Steve’s Basic BBQ Rub
A classic BBQ spice rub that is perfect for both smoking and grilling. This seasoning is excellent on chicken and pork!
I believe that almost anything grilled or smoked tastes better with a rub. I have many different rubs for different meats and flavours, but this BBQ rub is my go-to seasoning. This is ideal for chicken and pork. It even works great with beef and seafood.
Ingredients You Need For This Rub
- Paprika
- Cumin
- Pepper
- Thyme
- Cayenne
- Sage
- Dry mustard
- Salt
- Sugar
How To Make This Rub?
Preparing this rub is as simple as mixing all the spices and sugar together. That is it. Once the spices are well mixed, it is ready to be rubbed on some meat.
Expert Tip! This BBQ rub is easy to use as a base for other flavour combinations. Add some chipotle powder for a spicy and smoky flavour. Omit the cumin and paprika and add some oregano and basil for an Italian seasoning.
How To Store This This BBQ Rub
I usually make triple this recipe and keep it in a massive mason jar and it lasts me a month or two. It is awesome on ribs and chicken. It also tastes great on pork chops.
Update: Some people have commented that this rub is quite hot. I like very spicy food, so this has been the way I make it. But, I adjusted the recipe and reduced the cayenne pepper to 1 tablespoon to tame down the level of heat. If you like your food spicy, you may want to increase it to 2 or even 3 tablespoons.
Meat That Is Great With This Rub?
There are so many different recipes that I usually use this as my base rub. It is especially great used during smoking and here are a few recipes that this rub gets used:
- Smoked Ribs using the 3-2-1 Method – This is my standard method for smoking ribs. I make sure I rub a healthy amount of this BBQ rub on the ribs before they go into the smoker
- How to Smoke a Whole Chicken – Smoking a whole chicken, might be one of my favourite things to smoke. The meat stays so moist and I rub the skin down with this rub to give it an excellent flavour.
- How to Smoke Pork Tenderloin in a Smoker – Anytime I have an extra rack in my smoker free, I find myself throwing on a couple pork tenderloins. They are great with this rub and excellent just sliced up, or thrown in salad, baked beans, on pasta and more!
- How to Smoke a Pork Shoulder Roast – Picnic or Butt – This makes the most amazing pulled pork on the planet!
Steve’s Basic BBQ Rub
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup paprika
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1/4 cup ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp thyme
- 2 tbsp dry mustard
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp cayenne pepper or more if you want it spicier
- 1 tbsp sage
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients together well and keep in an air tight container in the same place that you keep your spices.
- To use: rub into the meat and let sit in the fridge for 1 or 2 hours before grilling/smoking
Notes
Nutrition
Per serving:
This recipe was originally posted in August 2011.
