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By Jillian Tracy and Lesley Kennedy, CNN Underscored
Updated 2:24 PM EDT, Fri June 21, 2024
What’s in this guide
- Difference between BBQ rubs and seasonings
- How to choose a rub or seasoning
- Best BBQ seasonings
- Best BBQ Rubs
BBQ rubs and seasonings quick picks
We know getting your charcoal grill fired up for backyard BBQ or weeknight dinner can be tough enough, so also finding the best BBQ rubs to accompany your favorite summer foods can be a daunting task. That’s why we’ve done the hard work for you and tapped some award-winning BBQ experts for their favorite, flavorful BBQ rubs.
Difference between BBQ rubs and seasonings
Christie Vanover, an award-winning competitive pitmaster and founder of the siteGirls Can Grill, explains that rubs are a blend of seasonings and spices used at the beginning of your cook to help flavor the interior and exterior of your meats.
While you might see the terms rub and seasoning used interchangeably, there is a slight difference. Seasonings are usually a salt-based blend of herbs and spices applied lightly and within just a few minutes of your food hitting the fire. Rubs are typically coarser, with larger pieces of dried herbs, and they are applied much more liberally. Rubs can help give you a great flavorful crust, but also, the longer you allow the rub to sit prior to grilling or smoking, the more time the flavors have to penetrate deeper into the protein.
“If you leave your rub on for 30 minutes to even overnight, that’s going to help flavor the inside of the meat a little bit more,” Vanover says. “Then you cook it and then you sauce it, and the sauce is just kind of … that enhancement at the end, similar to a condiment like ketchup or mustard.”
For maximum flavor, you’ll want to use rubs and seasonings at the beginning of your grill in conjunction with sauces throughout or at the end of your cook.
How to choose a rub or seasoning
Scott Thomasconsiders himself an absolute barbecue-rub junkie. “Get me within a hundred miles of a grilling/barbecue store and I will find my way in and invariably spend $100,” saysthe Grillin’ Foolsblogger. “I have an entire wall, floor to ceiling, in my pantry dedicated to rubs and sauces. It is packed so tightly that my wife will require that I throw some away if I bring home any more. Luckily, she hasn’t found my secondary stash yet.”
And with so many BBQ rubs out there, it can be easy to accumulate them as Thomas has. For any meat or veggie, you can’t go wrong with a foundational seasoning of SPG — salt, pepper and garlic — which is enough to help enhance your food without overpowering it. When it comes to selecting rubs for a specific type of protein, Vanover says that with beef, most people prefer a simple rub that still lets the flavor of the meat shine.
“When you get to pork and chicken, it’s when people add more sweeteners, whether it’s brown sugar, white sugar, something a little bit sweeter,” Vanover says. “With chicken and fish, people tend to add more herbaceousness, so that’s where you might see some dill or some rosemary or flavors along those lines.”
For help sorting through the best barbecue rubs on the market, we checked in with barbecue pros like Vanover and St. Louis-basedThomas, as well asKita Roberts, who runs theGirl Carnivorefood blog, to get their picks for the rubs that will best enhance and elevate your grill game.
Best BBQ seasonings
“The foundation for all rubs is usually salt, pepper and garlic, maybe sometimes onion powder,” Vanover says. “That neutral profile goes great on all dishes.” If you don't already have a reliable base rub in your kit, Vanover recommends this SPG seasoning from Spiceology to get you started.
Vanover also recommends this Blanco seasoning from Rio Valley Meat, which is a slightly upgraded version of your typical SPG seasoning. Crafted for the grill, this rub also makes a great addition to your movie night popcorn or with some butter on a soft loaf for mouthwatering garlic bread.
Roberts is a fan of this coarse-grind steakhouse-style blend made for coating red meat. “From lamb tenderloin to crusting a tomahawk steak, it’s a classic choice with a peppery bite reminiscent of restaurants where meat and potatoes reign king,” she says.
This Smoke Junkie seasoning from Adam McKenzie of This Jew Can Que, is part of a three-product collaboration with Spiceology. If you’re lucky enough to have a home smoker, this seasoning with paprika, chili powder, applewood and hickory, will deliver savory burnt ends, brisket and pork. But even if you don’t have a smoker, this seasoning will help you mimic that smoky flavor on your grill top. You can also grab McKenzie’s Garlic Junkie and Brunch Junkie, a spicy Bloody Mary-flavored seasoning.
Best BBQ Rubs
For aspiring the pitmaster who loves to play with flavors, you’ll want this eight-rub collection from Savory Spice Shop. Spanning multiple BBQ regions, from a Cowboy Coffee rub great for searing pork or steaks to a paprika-based Carolina High Country rub ideal for chicken, veggies, pork or brisket, you’ll be able to cook up a whole feast of flavorful dishes for your next backyard BBQ.
When it comes to rubs, Roberts says it’s hard to beat Christie Vanover’s Girls Can Grill line of award-winning rubs. “They are an excellent base for all of your summer barbecues when meat is dominating the grill,” she says. “Each is a perfect balance of heat, spice and blend that has been meticulously tested for success.” While only the chicken rub is in stock for now, Vanover says a relaunch of her full line, including a brisket and pork rub, is in the works.
From Barbecue Hall of Fame pitmaster Ed Mitchell comes this set of three BBQ rubs based on generations of grilling and smoking in Wilson, North Carolina. This set of no-sugar-added rubs comes with an all-purpose rub, a pork rub and a rib rub, all based in classic Carolina BBQ flavors.
“Despite the DB in the name, meaning Dead Bird, and no mention of beef in the title, this is my go-to steak rub,” Thomas says. “It’s not an overpowering rub that masks the flavor of steak; it merely enhances it.”
“Derek Wolf of Over the Fire Cooking has a fun line of spices heavily influenced by the churrasco style of grilling from South America, which he features in his newly released cookbook ‘Food by Fire,’” Roberts says. She adds that the blends are perfect for showstopping dishes like picanha, which, “when rubbed with the Gaucho seasoning and slow-roasted is a feast like you would get at the Brazilian-style steakhouses.”
“This rub was developed on the competition circuit and has taken many, many awards,” Thomas says. “It is outstanding on pork but can be used on just about any protein.”
Thomas calls this rub the perfect combo of brilliant marketing and outstanding flavor. “My adolescent sons love this rub,” he says. “Partly because they love to giggle when they say the name and also because it has amazing flavor.”
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