Best Store Bought BBQ Rub in 2023

The arrival of summer marks the beginning of grilling fun. This is what brings deliciousness, like the best store bought BBQ rub, into the scene. The truth about rubs is that they add tons of yummy flavor to your grilled meals.

And the fact that you can apply it right before placing the meat on your grill is even more thrilling. But there’s no hard and fast rule here. You can choose to apply the rub a few hours prior to cooking as well. So if you can’t get enough of ribs and steak, introduce your taste buds to these barbecue rubs!

Top 10 Reviews Of The Best Store Bought BBQ Rub

You can go through the top 10 BBQ rubs listed below. To make the most of your grilling season this summer.

Killer Hogs The BBQ Rub – Editor’s Choice

The first delicious pick is the Killer Hogs BBQ Rub. You’ll always find it listed under the best commercial BBQ rubs in the current food industry. And here’s the reason for its vast popularity. The Killer Hogs BBQ Rub draws out the pure flavors present in meat. To my ears and taste buds, that sounds divine.

This best store bought BBQ rub builds a magnificent mahogany-colored bark on beef, pork, and poultry. The product is an outcome of the company’s BBQ Championship Team. It gives you the opportunity to cook like an expert pitmaster.

This Championship Team spent many years perfecting the dry rub. So what you have access to now is a wonderful chance to enjoy the flavor. Some of the ingredients included are sugar, brown sugar, paprika, spices, and salt, along with chili pepper, dehydrated garlic, dill weed, onion powder, and more. Natural flavors are found in abundance here.

But the blend of salt, sugar, heat, and spices is what might appeal to your taste buds the most. The Killer Hogs BBQ Rub has a very versatile nature. It works just as well on chicken and turkey as on beef and pork.

Don’t taste the rub on your finger when it arrives. You have actually to use it to discover the truth. Sprinkle the Killer Hogs BBQ Rub on some ribs to enjoy a mix of different flavors. And you’ll realize how it brings out all the natural taste present within that meat.

Due to the addition of sugar, the Killer Hogs BBQ Rub has the tendency to form small chunks. But that is the case with all such food items that contain sugar.

    Pros

• The Killer Hogs BBQ Rub forms a perfect bark.
• It leaves a mildly sweet, salty, and smoky finish.
• Sodium content is minimal.

    Cons

• The rub is prone to clumping up easily.

Bad Byron’s Butt Rub Barbecue Seasoning BBQ Rubs – The Best Store Bought BBQ Rub Without MSG

If there’s any authentic Texan barbecue rub, it’s this one right here. The Bad Byron’s Butt Rub is an ingredient that will leave them wanting more. The Texan-style BBQ rub offers an authentic smoky flavor. When used on ribs, pork, chicken, and steaks.

The blend consists of paprika, chipotle powder, and black pepper. Such a combination is ideal for adding a special punch to every dish. But here’s the primary reason why the Bad Byron’s Butt Rub is so highly rated. It has zero MSG content. So you can even apply it to vegetables and seafood.

What’s more, is that this particular barbecue seasoning is a favorite among many professional chefs. Along with backyard cooks and championships! It has a deliciously balanced fusion of garlic, onion, pepper, smoked jalapeno, and paprika.

So you can consider it your go-to seasoning. Be it any purpose, the Bad Byron’s Butt Rub doesn’t disappoint in terms of satisfying your taste buds. Specially created to devour pork butts, this barbecue seasoning by Bad Byron’s is like no other.

The chances of adding BBQ sauce when such a flavor is a part of the mix seem to be minuscule. That’s how effective the rub is! Since it’s a pork butt-specific rub, you might want to opt for light sprinkling in the case of thinner meat.

    Pros

• The container is large, hence more quantity.
• Sugar and MSG levels are nil.
• It eliminates the use of barbecue sauce.

    Cons

• No sugar means a saltier taste.
• Works best only with pork butts.

Pappy’s Choice Seasoning – One Of The Best Pork Rubs

The brand claims that its product is the best for barbecuing and roasting. Only after trying it out, I had no option but to believe the claim. Pappy’s Choice Seasoning works as an excellent source for trapping juice. This particular flavor is something that pairs well with beef, chicken, turkey, fish, etc. Especially with pork!

The presence of natural ingredients here is another one of its remarkable qualities. You won’t feel the need to find out what these ingredients are. The taste of garlic powder with salt and pepper seasoning is enough information to get you going. Also, there are no artificial preservatives, flavoring, or coloring. And no MSG, either.

Pretty soon, you’ll start to realize that not adding Pappy’s Choice Seasoning to your dishes is a big mistake. This best store bought BBQ rub works on anything and everything. Without offering an overpoweringly pungent taste!

Finding Pappy’s Choice Seasoning at your local stores is quite rare. With that in mind, this bottle is pretty huge and affordable too. You can sprinkle the rub on all types of meat. Particularly tri-tips and pork!

A word of advice; use the seasoning sparingly. Otherwise, it gets too salty.

    Pros

• Pappy’s Choice Seasoning is a high-quality spice.
• It is perfect for marinating dishes.
• The taste is pleasantly strong and peppery.

    Cons

• Using too much rub can make the food salty.

BBQ BROS RUBS Southern Style Ultimate Barbecue Spices Seasoning Set – One Of The Best Commercial BBQ Rubs

The set consists of three widely respected barbecue rubs in the current food arena. These are BBQ BROS RUBS New Orleans, Memphis, and Carolina-style seasonings. In short, it’s the ultimate Southern-style BBQ rub. All three options are worth the price of the complete set.

This BBQ BROS RUBS Barbecue Spices Seasoning Set has been on the market for over five years now. And it continues to hold the same position it did when it first came out. That says a lot about its quality and flavor.

The recipe you invite into your kitchen is pitmaster approved. Plus, it contains zero gluten content. This brings me to the part where I tell you that all ingredients are authentic. And of premium quality!

The jars that each seasoning comes in are quite bulky. For proper storage and large quantity! So you can use the rubs as dry marinades as much as you like. For ribs, pork, meat, poultry, and seafood! On your grill or in your kitchen or smoker!

You’ll be quite ecstatic to know that the BBQ BROS RUBS Southern Style Barbecue Spices are a part of food tournaments. So if you wish to provide your family and yourself with good bites for dinner, BBQ BROS RUBS is the company that’ll do it.

You’ll feel compelled to pen down a review after tasting these Southern Style Ultimate Barbecue Spices. Your grilling skills take on a whole new level once you start sprinkling. Marinating steaks with the Caroline rub, in particular, yields an amazingly delicious outcome.

Here’s the disappointing part. The Memphis-style seasoning is packed with MSG. Whereas the New Orleans and Carolina rubs aren’t. Uniformity would have been appreciated here.

    Pros

• New Orleans rub goes well with seafood.
• Carolina rub is great for a kick.
• Memphis rub works best on poultry in smokers.

    Cons

• They are sold only in a set, not individually.
• Memphis rub contains MSG, unlike the other two.

Salt Lick Original Dry Rub Seasoning – One Of The Best Steak Rubs To Buy

This best store bought BBQ rub is an ideal choice for your pit grill and barbecue sessions. If you don’t know how or where to buy BBQ rubs, here’s a great start. The seasoning ranks among the most delicious dry rubs in the current scene.

The Salt Lick Original Dry Rub Seasoning is in charge of a primary task. And that is to make the meat richly flavorful. And pleasing to the taste buds. When you add the rub to your food, it becomes worthy enough to compete against professional steak dishes. All across New York!

The spicy hot flavor of the rub is what you might admire the most. It contains no MSG, sugar, or gluten. And that brings me to list down the natural ingredients. They are cayenne, salt, and pepper. With granulated garlic and other spices!

The most tempting quality is the versatility of the Salt Lick Original Dry Rub Seasoning. You can use it to prepare both wet and dry ribs. The flavor is so bold and strong that you’ll end up recommending the product to strangers even.

The steak you cook with the Salt Lick Original Dry Rub Seasoning won’t last. That means there’ll be no leftovers. This dry rub has an incredibly spicy hot flavor. But it’s not something you can’t handle.

If you love devouring fiery dishes, then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t go for this rub. On the other hand, the overpowering taste of black pepper does not agree with everybody.

    Pros

• The rub blends in nicely while also staying on for a long.
• You can use it as an all-purpose seasoning.
• The product is best for those who love spicy food.

    Cons

• The kick of black pepper might be too strong for some.

Pork Barrel BBQ Bulk All American Seasoning Mix – The Best Store Bought BBQ Rub With A Mild Flavor

There’s no chance you won’t find the Pork Barrel BBQ Bulk All American Seasoning Mix absolutely delicious. The product is an ideal choice for cooking ribs. But don’t think that you can’t roast poultry with this stuff. If appetizing family meals are a part of your daily life, just ensure that you cook enough for a second helping.

The Pork Barrel BBQ Bulk All American Seasoning Mix works well with pork, beef, and poultry. Along with seafood and vegetables! Thanks to the inclusion of all-natural, all-American ingredients! Such as smoked paprika, onion, garlic, chipotle chili, and ancho chili. Plus, salt and spices!

If you’re concerned about unhealthy components like MSG or any artificialness, leave those concerns behind. The product is all-natural. That means no MSG, preservatives, or gluten. The Pork Barrel BBQ Bulk All American Seasoning Mix is quite a sensation.

Be it competitions, restaurants, or backyards; this particular rub is a known entity. And a powerful one at that! Not too hot or too sweet. That’s how I would like to sum up the Pork Barrel BBQ Bulk All American Seasoning Mix. It gives you the freedom to modify the dish to your liking.

Here’s something that you might find distasteful. It’s the excessively sweet palate of the Pork Barrel BBQ rub. This is nothing but a result of the lack of extra zest.

    Pros

• The Pork Barrel BBQ seasoning is mild in flavor.
• It is very much like any homemade rub.
• The flavorful quality is quite desirable.

    Cons

• The rub doesn’t blend well.
• Too much sweetness is no good.

Plowboys Yardbird Rub – One Of The Best Low-Priced Rubs

It’s not necessary to overspend in order to buy the best store bought BBQ rub. The Plowboys Yardbird Rub is a cheap option. But only in terms of cost!

The ingredients your taste buds have to handle are natural and fresh. They include paprika, chili pepper, onion, garlic, and mustard flour. With basics like sugar and salt! There’s also two percent calcium stearate present here. To avoid caking!

The flavor is well-balanced with a hint of fiery delight. You can use it on your smoked wings for Saturday nights. As for Sundays, there’s nothing better than smoked pork! You won’t take too long to cherish the perfect barbecue zest it leaves on the meat.

Sprinkling it on veggies is not just possible but equally delicious. The Plowboys Yardbird Rub is plain fantastic. Soon enough, it’ll become your go-to rub for chicken, ribs, and pork butt. And just because it contains sugar doesn’t mean the base comes out excessively thick. The end result lives up to your expectations. No matter what!

The Plowboys Yardbird Rub is something that you can use on pork and chicken. It offers a mighty taste on both. And no matter how you plan on sprinkling the rub, you’ll find yourself wanting more once this batch runs out.

The manufacturer should have used half the amount of salt they decided to add in here.

    Pros

• The Plowboys rub is tangy and sweet with a touch of spice.
• Sugar content is minimal.

    Cons

• The salty taste is not so pleasant.

Bone Suckin’ Sauce – The Best Store Bought BBQ Rub For Practically Everything

The brand wonders how anyone could ever live without their Bone Suckin’ Original Seasoning and Rub. And after I gave it a go, I developed the same viewpoint. The product is the kind of stuff you can sprinkle on just about everything. Be it beef, pork, seafood, pasta, veggies, and popcorn.

The chances of the seasoning becoming your favorite just once after trying it seems to be enormous. Especially if you’re an avid smoker and do the majority of cooking outside! If that’s the case, your every meal will be incomplete without this best store bought BBQ rub.

It provides a perfect punch to make the barbecue pop. The quality is so hearty that the rub sticks and penetrates large roasts as well. To enhance the smoky flavor! It works remarkably well on potatoes too.

If you’re into preparing your own dry-style rubs, it’s almost impossible to opt for even the best commercial BBQ rubs. I understand that very well. But, at the same time, it’s hard to say no to this Bone Suckin’ Original Seasoning and Rub.

The thing about the homemade version is that it has issues with heat, sweetness, sourness, or bitterness. In short, the overall spice balance tends to get affected. No matter how hard you try to avoid it. So at such times, the only product that comes close to any homemade recipe is this one right here.

You’ll treasure the spicy and sweet blend of the Bone Suckin’ Original Seasoning and Rub. And the fact that you can add it to stuff like potatoes and popcorn is another huge plus point. As for coating it on meat, the rub leaves the skin crisp with a fine texture.

The only problem with the Bone Suckin’ Original Seasoning is that it’s strikingly sweet.

    Pros

• The Bone Suckin’ rub bursts with spice and flavor.
• The versatile nature includes grilling, rubbing, and marinating.
• It’s highly rated for smoking meat.

    Cons

• The container is small, hence so is quantity.
• Not for you if you don’t appreciate excess sweetness.

Bone Suckin’ Sauce – The Best Store Bought BBQ Rub With A Spicy Flavor

There’s no doubt about the amazing flavor and quality of the Famous Dave’s Seasoning Rib Rub. At first, it tastes smoky and sweet. Soon followed by a burst of spices with a touch of garlic! This is what makes the Famous Dave’s Seasoning Rib Rub a must-try in the current food market.

The spices used in this recipe are all hand-picked. Some of them include paprika extracts, onion powder, garlic powder, wheat protein, and spices. Then there’s silicon dioxide as well. But only two percent to eliminate the possibility of caking!

This is Dave’s low-calorie, award-winning barbecue rub for steak, ribs, and pork chops. The soft tingle produced by the content of red flakes is what brings all flavors together.

Don’t think twice before sprinkling it on your morning eggs as well. You can use it for breakfast just as you would for baking, grilling, and smoking. So there’s no chance you won’t enjoy the Famous Dave’s Seasoning Rib Rub.

This is what happens when you taste this Famous Dave’s product. The flavor is smoky and sweet initially. Then it brings out the spiciness with a touch of garlic. This is when red flakes take control and bring back the initial flavors. It’s like consuming a magic potion, but a fiery one.

The content of salt is optimal, which means pleasant for the taste buds and tummy. But the same cannot be said about the level of onion powder and garlic. This can make you gassy if you have stomach sensitivity problems.

    Pros

• The blend of spicy and sweet is the most enticing.
• It’s the best seasoning for chops, ribs, roasts, and pork.
• The rub isn’t over-packed with salt.

    Cons

• But there’s too much onion powder and garlic.

Rudy’s Texas BBQ Rub – The Best Overall Store Bought BBQ Rub

If your food cravings want access to a well-balanced flavor explosion, this is what you should get. Rudy’s Texas BBQ Rub is full of character to make your home barbecue sessions the most delicious thing ever! The product name states Texas, which says a lot about its taste and texture.

Not many spices have the ability to handle large batches, just like the smaller ones. But that isn’t something you need to worry about here. Rudy’s Texas BBQ Rub is the perfect peppery stuff you’d want to incorporate into your large meat portions.

With that in mind, it’s great for steaks, brisket, burgers, chicken, and more. Basically, everything blends with Texan spices! Needless to say, Rudy’s Texas BBQ Rub is quite a popular option in many households.

It offers exceptional flavor. But not the kind that’s very strong for children to consume. And that’s good news for parents preparing family meals. But if hot is what your family enjoys, then you’ve found the ultimate pick. Plus, you can always decide to add a little bit of brown sugar if you want to tone down the fieriness.

In all, Rudy’s Texas BBQ Rub is a seasoning you can sprinkle on everything. From beef and pork to vegetables as well!

Did you know that Rudy’s BBQ sauce is also a hit on the current market? So it comes as no shocker to find out that Rudy’s Texas BBQ Rub ranks among the best. Combine the two for results that you might not be able to achieve with any other barbecue product or products.

If peppery flavors are what you’re into, you can go ahead and purchase Rudy’s Texas BBQ Rub. But if that’s not your thing, then you’d be better off with something else. There are too many cracked peppers in here.

    Pros

• Rudy’s rub is not unnecessarily salty.
• It is packed with flavorful sweetness.
• Black peppers spice up the recipe quite impressively.

    Cons

• Obviously, the seasoning is too spicy.

Guide To Buying The Best Store Bought BBQ Rub

The thing about good rubs is that you’d rather die than disclose the name of the product to a loved one or friend. OKAY, this does sound a bit dramatic. But it explains how the best store bought BBQ rub can make you go crazy. Experimenting with rubs results in abandoning a popular belief. That you only require salt and pepper for seasoning!

Now I know that making your own barbecue rub is a cheaper option. But nothing beats the feeling of picking out a rich and savory BBQ rub. More often than not, your taste buds enjoy different, exotic flavors. So at such times, the only way to give them what they want is by ordering online. Instead of heading out to multiple stores!

Now that you know what the top 10 BBQ rubs are, it’s time to get your facts straight.

Why Should I Use The Best Store Bought BBQ Rub?

“If I tell you, I will have to kill you.”

That statement is the only reason why. A barbecue rub is an ingredient that makes food more enjoyable. And if you’re the cook of such a delicious meal, you have the right to brag about it.

Not everybody cooks in the same manner; I get that. But the best store-bought BBQ rub has the tendency to do away with all such barriers. The list I prepared for you is that good! Feel free to opt for making your own barbecue rub at home.

I’m sure it’ll be great. But not as great as the options I’ve reviewed here. The cost of this delicious stuff is also quite reasonable. So the urge to experiment with different flavors doesn’t drain your wallet.

Your local supermarket might present you with too many choices. That, in itself, can make the task of selecting the best store-bought BBQ rub confusing. So why do that when you can skip through all the trouble?

How Do I Apply BBQ Rub?

Obsessing over the tiniest details is just what barbecue geeks do. When cooking, it’s important to do it right. And as far as applying BBQ rub is concerned, there’s a little more that goes into it than expected.

So during such an undertaking, keep the following tips in mind:

• While you’re sprinkling the rub with one hand, use the other for handling the meat. Use a pair of latex gloves to eliminate cross-contamination.
• Even the best store-bought BBQ rubs are prone to getting clogged up especially when the climate is humid! So to avoid clogging, it’s necessary to shake the bottle before application.
• Now here’s a common mistake that people make when cooking with rubs. They end up sprinkling too much of it. Don’t go for overkill!

But in the end, it all depends on your personal preferences. Nothing teaches you better than practice. So don’t hesitate to tweak along the way.

Can I Apply BBQ Rub Overnight?

Here’s everything you should know about choosing to apply the rub overnight.

When it comes to cooking methods, not everyone’s opinion is the same. Friend A might tell you to apply the barbecue rub overnight. On the other hand, relative B might swear by the taste of the grilled dish just because he/she applied the rub an hour before cooking. So whose advice should you pay heed to at such times?

The chances of relative B also stating that overnight application tends to dry out the meat are quite likely. But that doesn’t make sense in terms of basic food biology. And for the following reasons:

• The truth of the matter is that rubs contain lots of sugar and salt. These two components have the ability to draw out moisture from the meat. Irrespective of whether you apply it 1 or 12 hours ahead.
• The inner regions of meat take a long time to push out moisture. So not all moisture is lost when you apply the BBQ rub overnight. But for a minimal loss, it’s better to keep it on for an hour.

To sum it up, the barbecue flavor and texture are more affected by your way of cooking. And the kind of rubs and sauces you apply. If it helps, leaving the best store-bought BBQ rub overnight results in giving you a slightly more powerful flavor.

So here’s what you can do. Try both methods and compare the results to see what works best for your taste buds.

The End

My Choice: Killer Hogs BBQ Rub

Here in the final note, it seems only logical to highlight the best of the best. And that would be the Killer Hogs BBQ Rub. The recipe in here works toward bringing out the natural, authentic flavors of the meat. It consists of the perfect balance of heat, salt, sugar, and spices.

With the Killer Hogs BBQ Rub, you can prepare dishes like an expert pitmaster. The product does most of the work, given that it’s the outcome of the brand’s BBQ Championship Team. So feel free to sprinkle the hot stuff on poultry, beef, and pork. Your barbecue get-togethers just got more delicious!