Striking out on rubs

Are you looking to make one, or buy off the shelf?

Oakridge

Cheaper than wasted meat and therapy, just sayin'

Oakridge is a great choice.

DizzyPig, Killer Hogs, Slap Yo Daddy, Lamberts and Obie-Cue's are some nice ones. Plenty of variety from some well known names.

If you like a mild/sweeter style of rub Simply Marvelous has a great line.

Their Pecan Rub is great. It goes so well with pork and beef
Sweet Seduction - goes well on pork and chicken
Cherry Rub - layered with the sweet seduction is really good on ribs.
Peppered cow - is amazing on any type of beef. It has a little bit of spice to it, but isn't overbearing.


Oakridge has gotten really good reviews. I have only used 3 of their rubs.

Black Ops - great on beef, very savory. I like it layered with pepper and salt.
Dominator - this is too sweet for my tastes
Habanero Death Dust - this is spicy. a little goes a long way. I like the flavor, I don't like the burn it has.

I also recommend Oakridge BBQ Rubs.

You can get a sampler pack for basically only the cost to ship it to you....


https://www.oakridgebbq.com/shop/ultimate-value-sample-rub-pack/

This is a rub I use on pork and chicken. My family really likes it a lot.

1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Hungarian paprika
2 tbs black pepper
2 tbs kosher salt
1 tbs chili powder
2 tbs garlic powder
2 tbs onion powder
2 tsp cayenne
1 tbs cumin

I could never get one to come out better than what I could buy...

Bigr314 said:

This is a rub I use on pork and chicken. My family really likes it a lot.

1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Hungarian paprika
2 tbs black pepper
2 tbs kosher salt
1 tbs chili powder
2 tbs garlic powder
2 tbs onion powder
2 tsp cayenne
1 tbs cumin

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This is actually close to my rub but I also add new mexico chili powder 2 tbs, mustard powder 2 tbs, oregano 1 tsp, celery powder 1 tsp and all spice 1 tsp.

Oakridge has great rubs. Also use plowboys yardbird a lot.

ClintRhodes said:

Wow tons of great responses. Thanks so much everyone.

BTW I would have preferred to make my own rub. Seems cheaper that way. However now that I've failed a few times.....I'm totally ok buying something that actually tastes good

Sucks to put hours into cooking something just to not like the rub so much.

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When I was testing out rubs that I made on my own, I would use smaller/cheaper cuts of meat to test them out.

For pork I would use country style spare ribs (aka pork butts cut into strips)

For beef I would use chuck steaks.

Also most things that go with chicken, especially chicken thighs, normally will go with pork.

Give Sucklebusters Hog Waller a try. Very good on pork.

Some yardbird for chicken butts and ribs is hard to beat imo

Hillbilly BBQ said:

Oakridge is a great choice.

DizzyPig, Killer Hogs, Slap Yo Daddy, Lamberts and Obie-Cue's are some nice ones. Plenty of variety from some well known names.

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I prefer Slap Yo Daddy, Killer Hogs, Butcher BBQ over the Oakridge (just not into the cinnamon), Plow Boys Yardbird is awesome too.

Now Oakridge Carne Crosta on steaks and burgers is da bomb. :thumb:

Even though we have made our own product, I really like trying new things and other products too. There are lots of good products and all the ones mentioned are solid. I would for add Meat Church and Rod Gray-Pellet Envy" Zero to Hero" as no brainers products.

For making your own, my advice is start with a consistent template and then make little tweaks as you go- this way nothing is ever ruined. We do split racks rubbed differently all the time. The recipe already posted looks like a good one. What I recommend is to start with safe and balanced ratios and taste before you apply it. The way it tastes raw doesn't mean it cooks that way but it lets you know upfront if it's too salty, too hot, too bland or too savory. You can't go wrong with going Basic Brown Sugar and Paprika mixed with some SPOG:

1c Brown Sugar
1c Paprika
2tbs Kosher Salt
2tbs Black Pepper
2tbs Onion Powder
2tbs Garlic Powder

Start here... Taste it. Do 1/2 rack of baby backs to see and then do the other half by tweaking it with 1 or 2 extra ingredients-
in smaller increments( 1tsp) of ??.. Chili Powder, Cayenne, Cinnamon, ( more salt? Garlic Salt, Celery Salt, Season Salt), Coarse Ground Black Pepper, Lemon Pepper, Mustard Powder, Thyme or Oregano

I use more paprika now than brown sugar but lots of people go the opposite. The key is balance and you get that by creating your base template. Hope this helps.

4ever3 said:

I could never get one to come out better than what I could buy...

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^ +1.....


More often than not the rub you like best will not be the one you make yourself. This is because we lock ourselves into a closed mind of what spices we should put into the rub we make. 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 seem appeal to our personal tastes.

This is the reason many people choose other rubs in taste tests. They break our barriers of normal taste and expand our flavor horizons. Remember that a rub is not only a mixture of spices and herbs, it is a mixture of flavors. A good rub will have a balanced flavor that adds layers of flavor to 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.

I will probably have some opposition here, but in the end I think it is best to leave the rubs to the professional suppliers. They are commercially mixed 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 work, effort, and yes even money in the interim, and there are so many choices out there.

my favorites are Slap Yo Daddy , Blue Hogs , Momma Sump's and Kosmo's Rubs .

This is Mike Mills Magic Dust. I really like it and gives meat a good color and using turbinado sugar in place of white sugar. As always adjust the cayenne to your liking but this is good for me but my wife only uses 1 tbls (so I try to make it when we are low ) Some here have posted is is boring but almost all the rubs have a lot of the same ingredients so keep trying.

1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup kosher salt, finely ground
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons mustard powder
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1/4 cup granulated garlic
2 tablespoons cayenne