BBQ'rs, Smokers, Lend me your Rubs!

The missus surprised me with the 18.5" Weber Smokey Mountain smoker because she is AWESOME and is tired of me complaining about the Brinkmann and how hard it is to smoke for 8+ hours on. Helps that her favorite is pulled pork...

Needless to say, I'll be smoking up quite a bit of food in the coming months. I'm looking to test a few different rubs. Anyone have a go to rub they are willing to share?

My go to rub has the following and mostly is used on pork.

brown sugar
cumin
onion salt
garlic powder
paprika
cayenne powder
black pepper
white pepper
Montreal steak seasoning ground in spice grinder

1/2c Brown Sugar
1/3c paprika
1/3c black pepper
1/3c sea salt
1 or 2 tbsp (before crush) toasted coriander
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
a couple dashes smoked chipotle powder

Spicy and sweet with a little fruity taste from the coriander. The toasting really brings the flavor out of the coriander. Make sure to crush the coriander before use. All the brown sugar in the rub makes a nice bark on the ribs and pork butts. If you dont already know put a thin layer of yellow mustard on before the rub.

Also check out these threads:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f56/smokin-butts-109485/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f56/smokin-ribs-109987/

I buy mine online and love it. It's called Texas Wild and I use it on everything from Pork Butts to Brisket to Ribs to Chicken, etc.

http://texasbbqrub.com/texaswild.htm

I can't remember the exact measurements, as I tend to just make this to taste. If you want, I can look them up in my original recipes.

My BBQ rub, which is great with almost anything is:

paprika
brown sugar
kosher salt
black pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
celery seeds
little bit of cayenne

Good luck with your smoker. I have a WSM and love it. Just did 8 lbs. of baby backs this weekend, and even used some of an off batch of beer in the water pan. BTW, a great tip is to get some large heavy duty aluminum foil and line your water pan with it before filling. It speeds the cleanup process immensely. Also, if you have a source, hardwood lump charcoal instead of briquets makes for much better bbq imho.

I'll have to check my BBQ notebook for the rub I'm developing. But if you want a good purchased one, you can't get any better than Dizzy Pig. http://www.dizzypigbbq.com/

I met Chris Capell at a regional Big Green Egg smoker git-together and sampled some of his stuff. Fantastic if you just want something to grab and slap on some meat.

Thanks everyone. I'm sitting on 18lbs of pork butt, cryo and in the freezer because I didn't want to horse the ECB for that long of a smoke. Might need to be my break-in on the WSM.

Bad Byrons Butt rub

I don't measure anything, and I usually use this spice mixture as a base, and vary it based on what I'm making:

Onion powder
Garlic powder
Dried mustard
Paprika
Black pepper (ground)
Red pepper
Cumin
Crushed/ground thyme

Those go in basically anything I make. Then for pork CHOPS I crank the cumin way up and add lawry's season salt. For pork butt/ribs I add brown sugar to the spice mixture, and coat them in plain yellow mustard before applying liberal amounts of rub.

Honestly I usually wet marinade beef not rub it, but if it's getting a rub, I usually go with the above + chili powder and extra herbage such as basil or rosemary. I personally don't use sugar in rubs on beef. That's 100% my own preference.

I don't add salt to my rubs b/c I salt my meat separately and only if it needs it. The cumin and thyme are my "secret ingredients" if you will. Most rubs I've seen don't use either, or if they do it's usually the cumin and not enough of it.

JetSmooth said:

I'll have to check my BBQ notebook for the rub I'm developing. But if you want a good purchased one, you can't get any better than Dizzy Pig. http://www.dizzypigbbq.com/

I met Chris Capell at a regional Big Green Egg smoker git-together and sampled some of his stuff. Fantastic if you just want something to grab and slap on some meat.

Click to expand...

+1 on the DizzyPig. I use it when I'm not using my own. Awesome flavors, and it is really, really freshly ground. I know several guys that use it in competitions. Try the Ragin' River if you like maple salmon.

Hoppy Hog Rub.

Ahtanum Hops Powder
SWMBO's Evil Lemon Pepper Blend
Hickory Smoked Kosher Salt and Peppercorns.

mmb said:

The missus surprised me with the 18.5" Weber Smokey Mountain smoker because she is AWESOME and is tired of me complaining about the Brinkmann and how hard it is to smoke for 8+ hours on. Helps that her favorite is pulled pork...

Needless to say, I'll be smoking up quite a bit of food in the coming months. I'm looking to test a few different rubs. Anyone have a go to rub they are willing to share?

My go to rub has the following and mostly is used on pork.

brown sugar
cumin
onion salt
garlic powder
paprika
cayenne powder
black pepper
white pepper
Montreal steak seasoning ground in spice grinder

Click to expand...

I smoked some butts today and used this rub, it was a big hit with my wife and freinds.

Thanks

Wait... it was supposed to work the other way...

Glad you liked it.

mmb said:

Wait... it was supposed to work the other way...

Glad you liked it.

Click to expand...

yep, oh well. I would be interested in other rubs and mop sauces though.

This is an awesome rub - it seems to go well with everything. I got it from here.

Ingredients
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup kosher salt
4 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons ground ginger powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons dried rosemary leaves, ground to a powder

Optional. Add up to 2 tablespoons crushed dried chipotle, cayenne, chili powder, or other hot pepper. Be careful with this ingredient. Not everybody likes it as hot as you do! You can leave it out if you are serving to a large crowd that is bound to contain a few wimps, and serve pepper flakes on the side.

Substitution. Try substituting some smoked paprika for regular paprika. Beware, it is usually a bit hot.

Basic Jerk Rub, a little spicy and sweet, great for smokin ribs, lamb, or chicken, never tried it on pork butt but why not.

4 parts Dark Brown Sugar
2 parts Onion, Garlic, Fresh cracked black pepper, Sea Salt
1 part cinnamon, thyme, rosemary
1/2 part allspice, nutmeg, and crushed (red chilis, habanero, or telecherry) peppers

Chairman Cheyco said:

This is an awesome rub - it seems to go well with everything. I got it from here.

Ingredients
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup kosher salt
4 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons ground ginger powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons dried rosemary leaves, ground to a powder

Optional. Add up to 2 tablespoons crushed dried chipotle, cayenne, chili powder, or other hot pepper. Be careful with this ingredient. Not everybody likes it as hot as you do! You can leave it out if you are serving to a large crowd that is bound to contain a few wimps, and serve pepper flakes on the side.

Substitution. Try substituting some smoked paprika for regular paprika. Beware, it is usually a bit hot.

Click to expand...

Cheyco! I thought you had fallen off the earth!

Walker said:

Cheyco! I thought you had fallen off the earth!

Click to expand...

No, Canada's internetz was broken for a while, lolz.

How ya been Walker-san?

ground rosemary-don't overdue this one
cracked pepper(color of your choosing)
celery salt
garlic powder
onion powder
cayenne powder
and some generic 'cajun spice' (you can go heavy on this)
two sliced oranges

this one is my personal favorite for ribs, especially in a smoker. the sublte rosemary and hint of citrus from the orange slices is fantastic. If desired, you can even coat them in a sweet bbq sauce for the last ten minutes. Always a hit at my house.

This is a good basic rub that can e used on anything from pork butt to meatloaf.

1/2 cup sweet paprika
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (brown sugar, or raw sugar will also work)
1/2 cup Kosher salt
1/4 cup fresh ground pepper

I pour all the ingredients into a zip loc bag and shake and squeeze to mix. Apply to the meat by hand and let sit for an hour or two. Then on to the smoker.

Like I said this is a good basic rub. It is amazing how much flavor you can get out of these four simple ingredients. I use it on everything from pork butt to brisket to chicken to meatloaf.

It is a good base to experiment with. If it is too salty, reduce the salt. If it is too hot, reduce the pepper. If it is too sweet, reduce the sugar.

You can add stuff too, Onion powder and granulated garlic are good places to start. For Chicken: thyme, parsley, and sage can be good additions. A bit of maple sugar or maple syrup is a good addition on ham or pork.

Enjoy your smoker.