I love making my own barbecue rub because it allows me to monitor and control exactly what I put in it. I also enjoy making my own rub because it is so easy to alternate depending on taste.

For example, if I know my guests really enjoy spicy food, I can add extra pepper and spice to kick it up a level. On the other hand, if I’m grilling for someone who doesn’t enjoy spicy food, I can play up the sweet ingredients for their taste buds to enjoy. Either way, making your own rub is easy and allows you to be very flexible.

Below are a few tips to keep in mind when making your own rub, as well as my recipe for the ultimate barbecue rub.

• Make sure you start with a good sugar base. This can consist of refined sugar, brown sugar, or turbinado sugar. Depending on the taste you are going for, any of these will work well.  
• Date your spices and rub. If you’re like me, you’ll want to make sure you deliver high quality barbecue, so keeping things fresh is important. Dating the leftover rub ensures that you will not keep it too long. From my experience, anything over six months old should be discarded.
• Always do a taste test. Before I put my rub on my food, I taste a little. This guarantees there will be no surprises when I taste the first bite of food used with the rub.

My Favorite BBQ Rub Recipe:

Ingredients:
¼    cup light brown sugar
1     tablespoon salt
1     tablespoon granulated garlic
1     tablespoon black pepper
1     tablespoon paprika
1     tablespoon onion powder
1     teaspoon cayenne pepper
1     teaspoon white pepper
1     teaspoon cumin

For more on creating your own BBQ rub, check out my video here.