Buying vs Making Rubs

I make 'em

Saves time plus you will need to have a large amount and selection of various spices on hand. I buy rubs and make some of my own. Fun to experiment to get different flavors plus the bought rubs tend to have a lot of salt in them.
Just my .02

I definitely understand the convenience of buying rubs to use but I've found that there is always something that I like a little different in them. I end up making my rubs because of the "tweaking" factor to get what I want. You could also use a commercial rub as the base and tweak it the way you like. Make a Frankenrub, lol.

Making your own is fun and we can keep the salt content down. We have the spices anyway for other cooking and they get used up instead of going stale. I have purchased rubs that I've ended up throwing out, or looking up cloned recipes to mix in to double everything else but the salt due to their high salt content.

I like to mix the rubs I buy. 3eyz and bob's hav n a bbq I can't come up with anything yet that beats this.

I've tried both, and it depends on the purpose. So far I like my own rubs for pastrami and my basic pork/rib rub. Brisket I have tried both and am not sold on either yet but I do want to try some of the ones I see on here (Sucklebusters and some of the Oakridge rubs) , although I recently did my own SPOG on short ribs and it was fantastic.

Also have a buddy that swears by the ObieCue rubs and have yet to try them out either.

I agree with some of the other posters, that experimenting is half the fun!

Most homemade rubs are missing key components, and typically lack in depth of flavor & pop. Many of the popular commercial rubs, have gone through multiple phases before hitting the market. I always buy, but have used some homemade rubs from those in the know, and have had good results.

When I used to compete I would always buy rubs. Now that I just cook for friends and family I always make my own. I like doing salt/pepper on all of my beef products and I'll do SPOG on pork butts. If it's smoked right I don't think buying a rub is any better than keeping it simple. No need for all the extra sugar and crap they put in commercial rubs for home cooking.

Arguments have been made that it's hard to distinguish different rubs after it's been on a piece of meat for hours at a (relatively) high temp. Ex. could you really taste the difference between a pork butt seasoned with sucklebusters vs plowboys? Maybe/maybe not

I make and buy rubs. I like to experiment with different flavors but sometimes it's just easier to buy a rub instead of tinkering.

For competition I pretty much always buy rubs but at home it's more of a 50/50 between make and buy

I mostly buy rubs, but every now and then I get the urge to tinker with some rubs.

I have only ever made my own rubs. I like that I can customize the flavor based on what I'm cooking and who I'm cooking for. Someone likes it a bit hot? Someone a bit more salt? Someone posted about missing a depth of flavor...if all you are using is salt, pepper, garlic, onion, then yes. But experiment and you can tell the difference even after several hours on the grill. My .02

Although I do buy some, I prefer to make my own. I find that most commercial rubs have way to much salt. In the long rub, making my own is less expensive also. There are so many recipies for rubs on different BBQ sites and the net in general so it is easy to find what you are looking for. Also makes it easier to make different rubs my own.

As an example, my wife would make taco's using the Lowery's taco seasoning and every time she did, I would have acid reflux later that night. I found a recipe for taco seasoning on the web and we tried it. Much better flavor and no acid reflux.

Homemade vs Commercial Rubs

Although the dry rub seasoning has been around for many years, this form of pre-seasoning meats is quite popular simply because dry rubs can add a great intensity of flavor. A dry rub is a mixture of salt, spices, herbs, sugars, and various other seasonings that is applied to the meat before cooking. The meat which is moist will cause the salt to draw more water from the meat and the flavors of dry rub will be wicked back into the meat cells.

Making homemade rubs can be a fun experiment and the outcome can be good. Many of us, including myself, have experimented with making our own rubs. Some make rubs to save money, some like to experiment to make something new, while others are happy with basics like salt and pepper. Creating a rub is not difficult at all; even a simple application of just salt and pepper is all that is needed to enhance the flavor of any meat. Adding additional spices will also add additional flavors to the rub. The hard part is balancing the intricate flavors of the mixed spices so they do not overpower one another.

I started out making my rubs using a commercial mixer, but I soon found there were inconsistencies in the spice products ordered from my distributors. Because I did not have a laboratory to test the quality of incoming products, I was at the peril of what my suppliers shipped to me. The products, although ordered from the same distributor in bulk time after time, were not consistent. I made rubs for years never reaching the apex I was looking for. I used the best and freshest products available, but there was always something lacking within the balance of flavors.

Soon I found that I did not have the time needed to order and mix the rubs. After years of cooking I decided to go to a commercially prepared rub which I could pick up locally in large bulk packaging. This turned out to be the key to keeping consistency in my cooking. This worked well and I was happy with my choice without any reservations.

We are all familiar with the saying "Why fix what is not broken?" That was my short sighted approach to not trying any other commercial rubs. Because I was committed to making consistent quality food products, trying other rubs did not seem to be an option for me. Even my family cooks had grown large and require a substantial amount of rub.

My son was going into the military and we planned a surprise party to congratulate him on his choices in life and wish him well as he departs us to serve his country. My supplier was out of my normal rub so I followed suggestions to try another well known commercial rub. My only opposition to trying another rub now, is that many are not available in bulk packaging.

Unknown to my family and friends, I used the suggested commercial rub on the ribs and pulled pork. Simply put, this rub had hit the ball out of the park, everyone raved about the flavors and how much better the food tasted. To my surprise, this new rub far exceeded the expectations of what I had held for my regular rub. Now I wish I had experimented and tried other commercial rubs years ago. But with my closed mindset, I had skipped by one of the best rubs I have ever tried (and maybe others as well).

This rub is a great product, and my only regret was that I had not tried it earlier while my cooking was on a smaller scale, and clearly this was my loss. My initial hindrance was that I felt smaller bottles of rubs were just too expensive. I'll be the first to say that I am as cheap as the day is long, but I also feel that you get what you pay for. Somewhere in the middle is a balance that we all adhere to, but at different levels of compliance. Sometimes our frugal mentality can hinder us from finding the apex in our craft.

The major hurdle in creating a good BBQ rub is that it is too subjective to our own individual tastes. I am sure that five different tasters could sample the same rub at the same time and give you five completely different reviews. Regional and ethnic tastes are the greatest variables in our own personal likes and dislikes. There are also so many different rubs to choose from, much like choosing a wine, many styles, many regions, and many twists.

This is the reason many people choose other rubs in blind taste tests. They break your barriers of normal taste and expand your flavor horizons. Remember that a rub is not only a mixture of spices and herbs; it is also a mixture of flavors. A good rub will have a balanced taste that adds multiple layers of flavor of the meat, without overpowering it. While a rub will add flavor, it is also a flavor enhancer that brings out and compliments the overall flavor of the meat with subtle additions of salty, sweet, savory, and spicy flavors in perfect balance to our taste buds.

There isn’t a right or a wrong selection simply because choice is a matter of personal taste. We are all individuals; we vary in many ways, including our personal tastes. I have tasted some rubs that I think were really bad, but other people think it was the greatest rub in the world, it's all a matter of preferred choice. I've had a few great rubs, I have had a lot of mediocre rubs, and yes I have also had some really bad rubs.

“the best rub in the world is the rub you like best”. More often than not, the rub you like best will not be the one you made yourself. This is because we get locked into a closed mind of what spices we should put into the rub. Personal changes in taste are difficult to make and we tend to lock in on a specific set of ingredients and exclude others that don't appeal to our own personal tastes. An example of this is one company I know adds a dried fish powder to their rubs. The thought of this does not appeal to me in any manner; however the taste is not detectable at all. The purpose of adding the dried fish powder to the rub is because it brings so many other flavors forward and helps them to stand out. Without adding it, one would never notice the flavors of the other spices it accentuates.

My personal opinion is that; making rubs should be left to the professional rub creators. They are commercially mixed in bulk at extreme discounts. They have professional mixing, measuring, and packaging equipment. In the end they have the quality control labs to provide you with a consistent product that will not change from cook to cook. It will save you a lot of time, work, effort, and yes even money in the interim.

Just as we spend our money wisely, many of us have to manage our time with the same principals. Time is an important commodity, some of us may have the time to make rubs and others may not. But in the end we have to do what is best for our individual needs.

The bottom line is that making balanced rubs with multi-layers of flavor at home is not an easy task. You will find that many pit masters use commercially prepared rubs, even in competitions. For some time is a factor, for others the rub is already made, tried, and proven.

At first I was not crazy with the idea of trying something new, after all it is in our basic human nature to reject change. I think we all get locked into this same frame of mind as we progress. However I think that when the opportunity allows, we should all let our guard down and try something new from time to time.

I also urge those who are new to BBQ to try some of the commercial rubs available in the small packaging. I wish I had tried some of these when my cooks were smaller, it would have helped me in so many other ways in finding great flavor profiles.


My message here is tell you not to be afraid to try a commercial rub. Granted some are great and some are far from it. Regional, cultural, and personal tastes are the greatest variables between our own individual choices. The other factor is how the individual uses the rub. Some lightly sprinkle the rub on, others like myself, dredge the meat into the rub, this too affects the final flavor of the meat.

Bear in mind that not all commercial rubs are created equal... I have used some that appear to be all salt, others have high sugar content, and there may even be consistency issues with some rubs, but there are so many choices out there.

It doesn't mean everyone is going to buy commercial rubs. Some of us will, some of us won't, but you'll never know what is available unless you try some.

In the end, I am saying to try some other rubs when given the opportunity. I was set in my ways and my train of thought. I could have saved myself years of ordering and mixing in an effort to try and achieve what was already available to me. Not only was it readily available, but it was much better than any of my own creations.

Making rubs or buying rubs will always be a personal choice. Doing either does not make your "Q" better or worse. Either may expand your flavor horizons and help your cooks.

Rubs are like tools, a good design can help make the "BBQ" great, while others may not. Use your tools properly, think of using a pair of pliers to remove a bolt, it'll get the job done, but not as good and effectively as the proper wrench. It can also be like trying to invent the wheel when it already exists. Look past your current horizons at other items, not just rubs, but cookers, types of wood, and so many other products. Some of these rub makers have had many years of design, and development in creating a great product.

Keep an open mind and don't be afraid to try something new once in a while. Think of it as treasure hunting, maybe you'll find something good or maybe you won't, but you'll never know unless you try.

If you find a product you like, but feel it is too expensive to use, try to replicate it, at least you have a grounded reference point to reach for. Some rub manufacturers also make their products available in larger packages to help bring the cost down when calculating price per pound. Not everyone cooks in large volumes and buying in bulk can be a bad choice if you only have small cooks.

We must choose and use what works best for us, what suits our tastes, our preferences, and what time allows us to do.


From page 34 of smoke signals has an article as well on commercial rubs...
http://issue15.smokesignalsmagazine.com/



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You're going to get a ton of different opinions here. I personally prefer buying my rubs, and I think for the average backyard BBQ chef it saves you money....and here is how I figure

You can spend anywhere from $4-10 on a store bought rub container and it's been developed for flavor (as groundhog pointed out)

....OR

You can make your own and be forced to buy brown sugar/white sugar/kosher salt/a certain mesh of black pepper/ LOTS of paprika....etc

So unless you have an enormous bulk spice collection, you're going to be forced to spend (most likely) more money on the components of the rub than an actual pre-made bottle of rub.

Sure, you'll end up with a LOT more rub than you would if you just bought a container....but are you really sure your own recipe is good and do you actually need that much? If it's not....spend a boatload more on spices again and make a new batch.

Unless a guy enjoys troubleshooting rub recipes...or he needs a boatload of rub for large, consistent cooks....I just don't see the logic in making your own.

I like to make them to control the salt content. I use commercial too, when i can find them that aren't salt bombs.

The cheapest way is to buy one. I tried for a couple of years to create one of my own.
None of my homemade was bad nor were they great.
I have went back to the basic S&P.
That being said, the only way to have your flavor profile is to make your own.
Doesn't matter what the Manufactures do, as they are bought and sold and the product tastes differently.
What you create is yours and only YOU can can change that.

I guess I'm the odd man out. I only keep SPOG and a Greek mix I make up on hand. Otherwise, I usually mix just enough for what I'm cooking at the moment. I keep notes on any changes I make, and have ended up with what we like. As for the expense of the ingredients, we use mostly the same herbs and spices, sugar, salt, and pepper whatever we are cooking, inside or out. We run out of something to be replaced just about every shopping trip, so things stay fresh. I can see using commercial rubs if you cook a lot of meat and you like the flavor, but we like the flavor of fresh ingredients enough that any additional cost is not noticed.

I just but them anymore for the ease of it and I combined a couple and come up with some great results .