I finally stopped using expensive rubs and started making my own

For years I was buying those $12 bottles of rub at the store thinking they were magic. Then at a comp in Memphis last fall, a pitmaster named Ray told me his secret was just salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a touch of brown sugar. I tried it on a pork butt the next weekend and it tasted way better than any pre-made stuff I ever used. Anyone else ditch the fancy rubs and go simple?

2 comments

2 Comments

caseythompson11h ago

That salt-pepper-garlic-sugar combo is the real deal. My buddy Dan used to spend a fortune on fancy rubs until his wife accidentally bought generic spices and he never went back.

juliarodriguez5h ago

@caseythompson your buddy Dan living the dream over there with the generic spices lol. Reminds me of that time my uncle swore by this $15 'smoky mesquite' rub and we all pretended it was good but it was basically just sugar and red dye #40. The real kicker is that simple rub with salt and pepper and garlic lets the actual meat taste like itself, not some chemical lab experiment. I mean honestly, once you start using the cheap stuff you realize half those fancy bottles are just overpriced dust with a catchy name printed on them. It's like buying bottled water with a celebrity face on it - you're paying for the vibe, not the product.