What's the deal with all these pre-made barbecue rubs that are flooding the market?

Friends and I enjoy smoking & grilling and a couple of them have gotten into buying various rubs. I've always been an S&P, basic rub kinda cook however it looks like various competition BBQ personalities have put out their 'brand' of rubs and spices and now the marketplace is filled with rubs from basic to dubious ingredients.

Am I missing out on something here? Taste of course is subjective but, are there any that are worth the purchase or worth while to have in the pantry?

I found a couple that I really liked from when I first started out that gave me a good idea of what they contribute. The only problem is I have to do a 30 min. drive for one when I visit to the north and the other requires paying for shipping (dizzy pig). While I really like the Dizzy Pig rubs and I'm glad I tried them, I'd rather put the $$ toward good meat.
So now I save containers and mix my own following recipes in BBQ books and buy my spices in bulk - that is, bulk for me.

Jesse/"Skins" has a decent rub recipe that I also keep in stock in the pantry as a good back-up.

Yes, rubs are tasty.

It’s a way for BBQ folks to make money. Customers like what they eat and buy a jar of rub or sauce to use at home. I visit a rib cook-off every year that brings contestants from all over the country. Most sell rubs and sauces and it’s a way for me to take home a little bit of what I liked at the competition. I use it throughout the year and buy more the next year or even order online.

I'm guilty of purchasing a ton of rubs & not using all of the bottle. I pitch a lot of 1/2 bottles of sauce too.
I usually find ones I like, then make them more to my liking.
Start with salt/pepper/garlic in equal amounts. Then add x/y/z depending on what you're going for.

I generally agree with the OP's sentiment, but have one exception. The rubs made by Oakridge BBQ are worth the coin! Extremely high quality ingredients, no cheap fillers added, and are just plain good! They offer a quite inexpensive variety sampler pack with enough to do a rack of ribs or a chicken, with each flavor. I'm also A HUGE fan of their Carne Crosta for grilling burgers, steaks, and chops!

Salt and pepper alone is fine for Texas-style beef BBQ.

But Southern-style pork BBQ calls for a bit more than just salt and pepper. In addition to salty and peppery, there's usually also some sweetness and some spiciness. I sometimes make my own rubs, but also use Bad Byron's Butt Rub and some of the offerings from Meat Church.

Making your own is cheaper, but more time-consuming. Plus you have to know what flavor profile you're going for, and be willing to experiment and tweak the recipe. Some people aren't willing to do all that, and just know that the BBQ from XYZ place/person tastes good, so they just want to buy what they use.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RogueJSK,

quote:

Originally posted by Outnumbered:
I generally agree with the OP's sentiment, but have one exception. The rubs made by Oakridge BBQ are worth the coin! Extremely high quality ingredients, no cheap fillers added, and are just plain good! They offer a quite inexpensive variety sampler pack with enough to do a rack of ribs or a chicken, with each flavor. I'm also A HUGE fan of their Carne Crosta for grilling burgers, steaks, and chops!

This. When I discovered Oak Ridge I stopped making my own. I was doing a lot of BBQ catering at the time and mixing a large batch of my own rub was a bit time consuming and when catering for a couple hundred people time is money. I bought some Oak Ridge and never looked back. Their brine mix is also great.

I have gone almost strictly to Coarse Salt/Pepper for smoked beef, and pork ribs. Ribs I will use a very light coat of BBQ sauce on right before i pull them. Pork loins, pork butts, chicken, turkey I still use some concoction of salt/pepper/rubs.

I use just kosher salt and fresh ground pepper when smoking a brisket.

Beef and and pork ribs get Montreal Seasoning.

Everything else gets this: https://porkbarrelbbq.com/coll...s/products/seasoning

I make my own. This is a recipe I came up with years ago after trying various different combinations and going through a lot of ribs and spices to select the final mix.

Skins2881 Famous Rib Rub:

2 Tablespoons:

• Salt (1 sea 1 table)
• Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon:

• Cumin
• Paprika
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Chili Powder
• Fresh Ground Pepper (Fresh is key part)

2 Teaspoons:

• Oregano

1 Teaspoon:

• Cayenne Pepper

1/2 Teaspoon:

• Celery Seed
• Mustard Powder

Makes about three possibly four sets of baby back ribs. If you are rubbing the meat with mustard you can skip the mustard powder.

Shines with ribs, pulled pork, and chicken also not bad on a steak though I prefer just S&P and garlic powder.

When I rub my meat, I use Special Shit most of the time, and if when my meat needs to be slightly sweet it gets hit with the Good Shit.

Occasionally for Hot N Spicy it's Aw Shit...

http://www.specialshit.com/

They have lots of shit, dip shit, sauce shit, but I stick to the dry shit....

It's good shit....

Oh forgot, sometimes McCormicks Applewood, it has a good flavor for ribs..

A LOT of the rubs are similar if not the same in many aspects.
Not a big deal sometimes I try a pre-made and sometimes I make my own and those usually follow someone else's recipe for a start and then sometimes it gets modified from there.
Not really a problem either way.

I use Arizona Chipotle for ribs, no other rubs for anything else.

https://cavecreekoliveoil.com/...-chipotle-seasoning/

Why is everyone using oregano?

I use rosemary in mine.

.

If you want to make your own, this link will take you to DJ's Smoke Pit where he has compiled a long list of rubs and spice blends available in downloadable files:
www.DeeJaysSmokePit.net/SpiceDownloads.htm

DJ has compiled a wonderful site with lots of details. His recipes for rubs, brining, marinades, and sauces work great when you're smoking or grilling:
www.DeeJaysSmokePit.net/SmokingMeatMenu.htm

.


.

I am not a typical fan of store bought rubs mainly because of the amount of salt used in them. I estimate they use about 50% more than needed.

Because of this, I make my own.

I smoke something on the Big Green Egg several times a week. I have recipes for some complex homemade rubs but they are labor intensive and sometimes the Commissary does not have all the ingredients needed. I used a lot of Dizzy Pig but have moved on. We have been using John Henry brand rubs for years, which I learned about while in West Texas, and for the past 6 months have been using an assortment of Bearded Butcher rubs. A variety of mixes is important as our guests have varying tastes. I am content letting the experts do the mixing and testing and am happy to see a wide variety available. The Bearded Butcher rubs are also gluten free, which is important as we often have guests who have Celiac. Life is short-find something that works for you and enjoy.

Its just an easy revenue stream like selling tshirts.

I've pretty much perfected my rubs for various meats. It seems lazy to buy them but there are great ones out there. If I find a good one, I take note of the ingredients.