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!

A bowl of mixed spices and a plate with them divided.

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.

Spices on a plate.

Ingredients You Need For This Rub

  • Paprika
  • Cumin
  • Pepper
  • Thyme
  • Cayenne
  • Sage
  • Dry mustard
  • Salt
  • Sugar
Pork roast with bbq seasoning rubbed all over.

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.

Back ribs with seasoning rubbed on it.

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.

Spices divided and aligned on a rectangular plate.

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:

Steve’s Basic BBQ Rub

A plate with colourful spices piled next to each other.
4.74 out of 5
34 reviews
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A classic rub that is great for grilled and smoked meat. Perfect rub recipe for smoking or grilling and great on pork, chicken and seafood.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 48 tablespoons

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

If you like a spicier rub, add a little more cayenne.

Nutrition

Per serving:

Calories: 19kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 0.5gFat: 0.4gSaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 1181mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2g

Nutrition Disclaimer

This recipe was originally posted in August 2011.

Categories

A bowl of mixed spices and a plate with them divided.

Did you try this recipe?

Leave a comment and let me know how it turned out. Or, take a picture to share on Instagram and tag me @theblackpeppercorn.

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Recipe Rating




60 comments

  • 5 stars
    I love a good spice rub and this sounds wonderful! We just started the Whisk It Wednesday link party and I thought you might be interested in sharing there too! Thanks, Carrie

    • Reply
  • I tried this rub for a holiday party with friends in February. People couldn’t stop commenting on how amazing our smoked pork loin was (also your receipe) tasted! So, I decided we had to make it again for our daughter’s 3rd birthday party this weekend. Maybe this time her Dad will get a chance to grab a slice before everyone eats it all. 🙂

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    • So glad it turned out well!

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  • Hi Steve
    Thanks for providing such detailed feedback across your various smoking experiences it really helps especially when one is only just starting out on the smoking journey.
    One question i have in relation to your basic bbq rub are you using white or brown sugar.

    • Reply
    • Glad you are enjoying the site! Many more smoking recipes and articles coming in the next month!!

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  • 5 stars
    Love this rub on chicken. Just enough spice. One of these days I’ll plan enough ahead to brine the birds.

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    • 5 stars
      Try spatchcocking the chickens. I did 3 six lb chickens and smoked them at 250 degrees. Came out perfect. Just use some good kitchen sheers and cut down each side of the backbone from the neck opening all the way to the tail. Open it up and push down to crack the breastbone, It cooks more evenly than any other method. Put on smoker breast sides up.

      • Reply
  • 4 stars
    The rub was a very good rub, but just as a word of warning it is very spicy. I may have done something wrong but my wife and kids wouldn’t eat it because they said it was too spicy. I enjoy spicy food but they do not.

    Again I may have done something wrong that made it that spicy.

    All in all if you like spicy this is a fantastic rub!

    • Reply
    • 4 stars
      From looking at the recipe, I would suspect as much. 3 tablespoons of cayenne in a rub is a lot, and it can quickly overpower both the smoke and the rub. Personally, I leave it out. Use 1/4C of granulated garlic in its place and you’ll find this recipe to be pretty close to perfect!

      • Reply
    • The portion of Cayenne pepper would be what is making it so spicy to the rest of your family, I would use a quarter or less of what this particular recipe calls for if spicy is a problem. I knew right off the batt after reading that it would be spicy.

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  • 5 stars
    Delicious! This was a fantastic enhancement to the ‘smoke flavor’ (used Oak chunks and soaked Apple wood chips in firebox). The meat was the dinner rave! Thanks.
    sidebar: I did not use 3/4 CUP of paprika, went a lot less; and used Fresh Sage shredded.
    sidebarII: to have digital access to recipes, do you ‘join’ this website?

    • Reply
  • Going try you recipe

    • Reply
  • Hi,

    I plan on making this rub since you say its awesome on different grilled meats. But I have ?’s. Which type of sage would be best to use, ground or rubbed? Those are the only two I have right now. And can I marinate meats overnite using this rub? Thanx a bunch.

    • Reply
    • I use ground sage but rubbed should work fine as well. I often rub the meat and let it marinate overnight. Works great!

      • Reply
      • Your receptive say to rub on and let sit for 1-2 hours. Can one assume by marinating over night that it gets more spicy? I’m going to try your recipe on a pork loin. I’ll have to cut the loin in thirds due to having a smaller smoker. Do you recemond a certain wood chip, I have maple and hickory. Thanks

        • Reply
  • 5 stars
    I wasn’t sure at first but…wow. Great taste. Friends really liked it. use this every time.

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  • 5 stars
    Awesome rub, use it all the time!!! I have a Master Built electric smoker and we do salmon on it all the time. 220 degres for 4 hours (we use pecan pellets). I’m going to try a smoked salmon fish dip this weekend!

    • Reply
  • 5 stars
    Sounds great! I use my big chief for smoking salmon after I dry brine the salmon and put it in the fridge for at least 6 hours. The big chief breathes and allows the salmon to dry a little while smoking. My dry brine is very simple and tested to not lose the salmon flavor. very simply, it is equal parts white sugar brown sugar and salt. Put plenty of fresh course ground black pepper and a small shaking of garlic and onion powder after rinsing the fish when the dry brining is completed. Also just a small amount of brown sugar sprinkled on the fish before putting in the smoker. Use a full pan of chips at least 3 times while smoking. Use your judgement for the length of smoke time. ( The longer, the drier your fish) This is really hard to mess up and it will be much better and cheaper than anything you can buy!

    • Reply
  • Sounds delicious. Love the photo!

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  • I love this, thanks so much for the recipe, I’m always hemming and hawing about what to toss in spice rubs.

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  • Hi Steve, This sounds good for a rub. I make one myself,but never wrote down what I put in it. You have inspired me to do this. After I try yours.

    Thanks Regina

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  • That’s a very interesting combo of spices and flavors. The addition of mustard is very interesting.

    I agree, a rub makes a lot of meats better. Eapecially a pork roast!

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  • Well darn. I was off on the sage. I guessed that it was oregano.

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    • funny, yeah the sage actually does give a nice added flavour although there is not as much of it as some of the other spices.

      • Reply
  • Hi Steve –

    I just purchased my smoker this summer and all I can say is WOW! I’m so loving all the smoked items that we’ve put in it. And I couldn’t agree more, things that I smoke, need a rub! I’ll save this rub recipe. I’m smoking a brisket this weekend……that always brings the family together! Happy smoking!!!

    • Reply
    • Yeah – smoking is so much fun. What things have you smoked lately? I have tried salmon of late – oh my – so good!

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  • Saving this to try next time 🙂 Love the photo you captured .. so colorful

    • Reply
    • thanks! yeah, I was happy with the photo. it was a fun one to do.

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      • do I refrigerate for te two hours after applying the rub? Thanks

        • Reply
        • Yes, refrigerate

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  • I really like your BBQ rub mix recipe. Posted abt. it on facebook! Thanks for friending me on foodbuzz!
    elisabeth@foodandthriftfinds

    • Reply
  • What a great BBQ rub! No pantry should be without a big jar of rub! This looks like it will be great with just about any meat.

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    • Steve, looks like a great rub! I just threw on two slabs of pork spare ribs on my electric smoker at 225f, using your 3-2-1 rib smoking method with your rub mix. I tasted the rub and it was a pretty freaking spicy. But I just went with it. Am I over reacting because it wasn’t on any meat yet? If it comes out to spicy do you have any suggestions on how to tame it down?

      • Reply
      • Thanks for your comment! Hope the ribs turned out well. 🙂

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        • Does this rub do well on turkey also ?

          • Reply
          • I love this rub on all chicken and turkey!

      • Beware, this not a tame rub. Steve, I appreciate you going to the trouble of sharing this with everyone, but it’s pretty close to dipping your tongue in napalm. I like spicy food and will often use jalapeños, banana peppers, and others in my food, along with Cajun seasoning. I don’t know if it was the enormous amount of paprika or the amount cayenne, but this is EXTREMELY hot, even after cooked with and sauce rubbed on. No amount of sauce made this easier to eat. Only for the extreme spicy lovers.

        • Reply

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