A fantastic homemade dry rub that’s great on Pork and Chicken. We use this Pork Rub for ribs all the time and is great for other low and slow cooking, like grilled or smoked chicken or any smoked meats.
This homemade dry rub builds upon our our basic rub and adds more complexity and flavors to really provide a wow factor to your next BBQ pork recipe.
I call this “The Ultimate” dry rub because it’s truly the rub we use on most pork dishes to enhance the smoky flavor. We’ve served it to hundreds of guests at events for our catering company, and have sold packaged versions to tons of happy customers. It’s also an incredibly popular recipe on the internet with millions of views.
This recipe also works great for chicken (as long as you’re cooking your chicken low and slow.
Table of Contents
Ingredients For A Dry Rub
- Brown Sugar – We prefer dark brown sugar for the richer flavor but you an use light brown sugar as well. Cane sugar just adds sweet versus the deeper flavor of the molasses.
- Kosher Salt
- Smoked Paprika
- Coarse Black Pepper
- Cumin
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Cayenne Pepper
We use a 1:1 ratio of Sugar to Everything Else.
What do I mean by that?
- We take one part sugar (in this case use one cup to keep it simple).
- Then take one part (one cup) and fill it with the other spices.
How To Make A Homemade Dry Rub
Making a homemade dry rub is as easy as gathering ingredients and mixing them together. That’s it!
- In a large bowl combine all ingredients. Use a fork to break up any clumping and mix to combine.
- You can use it right away or store the spice blend in an airtight container in a cool dry dark cupboard for up to six months. If you see clumping you can just shake the jar or break it up with a fork. We prefer glass mason jars with tight-fitting lids.
How To Use This Pork Rub
This seasoning is perfect for any Smoked or BBQ Recipes and provides a nice flavor from the sugar as it caramelizes. It’s also great in the oven for pork roasts. We do not recommend this for any grilled recipes (i.e. high-heat grilling) because sugar can burn and turn bitter when cooked over high direct heat. But it’s perfect for low and slow, and even oven-cooked recipes.
When applying this pork rub start with some type of liquid binder to help it stick. We use olive oil, beef or chicken stock, mustard, or Worcestershire. Place the binder on your meat and then use your hands from 8 inches in height and liberally season pork or chicken.
How Long Should Meat Marinate In The Rub
Liberally apply the dry rub to the meat or vegetables so it’s completely coated for at least an hour before cooking when possible. You can add more flavor if you season the day before cooking. But honestly, if all you have is 10 minutes between seasoning your meat and cooking it, it will still be delicious!
Rub Variations
We’ve written extensively on dry rubs before. One of our favorites is our Homemade Basic Dry Rub recipe.
If you’re new to making spice blends, I suggest you start there, then come here for this, more advanced, recipe.
In that post, we lay out the components of a good simple dry rub and why our ratio works.
Now, EVERY single BBQ pro, chef, home cook, writer, grill master, pit master, you name it… will have their own take on a good dry rub. What it comes down to is finding a flavor profile that works for YOU.
Here’s a quick recap of what I mean.
To summarize our previous article on dry rubs we always keep the three S’s in mind: Sweet, Savory, Spice (aka heat)
- Sweet: what we start with. Dark brown sugar (or light brown), cane or turbinado. This will help to create a caramelized crusty exterior (bark). To balance the sugar, this is where the savory comes in.
- Savory: things like salt, onion powder, garlic powder, dry mustard, chili powder (which is simply a blend of dried chilies), cumin, paprika, celery salt, and more.
- Spice: cayenne pepper, red chili flakes, or dried chipotle. Add these slowly (like 1 teaspoon or tablespoon at a time).
Don’t be nervous about adding spice! This will help balance the sugar (I promise!).
That basic dry rub recipe is quite simple (there’s only 4 ingredients in it). If you’re ready to do something with a little more flavor and punch we’ve got this one for you.
A Note About Salt
We get feedback across the board about salt. Salt is a very subjective taste. Also, the specific kind and brand of salt in your pantry matters when making dry rubs. We use Diamond Crystal or Jacobsen kosher salt. We do not use iodized table salt and we recommend that you don’t either. Salt will be of different weights, even among kosher varieties. So no two salt companies will measure the same.
You have permission to adjust based on the type of salt you have, and we encourage kosher salt.
Chef’s Tip
You cannot remove salt, so go light on the salt portions first, if you are sensitive to salt, and then add based upon your taste. If you add too much, the best offset to salt is dark brown sugar or increasing the batch size (minus the salt).
How To Store Homemade Dry Rub
This recipe will yield just over 2 cups of dry rub. Keep this stored in an air-tight container in the pantry (or cool, dry, and dark location) and use it throughout the summer on your favorite pork recipes.
You don’t want direct sunlight to hit the glass. This causes any moisture in the spice blend to activate and condensate, which hardens the seasoning.
Try This Ultimate Homemade Pork Rub On:
This spice blend is great on pork roasts or any piece of meat you plan to smoke low and slow. We don’t use this on beef because of the sugar.
- Pork Belly Burnt Ends – Cut the piece of meat into small cubes and season liberally with the dry rub.
- Smoked 321 Ribs – This is fantastic on any kind of pork ribs.
- Smoked Pork Butt – This is our go-to as a pulled pork rub.
- Smoked Whole Chicken – Not only does this give great flavor to chicken, it gives it a gorgeous color to smoked chicken too.
About Vindulge
Mary (a certified sommelier and recipe developer) and Sean (backyard pitmaster) are co-authors of the critically acclaimed cookbook, Fire + Wine, and have been creating content for the IACP nominated website Vindulge since 2009. They live in Oregon on a farm just outside Portland.
Now on 2nd edition
Fire + Wine Cookbook
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This recipe was originally published in June 2018, and republished in 2023 with updated photos. The original recipe remains the same.
Pork Rub – Ultimate Dry Rub for Chicken & Pork
Equipment
- 8 – 12-ounce mason jars. For storing longer term.
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup kosher salt, (we use Diamond Crystal kosher salt)
- ¼ cup smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons coarse black pepper
- ½ tablespoon cumin
- ½ tablespoon onion powder
- ½ tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Mix Ingredients: In a large bowl combine all ingredients. Use a fork to break up any clumping and mix to combine.
- Use or Store: Use it right away or store the pork rub in an airtight container in a cool, dry, and dark cupboard for up to six months. If you see clumping you can just shake the jar or break it up with a fork. We prefer glass mason jars with tight-fitting lids.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you use thIs rub to cook a pork shoulder ( not smoked) in a crock pot?
Mike, yes you sure can and it will taste similar to smoked less the bark. It will run sweet. If you want something more savory try our poultry seasoning for more herbal flavors. https://www.vindulge.com/grilled-chicken-seasoning/
I have just made this dry rub for a pair of pork butts in a slow cooker. Spice tastes great on the finger so I am sure it will work out on the pork. Only one drawback … there was no *** BEWARE *** the table salt warning on the label :(. Though I bet if I went back to basics link it would be like !!! BAM !!! don’t use too much salt.
In the list they said CRYSTAL salt 1/2 cup… betting table salt is more like 1/4 to 1/3 cup due to the granular density of the two salts. Maybe it is supposed to weigh in on the salty side in the beginning … after all meat and fat will sweat grease washing off a bit of the seasoning.
Thank you for this great starting point.
Sincerely, Pork Butt
This is a great starting point, I’ve added and I’ve subtracted to my own liking smoked jalapeño pepper powder half the amount of kosher salt but added my own flavored salt to make up the difference I used a smoked mesquite Kosher salt for the other half and a tad bit of smoked mustered powder and this turned out amazing thank you so much
Sincerely …..The hot smoking truth!!!
This one is my go to for smoking chicken wings, then I do use them in sweet baby rays bbq and finish on the grill. Always have very happy campers
Tim that sounds awesome and thanks for the feedback! Sweet Baby Ray’s is a great sauce.
This is a great dry rub, but I modified it a little by adding 3 tablespoons of ground coffee and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Preparing to smoke a pork shoulder, I injected the shoulder with 14 oz of vegetable broth and a tablespoon of Old Bay seasoning, then generously covered the shoulder with the dry rub. I then placed the shoulder in a plastic bag and left it in the refrigerator overnight. I smoked the shoulder for 4 hours at 250 degrees, then double wrapped it in foil with crushed pineapple top & bottom. I finished smoking the shoulder at 300 degrees for 5 hours. After 9 hours on the smoker it was fall apart delicious. Thank you for the great dry rub recipe.
@Ron – How many pounds was your pork shoulder? Your additions to the dry rub and your method sound great and I’d love to try it, but for some reason I get the feeling you used a pretty big shoulder.
Laura – not sure how big Ron’s pork shoulder was – but in our pork shoulder recipe on the smoker – we use just over 1/2 a cup of rub for an 8 pound shoulder. A 4 pound shoulder we would use 1/4 cup of rub.
I followed the recipe to the letter! It was GREAT on my pork chops. I marinated the chops with the rub for about 2 hrs and broiled them in the oven. My husband loved it! I wish I could post a picture of my chops.
Love it! Thanks for sharing! You’ll have to do them again and tag us in the photo!!!
Great rub – thank you for the recipe. I brined a whole chicken overnight and then used this rub and smoked it for 5 hours. It was GREAT! My husband said it was the best chicken he’s had! I adjusted the recipe a bit by reducing the salt to about half to start, tasted it, and then added another tablespoon. Looking forward to trying it on pork! Excellent flavors!
Awesome! Thanks so much for the feedback!!
I’m a newbie to Traeger Grilling and Pork is my favorite so far. This rub looks fab and I can’t wait to try it.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Scott! And hopefully you can modify and experiment with your own rubs too!
Used on baked chicken breast. Soaked in water for 15-20 min with kosher salt, seasoned bottom. Spread butter on breasts and seasoned top. Baked at 375 for 22-25 min. Let rest covered and was super tender. The pre cook brine did it and this seasoning is the flavor i have been looking for!!!!! Smells almost like a chili seasoning but tastes much better than it smells!
LOL awesome Andrew, thanks for the feedback!!
really great rub!!!
Thanks so much!
Tried this on some smoked pork belly burnt end and it was delicious! I did however find it to be a bit on the salty side so I would recommend cutting the salt content down if that’s not your thing.
We definitely recommend tasting dry rubs and adjusting flavors to your preference before applying them to your meat. Everyone has different tastes and preferences towards salty flavors or not. So it’s always best to go with your preferences and adjust accordingly 🙂
Would recommend adding more brown sugar to cut the salty. Most store bought rubs are too salty for my liking and just mix them equal parts rub to brown sugar and some i do 1 part rub to 2 parts sugar
Agreed. The salt was brutal… I did do a small taste but it really came out and took over in the smoker. kinda wrecked dinner. 🙁
I have a lot left over. I like the flavour so I’ll make a new batch and omit the salt and mix with the first batch. Live and learn.
Leslie, thanks for sharing your feedback and we certainly appreciate there is a large variance in salt preferences. Even what types of salt you use (iodized, table, kosher) can change how salty it can be. Hopefully as others make this, they can adjust to their preference.
Yelp me too. After the fact I found most recipes call for two tablespoons of salt.
Jack, we definitely appreciate the feedback and why we focused so much on calling out the salt ratio in the post as well.
This sounds super simple for grilling novices like me! Love that the ratio makes it easy to customize the rub!