What are you looking for in a beef rub?

[Huskee]

Me personally, I am neither less is more nor over the top (I suppose we all think that of ourselves don't we?). But I appreciate good ol' black pepper. Not spicy, not cayenne, but a good flavorful black pepper spice first. Then I appreciate onion & garlic. I don't need smokey in my seasoning (no chipotle, no smoked paprika, etc) it's a moot point IMO since I'm smoking the beef anyway. Lastly, I like umami, luscious mouthfeel. But, that's less important to me again, because the beef will have that.

What I've been loving lately is Heaven Made Products' Brisket rub (they are low salt but high umami) mixed with Meathead's BBBR. I vary the ratios, but currently I'm digging 2/3 BBBR and 1/3 HMBR, but I've also done 50/50. Anyway, those two together give me what I crave in a smoked beef rub.

There's undoubtedly dozens of great mixtures out there, and I've only tried 5 or 6, so my words above only reflect my experiences and preferences of course. I've tried Black Ops and liked it, but it didn't wow me.

[Frozen Smoke]

So far my favorite beef rub particularly for brisket has been Black Ops from Oak Ridge BBQ. That or just salt and fresh ground pepper. I'm guessing you're talking about making and packaging your own? If not I think Oak Ridge BBQ is open to wholesaling to distributors. Actually all of their rubs have been superb and I've tried nearly all of them and is about all I buy any longer.
I use to mix my own but as I entered into the cooking for large event arena making my own especially in large batches just meant keeping a lot of spices in large amounts on hand not to mention I didn't have the time to mix it all amongst all the other couple hundred things to do to prep for a large cook.

So that led me to trying commercial rubs which I've tried plenty believe me. Once I stumbled upon the Oak Ridge stuff it was instantly apparent at least to me these guys had it above the rest. Freshness and flavor profiles were above par.

Google them up and give them a look.

[Henrik]

Yes, I know, that's a tough question: or rather, a question with many answers. Let me give you a little background. I am running a bbq company. A small one, but still. I love barbecue, and I want to spread the gospel here in Sweden.

Next on my product lineup will be Tennessee hickory chunks. And I'm currently in touch with a bag/pouch manufacturer (in Canada actually), as I'm keen on doing commercial rubs.

I've been wanting to do commercial rubs for a long time, and the plan is to offer a top notch rub. First out, beef and pork. I'm gonna make a few samples and let other people try them before I nail the final recipe. I'm close now, I think.

And then I thought: What about the Pit? Here's a great group of people, all passionate about barbecue, what do you all think? Are you a 'less is more' type of guy, or do you want an 'over the top' rub? What do you fancy? Hit me!