
3 rubs for meat – all you’ll ever need!
My husband and I like to smoke and barbecue a lot. We started out with a little smoker from Canadian Tire (a lot like this one Smoker) and we put it to good use! Friday we upgraded to a large barrel Char-Broil Oklahoma Joe Smoker
My husband spent Friday and Saturday putting it together, sealing it and seasoning it; getting it ready for Sunday where we celebrated a belated birthday for my mom and an early Mother’s Day. The menu for the lunch was as follows:
Appetizer:
Citrus-Honey Grilled Shrimp
Main Event:
Applewood Smoked Ribs with All Purpose Rub
Smashed BBQ Potatoes
Black Bean and Corn Salad with Chipolte-Honey Dressing
Dessert:
Lavender Cupcakes with Honey Frosting
I will share all of these recipes down the road, but for today I want to focus on the rub for the ribs. Most of the time when we barbecue or smoke meat, we will use a rub. We experimented with spices for rubs mostly inspired by the amazing book Smoke!
We basically have three staple rubs that we use now; one can be used on any meat including fish, chicken, pork and beef, but we especially love it on pork; the second is fantastic on beef; and the last is perfect for chicken. Here are the three rubs that you can make from your spice cabinet and are the only three rubs you’ll ever need!
3 rubs that we use and you should too:

General All Purpose Rub
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp pepper
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dry mustard powder
- 1 tsp celery seed
- 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
- 1/2 tsp ground fennel
Instructions
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Mix all spices in a bowl.
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Rub meat with spice rub.
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Left over rub can be stored in an airtight container, in a cool, dry place.
Recipe Notes
Great with any meat - but perfect for pork!

Coffee Rub
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup ground coffee we use a dark roast
- 1/2 cup chili powder
- 1/3 cup smoked paprika
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1.5 tbsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
Instructions
-
Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
-
Rub meat with spice.
-
Store left over spice in an airtight container, in a cool, dry place.
Recipe Notes
Great with beef!

Chicken Rub
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground corriander
- 1 tbsp ground celery seed
- 1 tbsp dry mustard
- 1 tbsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp dried marjoram
- 1 tbsp ground rosemary
- 1 tsp tumeric
- 10 dried bay leaves crushed
Instructions
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Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
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Rub bird or fish with spice.
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Store left over spice in an airtight container, in a cool, dry place.
Recipe Notes
Awesome with poultry or white fish.
For the ribs we used applewood for the smoke and we basted the ribs every 20 minutes in an apple juice and all purpose rub mixture. They. Were. Excellent.
Do you have a smoker? Do you make your own rubs? What are you doing for Mother’s Day next weekend?