Whether it’s your first time using a grill or your hundredth, picking the right rub can feel overwhelming. We get it! That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the best BBQ rubs for your cooking needs. There is something here for everyone – sweet, spicy, and everything in between!
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The Best BBQ Rubs
Every meat needs a quality seasoning on the grill. If you’re stuck and need assistance picking the right one, read on! We have all the flavor answers you need.
Lillie Q’s Carolina Dirt BBQ Rub
For those who love a sugar-based rub, Lillie Q’s Caroline Dirt has everything you need. It’s packed with spices like paprika, sugar, brown sugar, garlic, and more to provide a flavor palette that is sweet, salty, and garlicky.
This rub adds sweet richness to pork, beef, chicken, and turkey on the grill. The best part? It also works as an excellent seasoning for fries and other unforgettable BBQ sides.
Rub Trio, BBQ Rub Sampler, Barbeque Rubs & Spices, Rub Seasoning Set Includes Carolina Dirt (6 oz), Q-Rub (7.9 oz), & Brisket Pepper (3.6 oz) | 3-Pack
Lane’s BBQ Signature Rub
If you want a milder flavor in your BBQ rub, Lane’s Signature is for you. It uses ingredients like black pepper, mustard, and ancho powder to bring a mild taste with a slightly spicy kick.
Lane’s is excellent as an all-around seasoning option. You can use it on chicken, pork, beef, and more. This signature rub even extends beyond the classic meats. Use it to season your pasta, eggs, and other tasty foods needing a little more of a flavor hit.
Meat Church Holy Gospel Seasoning
This name sets quite the standard for this rub and lives up to it. With the ingredients like sugar, salt, dehydrated garlic, and celery, this product has a smoky, peppery, and mild tang.
This rub combines two of their other signature options, the Holy Cow and Gospel. These previous iterations had issues – combining them together solved everything! It’s ideal for veggies, chicken, ribs, and beef.
Traeger Blackened Saskatchewan Rub
Traeger is one of the biggest names in the grilling world, and their spices are awesome! Their Blackened Saskatchewan includes their signature spice blend and garlic for a classy taste, it’s a wonderful, tangy addition to the palette.
This flavor works well on beef, poultry, pork, and veggies for an impactful bite every time. It also comes in a convenient metal container, allowing you to easily store it away with your other spices.
Plowboys Yardbird Rub
In need of a quality chicken rub? Plowboys Yardbird Rub is an excellent addition to your chicken with salt, sugar, chili pepper, paprika, garlic, onion, and mustard flour. It’s a perfect amount of sweetness with a slight spicy kick everyone will remember.
This rub won the 2009 American Royal Invitational BBQ Competition, proving the power of this blend of spices. It’s awesome for poultry and seafood. You can even mix and match it with other rubs until you find the ideal match for your desired taste!
Lawry’s Perfect Blend Chicken Rub
Lawry’s is one of the top competitors in the spice industry, and their chicken rub is one of the best. It uses a combination of garlic, rosemary, onion, sea salt, and more to spice meat to perfection.
The resulting flavor is robust and punchy, excellent for serving with potatoes and other basic sides.
Many of Lawry’s rubs define themselves as ideal for one type of meat. However, you can enjoy this perfect blend on pork and some dressings! It’s tricky to find in the store but there are plenty of options online. It also isn’t too salty, which balances the flavors nicely.
Bad Byron’s Butt Rub Barbecue Seasoning
There is nothing better than a smokey, authentic flavor from the meat coming off your grill. Bad Byron’s Butt Rub Barbeque Seasoning is simple – black pepper, paprika, various spices, and chipotle powder.
The combination makes for a smokey, mild flavor that resembles something your dad might throw together for a gathering.
Although it advertises itself as a pork rub, there’s use for it on other meats, too. However, it is critical to note that this rub is a little saltier than other rubs. A little goes a long way. The combination also pairs well with brown sugar, so consider that addition before serving.
Spiceology Sasquatch BBQ Dirt Espresso Chile Beef Rub
Are you a coffee lover? If so, Spiceology’s Sasquatch BBQ Dirt is an awesome choice for your next rub. Some of the prominent ingredients include espresso powder, activated charcoal, and granulated brown sugar, to name a few. The resulting flavor profile is sweet and spicy with a tang of coffee in the background.
This rub will offer a thick, crusty bark many chefs love on their meat. The espresso in the mix doesn’t overpower the meat but brings it to life in a unique way you won’t find on many rubs. It’s earthy and straight to the point for an incredible experience.
Related >> How To Get Bark With a Pellet Smoker
Szeged Rib Rub
Next up is the delicious Szeged Rib Rub. If you love sweet ribs with a small kick of something spicy, you will adore this concoction. It’s a unique mix of paprika, garlic, mustard, salt, and additional spices for more of a kick.
It does an awesome job bringing out the flavor of the meat without taking over completely.
This rub comes in a unique metal tin, practical for the environment and good-looking on your shelf. It works well for ribs but also comes in handy for chicken and steak. Plus, if you love it, you can experiment with the sweet flavor on all your favorite foods!
Lambert’s Sweet Rub O’ Mine
Some people like their meat sweet, and Lambert’s Sweet Rub O’ Mine is here to bring an answer to that craving. It includes dehydrated garlic, evaporated cane juice, turbinado sugar, salt, mustard flour, and more, resulting in a sweet tang.
It also has MSGs and other additives for the color, which those with sensitivities should consider before buying.
Lambert’s is excellent for veggies, poultry, ribs, and other meat. It’s especially delicious on pulled pork with a sweet flavor profile. One of the best parts of this rub is that it pulls out the natural flavor of the product, rather than covering it up.
Killer Hog’s The BBQ Rub
Next up is Killer Hog’s The BBQ Rub. This award-winning seasoning was used by the award-winning Killer Hogs team, who claim they spent thirteen years crafting the mix to perfection. It’s sweet and smokey, packed with a hint of a chili kick.
This rub is excellent because it works well on its own, but it’s also able to pair with other seasonings for the ultimate flavor. It comes in thick granules for simple application and is useful on any meat, especially pork ribs, and butts.
Spiceology Smoky Honey Habanero Sweet and Spicy BBQ Rub
Next up is Spiceology’s Smoky Honey Habanero Sweet and Spicy BBQ Rub. This delicious rub offers a quality blend with the addition of powdered habanero pepper and a hint of honey to cool the mouth. The result is a hot kick with a cooling honey effect to keep you eating bite after bite of the mixture.
This product works on a multitude of meats. It’s been tested on chicken, wings, nuts, bacon, burger, meatloaf, and even pineapple on the grill! If you’re someone who wants complex flavors and a spicy kick in your run, go for Spiceology’s masterpiece.
Bone Suckin’ Sauce Bone Suckin’ Original Seasoning and Rub
If versatility is your thing, you can’t go wrong with the Bone Suckin’ Original Seasoning and Rub. It includes celery powder, red bell pepper, chili powder, and citric acid to bring the flavors to life, resulting in a light combination of salt and spice without overpowering the meat it sits on.
You can use this tasty mix on all kinds of meats, from pork to chicken. It’s also awesome on veggies, seafood, and more. It’s a family-made blend from North Carolina, so you won’t find anything like it anywhere else in the seasoning and rub world.
Heath Riles BBQ Garlic Jalapeno Rub Seasoning
Is there any better flavor combination than spicy jalapeno and garlic? It’s tricky to beat, especially with the Heath Riles BBQ Garlic Jalapeno Rub Seasoning.
This blend has ingredients like salt, sugar, various spices, and dehydrated garlic to form a mouth-watering sweet, salty, and garlicky flavor in every bite.
This product is awesome for meats like fish, beef, seafood, and more. It’s an award-winning creation, bound to add a little more kick to your dishes that need some outside assistance. It’s sure to be a delight to those who love spice in their grilling experience.
Kosmos Q Honey Killer Bee BBQ Rub
Want something sweet with a delicious punch of savory on your meat? The Kosmos Q Honey Killer Bee BBQ Rub packs everything you need into one mixture. It includes flavors like sugar, salt, celery, and dehydrated garlic to form an excellent balance for your meat.
This rub is so good, it’s won many awards. It’s excellent if you need a touch of sweetness on your meat – nothing too intense, but just enough to keep everyone coming back for more. It’s even handy for spicing up items like casseroles, baked beans, and other tasty sides.
Slap Yo Daddy All-Purpose Championship BBQ Rub
If you want a rub from a champion in the industry, look no further than the Slap Yo Daddy All-Purpose Championship BBQ Rub. This product comes from 27-time Grand Championship winner Harry Soo and incorporates ingredients like sea salt, maple sugar, chili, paprika, shiitake powder, and more. The final flavor is garlicky, umami, and smokey.
Add this rub to everything from steaks to hamburgers for a punchy addition to classic meat seasonings. The composition of the rub will bring a deep umami flavor to the meat while also adding some sweetness and that all-too-vital kick of heat at the end. It’s a real winner.
Pork Rub, Brisket, Steak, Hamburger, Tri-Tip, Sausage Championship BBQ Rubs and Spices for Smoking and Grilling - No MSG, Gluten Free
Meat Church Holy Voodoo BBQ Rub
One of our last choices is the Meat Church Holy Voodoo BBQ Rub. There’s nothing quite as amazing as cajun, and this rub takes that flavor profile to the next level. You’ll find ingredients like salt, brown sugar, sugar, jalapeno, and more in this incredible combination, forming a smoky and savory cajun punch for your meat.
The Holy Voodoo BBQ Rub is a savory option, through and through. What really sets it apart is the kick from the jalapenos. It’s already been used as a winning rub in competitions and can be yours if you want to bring the cajun flavor to your backyard. Meat Church Holy Voodoo BBQ Rub is a winner!
Rudy’s Texas Bar-B-Q Dry Rub
Those who adore tasty and versatile rubs will enjoy Rudy’s Texas Bar-B-Q Dry Rub. Its main ingredients include spices, salt, paprika, sugar, chili pepper, garlic, and online, all coming together to form a sweet and peppery rub with a hint of salt. It’s been in the works since the 80s and is ready to go on your barbequed creation.
The intense flavor of Rudy’s is versatile enough to work on poultry, ribs, and brisket. If you’re a fan of something that packs a punch, consider adding the Texas Bar-B-Q Dry Rub to your lineup.
Related >> Best Dry Rubs For Ribs (PreMade and DIY Recipe)
Now that you’ve seen all the rub choices on the market, it’s up to you to pick the spices to best suit your grilling needs.
There are a million choices, so you can have fun testing different rubs until you find the combination that best suits your preferences!
