub. Most folks don’t use it very often and it loses flavor potency over time, so if yours is past its prime, you may want to pick up a new container.
- BLACK PEPPER: There’s not much explanation needed here as any type of black pepper will work. Although we normally use a pepper mill and grind our own for recipes that just need a sprinkling, it’s nice to keep a tin on hand for when you need to measure out larger quantities like in this recipe.
NOTE: Directions for Southwest, Caribbean, and Zesty Herb variations can be found in the notes in the printable recipes.
Overview
How to Make BBQ Spice Rub
Making this recipe for BBQ spice rub (and just about any other dry rub) is as simple as thoroughly combining all the ingredients in a bowl, then packaging it into an airtight container for storage.
PREPARATION TIP: If your brown sugar has clumps, break them up with your fingers first, then sift through a strainer to produce a uniform, granular consistency. Once combined with the other spices, they should absorb what little moisture is left in the brown sugar, and if the mixture is kept tightly covered, it should stay clump-free.
STORAGE TIP: Provided the individual ingredients are fresh when you make your rub, this rub (and most other spice rubs) can be stored for up to six months before they begin to lose their flavor. Just pack them in a tightly sealed jar and store them in a cool, dry pantry or cabinet, away from bright light.
How to Use BBQ Spice Rub
Whether you’re cooking pork, chicken, steak, or seafood, you’ll want to coat each piece on all sides with the rub and use your fingers or the back of a spoon to massage it in a bit. Set your meat aside for 30 minutes after applying the rub to allow the flavor to infuse the meat before cooking.
Our grilled bone-in pork rib chops are pictured here, but we’ve got other ways for you to use this barbecue-flavored rub. Mix up a batch and give them a try!
PORK BUTT: This rub is perfect for classic pulled pork, adding deep flavor as the roast braises.
PORK TENDERLOIN: Trim the silverskin, brush with olive oil, apply the rub, and let stand 30 minutes before grilling or roasting.
PORK RIBS: Used in our baked baby back ribs recipe – sprinkle on both sides before oven-roasting, then finish on the grill with BBQ sauce.
CHICKEN: For extra flavorful BBQ chicken, apply rub before cooking, then brush with homemade BBQ sauce near the end. Also works well for pressure cooker pulled chicken made with boneless thighs in a pressure cooker.
FISH: Try it on salmon fillets. Coat them with rub, drizzle with a little honey, and oven roast or grill.
SEAFOOD: Toss shrimp in rub using a zip-top bag, then grill on skewers or sauté in oil or butter.
BURGERS: Season beef patties with rub for a rodeo-style burger. For grilled pork burgers, add rub and top with coleslaw for a pulled pork flavor.
STEAK: Apply rub to steaks, rest for 30 minutes, then grill. Finish with a mix of steak sauce and melted butter for a bold, saucy finish.
BBQ Spice Rub
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons sweet paprika
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, or more to taste
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
Instructions
Makes 3/4 cup
- Thoroughly break up any clumps in the brown sugar with your fingers, then sift it through a strainer for an even, granular texture. Doing this will ensure it blends evenly with the other ingredients.
- Add the salt, sweet paprika, smoked paprika, dry mustard, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Combine thoroughly and transfer to a tightly covered container until ready to use.
How to use this rub:
- Whether you're cooking pork, chicken, steak, or seafood, you'll want to coat each piece on all sides with the rub and use your fingers or the back of a spoon to massage it in a bit. Set your meat aside for 30 minutes after applying the rub to allow the flavor to infuse the meat before cooking.
Notes
Recipe Variations
Here are a few ideas for switching up the flavor profile of our BBQ spice rub. Each one replaces the smoked paprika with a blend of other herbs and spices. SOUTHWEST SPICE RUB: For pork, chicken, and beef. Replace the smoked paprika with: 1 teaspoon of chipotle chile powder (or more to taste), 1/2 teaspoon each of ground cumin & coriander, and oregano, and a pinch of ground allspice. ZESTY HERB RUB: For poultry, pork, fish, and seafood. Replace the smoked paprika with: 1 teaspoon of dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon each of dried oregano and thyme, 1/4 teaspoon of dried rosemary, and a 1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander. CARIBBEAN SPICE RUB: For pork, chicken, and fish. Replace the smoked paprika with: 1 teaspoon of ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon of ground allspice, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and a pinch of nutmeg and ground ginger.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This looks a fabulous rub which I would like to use, but my kidneys are not as good as they used to be and I have to reduce my salt intake. Is the recipe badly affected if the salt is reduced considerable (e.g I can only have 2,5gms/day total)? Could you recommend a suitable alternative spice that could take the place of the salt altogether?
Best Regards
Hi Tony,
I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t reduce the salt to as little as 1/2 teaspoon, or even make it totally salt-free. It has plenty of flavor from the other ingredients, but you could add a little heat with a pinch of cayenne if you like.