8 Spice and Rub Brands for Better Barbecue (2024)

• What to Buy
• Food Reviews

While pre-mixed spice rubs are a great introduction to flavor combinations, shopping Burlap & Barrel's collection of super-fresh, single-origin spices lets you curate a versatile collection. Start with basics like the Salt & Pepper Collection: black lime and chili salt and Zanzibar black peppercorn will rock your world. Experiment with Wild Mountain Cumin and Black Urfa Chili on brisket or, for a subtle flavor shift, replace the garlic powder in your pantry with Purple Stripe Garlic, sustainably sourced from Vietnam.

With a long-time love for live fire cooking, Australian-born chef Jess Pryles developed seasoning and barbecue tools under the name Hardcore Carnivore. Made in her adopted state of Texas, seasonings like Black, a proprietary mix of coarse black pepper, garlic, and spices, helps perfect the bark (dark crust) of brisket and other barbecue. Its counterpart, Red, pairs with chicken and pork. Amplify, a newer release, amps up barbecue's savoriness with chicken fat powder as its star ingredient.

Born in Texas, Meat Church specializes in barbecue spice rubs and seasonings with Southern and Southwestern flair. While its signature multi-purpose seasoning, The Gospel, is an excellent entry point, this pack of five of the brand's most popular barbecue accompaniments will take meat, seafood, shellfish, and vegetables to new heights.

David Chang's collection of Momof*cku pantry staples are the result of over 10 years of kitchen experiments that left chefs wanting more. With three varieties of seasoned salt — tingly, spicy, and savory — every palate will be pleased. Use in place of salt and pepper in any dish, especially grilled meats and veggies.

As Snake River Farms has built its reputation on rare cuts of Wagyu beef and Kurobuta pork ribs, the quality of its seasoning should come as no surprise. The SRF Crafted Seasoning Pack has everything you need to make your backyard barbecue game a home run: Rosemary Roast Seasoning, Perfect Pork Rub, Signature Steak Seasoning, and garlicky Santa Maria seasoning.

Spiceology sells a variety of spices, and anyone can find a new favorite rub among the 12 in this set. It may also introduce a lucky gift recipient to flavors they might not normally go for. Some standouts include Korean BBQ with sesame seeds, maple sugar, and orange peel; Black & Bleu with Cajun spices and dehydrated bleu cheese; and Cowboy Crust with sugar, mustard seed, and espresso.

Begging for some time over live fire, Spicewalla's bold barbecue and grilling blends are sold individually and in this set of 10. Go classic with nods to American barbecue, from South Carolina to Texas to Kansas City, or use a blend like Piri Piri on homemade popcorn.

The Little Goat is Chicago restaurateur and Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard's newest venture. The line of sauces and spice mixes represent flavors from around the globe, including Belize, Cuba, Morocco, India, and Grillville. Snag them as a set.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do you apply a dry rub to meat?

  There isn't one way to correctly apply rubs to meat. "The way I apply rub depends on the desired effect," says pitmaster David Sandusky, owner of Beast Craft BBQ in St. Louis. "Some meats require a shake of rub for seasoning, and others require more pressure to make the rub stick in order to form a bark. For better bark, I recommend coating the meat in cheap yellow mustard before adding rub to help the rub stick to the meat."

  Esaul Ramos, a pitmaster and the co-owner of 2M Smokehouse BBQ San Antonio, also recommends mustard, which he lathers on brisket in a 50/50 ratio with pickle juice. "Give it a gentle pat to make sure the seasoning sticks," he says.

  A wet applicator like mustard, gochujang, or honey helps spices adhere, but it's not always necessary, says Jason Dady, chef and owner of Two Bros. BBQ Market in San Antonio. "The most important part of applying the rub is to season from up high: a minimum of 12 inches above the meat so that you get a nice, even layer of spice applied," he says.

  Others, like chef Aaron Bludorn of Bludorn in Houston, insist that planning ahead matters most. "I rub the meat the day before. It helps marinate the meat and lets the protein interact with the spices, especially if salt is involved. The salt draws out the moisture and in turn takes in the spices and flavor from the rub. Think of it as a dry brine or cure. When spices are involved, the flavor is deeper in the meat," he says.

• Can you use dry rub and barbecue sauce?

  Yes. Dry rubs and barbecue sauces can complement each other. "The rub directly flavors the meat, and the sauce can then penetrate deeper and give more flavor," says Bludorn, who also cautions that sauce can turn the burnt ends of meat from crispy to soggy.

  With this in mind, think of barbecue sauce as a finishing sauce, like a glaze, that doesn't go on the meat till the last 30 minutes of cooking, says Dady. Ramos finishes meat with barbecue sauce once it reaches the desired internal temperature. Sandusky suggests smoking meat with a rub and finishing it with sauce in the barbecue pit or on the grill.

• What makes a good barbecue rub?

  A good barbecue rub comes down to personal preference. For many Texans, like Dady, this means either coarse salt and coarse pepper or a blend of seasonings, including salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, coriander, mustard powder, and brown sugar, he says. Ramos prefers a combination of unique flavors, like orange-pepper or hibiscus-rosemary, with ingredients high in sodium and acidity.

Was this page helpful?

Tell us why!