The key to adding intense flavor to meat is in the rub. A perfectly balanced dry rub does wonders for the flavor, but also seals in the juices and keeps the meat from drying out.
» For more great homemade seasonings, try this Cajun Seasoning, Carne Asada Dry Rub, and Taco Seasoning.
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I swear by this BBQ Dry Rub. It’s great on all types of meat, from oven-baked ribs to chicken wings to tomahawk pork chops. It adds just the right amount of spice to the meat, without overwhelming the flavor or becoming the star of the show.
We use this dry spice rub on everything, because it’s packed with flavor and adds a perfectly balanced punch of spice to every bite. The spices that go into this rub all work together to create a great flavor profile.
Grilling meat and veggies for a barbecue? Adding this spice rub will give both the veggies and the meat the right amount of flavor, with or without sauce. It’s really all you need to dress up your food.
Why Use a Dry Rub
If you’re wondering why you might want to use a dry rub instead of marinade, there are actually quite a few reasons. If you’ve ever seared a piece of meat before, you know that the liquid from the meat has to dry up or evaporate before you can get a good sear.
That means, the wetter the meat, the longer it will take to evaporate. With a dry rub, you’re avoiding adding extra moisture to the surface of the meat, so a nice caramelized sear will form on the meat quicker.
A dry rub also has more concentrated flavor. Sometimes you’re not looking to add more flavor that will mask the taste of the dish, but you can really punch up the flavor of veggies, or add another dimension to ribs.
How Much To Use
A good rule of thumb is to to use 1 tablespoon of dry rub per pound of meat. Dry rub adds so much flavor to meat that you will want to use it all the time and on everything! Now, that’s not to say that there aren’t things that you might want to use a more moderate hand on.
If you have a really nice steak you may not want to use a lot of rub because that will overpower the flavor of the meat. In this case add just a sprinkling of rub to enhance the flavor.
As you use dry rub on different cuts of meat you will find what works best for you. Everything can be adjusted to your liking.
Make It in Bulk
Since this rub is extremely versatile, I mix up a large batch and put it in a spice container to use throughout the month as I cook various dishes.
I would recommend having a few seasoning shakers to put the rub in. You can even make gifts of dry rub to give away at Christmas or for birthdays and housewarmings. I’ve done this for years for my local friends and family and they loved it.
Print the recipe card and attach it to the jar so they can make it themselves when they run out. Believe me, if you don’t they’ll be asking you for it. Be sure to tell them where you got it!
Try a Seasoning Bottle!
If you make this homemade dry rub, it’s great to have a seasoning shaker to make it easier to use the dry rub without contaminating it while seasoning meats. I have 3 of these that I use for my favorite homemade rubs.
Preparing the Dry Rub
If you have a robust spice rack, like I do, you’ll probably always have the right spices to mix this up. If you don’t keep a lot of spices at home, the best way to stock up for this rub is to get your spices from a bulk spice counter, like the ones they have at Whole Foods.
You don’t have to buy large quantities of each spice in order to make this rub. I often will mix up just one or two servings at a time, so I don’t have to have a huge quantity of spices sitting around.
The spices you’ll need are (you can find the quantities for each in the recipe at the bottom of this post):
- Paprika
- Brown sugar
- Salt and pepper
- Chili powder
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Mustard powder
Most people don’t have mustard powder in their spice rack. You can leave it out if you don’t have it. I do recommend getting it though. It has a lot of uses. I put mustard powder in my stovetop mac and cheese recipe too.
Add all of the spices to a bowl and mix them thoroughly. I sometimes put them all in a ziplock bag instead, so it’s easier to mix it all together. Then you can sprinkle the rub onto your meat or veggies without contaminating it with your fingers. And you can keep the leftover rub in the plastic bag until you use it again.
If you’re looking for a recipe to try this with, my favorite use for this dry rub is baby back ribs. It adds so much extra flavor that you’ll be convinced never to make ribs without it again.
You’ll also want to try our homemade Bourbon BBQ sauce with these baked baby back ribs. I mean, doesn’t that rack of ribs below look tasty?
>> If you’re planning a barbecue, don’t forget the vegans! Here are a few vegan BBQ recipes that your friends will be happy you made.
If you need a large batch of this rub, the recipe is scale-able. You can make as much rub as you need just by adjusting the quantities. If you’re making many racks of ribs for a party, just double or triple the dry rub recipe.
How to Store Dry Rub
It’s best to use your dry rub within a month, so the spices don’t lose their flavor. The fresher the spices, the more flavorful the rub will be. For this reason, I typically make 4x the recipe below and store it in a 25 oz small mason jar with an air tight lid.
If you want to make an even larger batch, you can vacuum seal it in a bag. I love my vacuum sealer for things like this.
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Homemade Dry Rub
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder you can leave this out if you don’t have it
Instructions
- Mix all spices together until well combined. Rub onto ribs, chicken, or veggies.
Video
Notes
- Double or triple the recipe to have spice left over.
- Leftover spice can be kept for later in an air tight container or ziplock bag.
- Why not pair this dry rub with our homemade Bourbon BBQ sauce?! That’s a flavor combo you can’t resist.
Nutrition
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Laura is a home cook who loves making new recipes and finding new favorite things to eat, whether at home or abroad. She also runs a popular travel blog and spends a lot of her time traveling for food.
If the rub is as good as you say then the meat wouldn’t need sauce
This dry rub is absolutely enough on its own. The meat doesn’t “need” sauce. However, who doesn’t love sauce!
I think you mean “liberally” but literally works, too!
Good catch, Susan! 🙂
Subtle yet flavorful. This was a good base for our ribs!
Thanks Michael.
I love how simple this is but I can imagine it really packs a punch of flavour. Terrific!
I just love a good dry rub! And just in time for the upcoming grilling season. 🙂
This recipe is really excellent! I use dry rubs all the time. It’s such an easy way to add flavor without much extra work. Can’t wait to try this blend!
I have never thought of making it myself. This is so perfect, I love that it uses all of the ingredients that I usually have on hand.
Oh this is perfect..have always wanted to make this..thanks.
What are the measurements for the spices
For the run?
Hi Diane, the measurements for the spices are in the recipe at the bottom of the post.
I would like to know when you put rub on how long can you leave it in the refrigerator before you cook
You can leave the rub on for a couple of days before it will get soggy. I always leave the rub on for 24 hours to intensify the flavor.
I tried this few weeks back and making it again today:). My husband very picky about his baby back ribs, but this one is a winner.
This bbq dry rub turned out fantastic! Thank you for sharing!
Great! Glad you liked it.
Best dry rub ever! Great on any meat! I add a little extra brown sugar.
Glad to hear you liked it! I have to admit, the brown sugar really makes this rub amazing.
I don’t handle anything TOO SPIC veryvwell… I like the idea of BROWN SUGAR however wonder about the rest..
I have a very sensitive stomach
The paprika and the chili powder can make this rub spicy, so if you don’t like spicy, you would need to use a sweet paprika and a mild chili powder. With a mild chili, there is really no spiciness to this rub.
Excellent rub, would definitely use this again…
Glad you liked it!
Great rub!
We really enjoyed this dry rub recipe!
Oh my! I need this in my life. Must print your recipe. Thanks for sharing.
This is a very good rub, It has a little bite, but you can increase it by adding a little more chili powder.
Yes, it can definitely be adjusted to suit your spice level, that’s the great thing about making your own rub.
Laura, I am planning to use this recipe on beef ribs I bought yesterday. I will apply rub today and make it tomorrow. But we don’t have a grill-can I sear this on the stovetop and finish off in the oven with a BBQ sauce?
Hi Becky. If it’s a rib rack, you can follow our cooking guide here: https://afoodloverskitchen.com/easy-oven-baked-baby-back-ribs/ I don’t usually sear ribs before cooking in the oven, opting instead of a low slow cook in the oven to get tender fall-apart ribs.
I don’t see what temperature you cook the ribs at.
Hi Sophie, the ribs bake at 275 degrees F. If you want to read more here is the link to that recipe. I hope you enjoy them. https://afoodloverskitchen.com/easy-oven-baked-baby-back-ribs/
I’m hoping the ribs come out OK. I used this recipe for dry rub but it looked nothing like the photo, followed the amounts exactly in the recipe. Yours looks red, mine looks more white than red. It seemed pretty salty to me so I didn’t put much on. Hope it works out OK. How your rub looks so red with only paprika, brown sugar and chili powder is beyond me. The only thing missing is the mustard. Did you perhaps double the amount of salt that should go in??
I just made up another batch to test the ratios and it turned out exactly as red as it always does. It definitely needs 2 tsp of salt. The salt is the flavor factor. How red it turns out has to do with the paprika. Mine is bright bright red. Don’t worry about the color though, it will still taste great.
There is chili powder and then there is chile powder. One has cumin and other spices and one has only ground chilis. One intended to make chili and one is a source of chile. I’m not splitting hairs, really.
This is most definitely my favorite !
made this rub without the chlli powder
and tasted it before i put the ribs in the oven
WOW !!! what a great flavor !!!!THX !!
I loved the rub, but I can never not change things up. I added 2Tbl spoons of finely ground coffee and 1 Tbl spoon ancho chili powder.
Sounds delicious!
Was looking for a receipe for baby back ribs when I came across you. Can’t seem to find the receipe for the bourbon sauce.
Thanks
Here is the bourbon BBQ sauce recipe: https://afoodloverskitchen.com/smoky-bourbon-bbq-sauce/
It sounds great!
Being not very experienced in rubs, roughly how much per pound of meat would you use?
The general rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon of dry rub per pound of meat. You can experiment with that and change it up to your taste.
Made this dry rub last night with what I had in my cabinet. I used raw coconut sugar instead of brown sugar and red pepper flakes instead of chili powder. It was so simple to put together. I tried the dry rub in my hand before I put it on the ribs and the flavor was incredible!! Put the seasoned ribs in the fridge over night , then cooked it in my air fryer this morning to prep lunch. The ribs were so delicious and flavorful I started eating them for breakfast haha. I will keep this recipe. Thanks!
We are glad that you loved it! It is a simple rub to have on hand for all kinds of things. Love your substitutions.