11 BBQ Dry Rubs You Can Make at Home
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Using a store-bought rub is fine for emergencies, but nothing beats a good homemade dry rub for building layers of flavor and bark on to your smoked and grilled meat.
Whether it is pulled pork, smoked chicken, or beef brisket you have a hankering for, we’ve got a rub recipe for you.
So read on, and we promise you’ll find the perfect dry rub you can make at home for the next time you barbecue.
11 Homemade BBQ seasonings & rubs you need to try
1. The Ultimate Dry Rub for Ribs
This rub for ribs uses classic barbecue flavors and has the perfect balance of sweet, savory, and heat.
While this rub screams pork, it’s also great on chicken and turkey.
With a nice hit of paprika, this rub will also deliver a spicy kick if that’s what you’re into. Just use hot paprika if you like a bit of heat.
It’s so versatile you might find making a big batch is a good idea, so it’s on hand, ready to go when you decide you want to get out the barbecue.
Get the full recipe.
2. Homemade Brisket Rub Recipe
The barbecue community loves to proclaim that brisket should only be seasoned with salt and black pepper.
This “one true correct way” attitude probably comes from Aaron Franklin disciples. The irony is that even “traditional Texas-style” barbecue take advantage of other flavors in their brisket rubs.
Our brisket rub has a salt and pepper base, and then adds onion and garlic, some paprika for color and just a touch of chili powder.
3. Sweet & Spicy Barbecue Pork Rub
This wonderfully balanced pork rub has just the right mix of sweetness, spice, and salt.
We designed it for pork, but you could just as easily use it on chicken.
But what we like about this rub is that it gives you room to ‘customize’. Adjust the quantities to create a rub with just the combination of flavors you like.
Check out the pork rub recipe.
4. Classic BBQ Turkey and Chicken Rub
We originally came up with this rub to use on smoked turkey but after much testing, we can confirm it works brilliantly on chicken too.
The blend of smoked paprika, brown sugar, cumin, mustard and onion powders and salt and black pepper and all classic bbq flavors.
This rub has been perfectly balanced to keep everyone happy. There isn’t too much spice so you can safely serve this to kids (or fussy eaters).
If you like a little more kick just add a little cayenne pepper.
See the full rub and suggestions for how to customize it here.
5. Coffee Dry Rub (Amazing on beef, surprisingly great on chicken and pork)
This coffee rub goes perfectly on beef thanks to its big bold flavors. The coffee helps to tenderize the meat, enhances the savory flavors, and also helps you get a great bark on the outside of your meat.
For best results grind your own coffee fresh, but the actual type of coffee isn’t super important.
Check out the full recipe.
6. The Best Prime Rib Rub
A perfectly cooked prime rib is the perfect centerpiece for any holiday meal. While you can stick with the basics and use a simple salt and pepper rub, I would recommend our prime rib rub that amps up the flavor with smoked paprika, mustard, garlic powder and some fresh herbs.
You will find the recipe here.
7. The Best Homemade Salmon Seasoning
We came up with this seasoning for smoking and grilling salmon, although it would work with just about any seafood. The seasoning is packed with dill, chili powder, garlic, onion, and mustard.
You can go a bit lighter when applying this salmon rub. A nice even layer across all sides of your fish is more than enough.
Grab the full recipe here.
8. Rib Rub (this one has scored some awards too!)
I’m sure we have all heard someone claim they have the ‘best rib rub recipe’. But this recipe has won its creator awards – so you can take his word for it.
While this is called a ‘rib rub’, you can actually use it on fish, pork and even veggies! There are no hard and fast rules as to how this rub can be used as it is so well balanced.
Have a look for yourself by following this link.
9. Memphis Style Baby Back Ribs Rub
If easy to eat, dry rubbed Memphis style ribs are your thing, then this is the rub you are after.
There is so much flavor packed into this rub that there is no need for sauce. However, a vinegar wash and an extra sprinkling of rub can be added if you want to turbo charge your ribs.
This rub creates a great savory crust on the meat.
Make up a good batch to have at the ready using this recipe, and enjoy chowing down on some Memphis style ribs on balmy summer evenings.
10. Beef Rub (with a healthy dose of pepper)
Beef tastes best when paired with pepper. So slapping a pork rub on your beef isn’t going to yield optimum results. You really need a dedicated beef rub.
Many barbecue houses will use a basic salt and pepper rub. While this tastes great, sometimes you want a little more.
This rub is made specifically to complement beef, and offers a little more than classic salt and pepper.
Check out the recipe here.
11. Steven Raichlen’s Memphis Style Rub for Ribs
This recipe includes the ingredients needed for a rub and a mopping sauce.
With great step by instructions that you can follow whether using a gas grill, charcoal grill, mopping sauce, or the rub alone, tap into Stevens’s years of grilling experience to create some great Memphis style ribs.
Get the recipe and all the instructions here.
Wrapping it up
Next time the mood strikes you to whip up some ribs, there is no need to trawl the supermarket aisles for a tasty rub. Everything you need is most likely sitting there in your pantry.
Why not raid your cupboards now, see what you have in stock, and start making plans with your family and friends?
We have even more BBQ rub recipes here if you’re still looking for ideas. In the comments section below, let us know what you think of the list.
About Your Pitmaster
Joe Clements is the founder and editor-in-chief of Smoked BBQ Source, a leading barbecue resource that has helped tens of millions master grilling and smoking. Growing up in a vegetarian household, his love for barbecue was unexpected. Determined to master the craft, he launched Smoked BBQ Source in 2016 to document his journey from amateur to pitmaster.
Joe leads a team of expert barbecue creators and oversees the largest collection of in-depth grill reviews and a library of tested, foolproof recipes. Whether he’s firing up a pellet grill or charcoal kettle, he’s passionate about making barbecue approachable and enjoyable for all.
I am only new to cooking Ribs so looking forward to receiving your recipes
Hi Steve ! As a former Aussie just saying thanks ! Lived there in the mid 50s ! Anyway love your site ! Love the information !
Try this one….RECIPE
Eric’s Famous Coffee Rub and Best Way Steak
Eric’s Notes This easy-to-make seasoning mixture gives meat a spicy, slightly sweet flavor. Apply a thin coating before grilling beef, pork or lamb. Or use as a condiment to season the meat once you’ve carved and portioned it. Makes a great rub for brisket too.
Ingredients
● ¼ cup finely ground dark-roast coffee
● ¼ cup ancho Chile powder
● ¼ cup dark brown sugar, tightly packed
● 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
● 2 tablespoons kosher salt
● 1 tablespoon ground cumin
● Worcestershire sauce
Preparation In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients thoroughly, massaging the mixture with your fingers to break down the dark brown sugar into fine crystals. Approximately 4 hours before cooking liberally sprinkle a thin layer of the rub onto the steak, then pat it in with your fingers so it adheres. Approximately 30 minutes before cooking liberally sprinkle both sides of the steak with Worcestershire sauce. IMPORTANT: Make sure you let the steaks rest at least 5 minutes before serving.
You will want to use Spice Island spices, much higher quality @tessiegallagher
I never understood why people buy the “Store bought” rubs with all of the crazy names like “Bone suck’n rub, Slap yo mamma rub” . If they read the ingredients, they should have most of them in the cupboard. I enjoy making and experimenting with all of my seasonings.
Thanks for all the rubs looking forward to trying them I will be opening a bbq trailer next month and I’m looking for a good rub I can make myself in large batches
It is store bought, and not homemade, but if you really want to try something different for a BBQ rub get some Chinese five-spice powder at your local Asian store. The Chinese are experts at turning pork into magnificent dishes, and the five Spice powder Is a foundation that provides a strong base for most any direction you want to go into
Some comments – (I’ve been smoking meat, fish, poultry since the 1970’s)
1. I never buy store-bought rubs.
2. I never put salt in any of my rubs.
3. I make all my own rubs.
4. I never use any ingredient that has ‘salt’ in its name, like celery salt.
5. White sugar has a tendency to ‘scorch’ if the temperature spikes at all. Brown sugar as well, since it’s white sugar with molasses added. Demarara sugar has a much higher ‘scorch’ point, and is the only kind of sugar I use in my rubs. You only have to taste meat with scorched sugar one time to know what I mean. It’s a waste of meat, and it SO easy to avoid. A link to describe it: (If it works.)
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-demerara-sugar#:~:text=Demerara%20sugar%20is%20a%20raw,demerara%20sugar%20in%20grocery%20stores.
Salt belongs on the meat by itself, it changes the texture of the protein through reverse osmosis. No other spice has any effect on the meat itself. When salt has done its thing, the meat is more able to absorb flavors. I try to add salt to meat at least 24 hours ahead of time. It can be added a week ahead of time. Salt helps in preservation also.
When you have salted ahead of time, the meat will look ‘wet’. That’s the salt doing its thing. That is a perfect time to add your rub, as it will stick to that moisture without having to rub it with mustard or some other ‘sticky’ thing to get the rub to adhere.
These rubs look great, except for those little changes I would make. I will probably try each one at least once.
I use my home made rub on bulk thick sliced bacon and is taste great!
Working on small batches by converting your recipes to grams. Bacon in the oven seems to be the best way to sample and compare the flavors of different rubs.
Do you have other suggestions?
I live in South Australia Adelaide is my capital city I live in a suburb called Semaphore Park not far from the sea. I have tried some of the rubs on pork, beef, lamb and of course Kangaroo. The rubs that I tried makes these meats taste excellent.
I’m not really a daily or even weekly pit master, but the Meathead rub is one of my frequent go-to rubs for many types of meat, and I’ve also done some concoctions of my own (some good, and some not so good). My biggest issue with using pantry ingredients is that due to being somewhat infrequent at using them, I find that they are often stale and unsuitable for use. Open to suggestions as to how to keep spices fresher longer.