The Best Pork Rub Recipe

Virginia is pig country and pigs mean one thing: Barbecue! Good barbecue joints here usually coat their pork in a flavorful dry rub before dousing it with a vinegar based sauce when finished. Vinegar sauces are good, but this dry rub is so good that you don't need no stinkin' sauce! This rub flavors the pork inside and out...you don't even need to slow cook it on the grill to get that all day flavor.

This dry rub is one I threw together using flavors that naturally pair well with pork and barbecue in general. The rub is spicy, sweet and smoky which all hits you at different points on our tongue. Like many recipes, there’s also a secret ingredient. Allspice. I took a queue from Jamaican jerk seasoning where they use many sweet spices as a balance to a spicy mixture. Allspice tastes like a combination of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, all of which go great with pork. I encourage you to make a big batch of this spice rub and keep it in your cabinet for future use.

The Best Pork Rub Recipe

2 tbsp kosher salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp oregano
¼ tsp ground mustard
¼ tsp allspice (I like grinding my own, but pre-ground is fine)

Mix together all of the ingredients and store in an air-tight container. To use, rub into pork and wrap in plastic wrap. Let pork marinate for at least 3 hours, but it’s even better if you leave it overnight.