Sweet & Smokey BBQ Rub Recipe

This rub is sweet from the 2 types of sugar and smokey from 3 types of pepper powders.

It goes great with chicken, pork, and veggies.

Ingredients for Sweet & Smoky BBQ Rub

• 2 tbsp brownulated sugar
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 1/2 tbsp diamond crystal kosher salt
• 1 tsp celery salt
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• 1/2 tsp granulated onion
• 1/4 tsp mustard powder
• 1/2 tsp medium grind black pepper
• 1 tsp ancho chili powder
• 1/2 tsp chipotle powder*

*If you like more heat, use 1 tsp of Chipotle powder.

Ingredient Explanations for other BBQ Nerds like Me

What the Heck is “Brownulated Sugar”?

This ingredient is the difference between homemade rubs and the BBQ rubs you find in the store.

Almost all of them use this sugar because it:

• Mixes better with other ingredients
• Won’t clump like regular brown sugar
• Is sweet, but not too sweet
• Has a molasses taste but is not bitter

It’s essentially just light brown sugar in a granule form.

For “cleaner” sweetness, I think white sugar works best.

You could opt for Turbinado sugar or evaporated cane sugar instead but these aren’t as sweet.

The 2 Types of Salt

I like using Diamond crystal kosher salt in rubs because it mixes better than Mortons and isn’t as salty (it’s 2x less dense).

Meaning, you can get more aggressive with the rub without over-salting your food.

I’m from New England and celery salt is very popular. It’s also in A LOT of seasoned salt that people in BBQ like without knowing it (like Lawry’s).

The “Smoked” Stuff

Smoked paprika adds the stereotypical red color and smokey-ness.

Chipotle powder adds a warming heat and works well with the smoky-earthy-flavor from the paprika.

Ancho chili is also smokey and earthy but also slightly sweet.

Use the “Granulated” Versions of Onion and Garlic

These mix far better in your rub where-as the powders do not.

Meaning they’ll come out of the shaker bottle or sprinkle better when released from your fingers.

Onion powder and/or granulated onion is quite strong – stick with a 2:1 ratio for Garlic:Onion.

Print Pin Recipe

Sweet & Smokey BBQ Rub

2 types of sugars and 3 types of peppers

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Total Time5 minutes mins

Course: Rubs

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 tbsp brownulated sugar
• ▢ 2 tbsp white sugar
• ▢ 1/2 tbsp diamond crystal kosher salt
• ▢ 1 tsp celery salt
• ▢ 2 tsp smoked paprika
• ▢ 1 tsp granulated garlic
• ▢ 1/2 tsp granulated onion
• ▢ 1/4 tsp mustard powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp medium grind black pepper
• ▢ 1 tsp ancho chili powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp chipotle powder*

Instructions

• Combine the listed ingredients in a mixing bowl.
• You can apply this rub liberally to any BBQ food – I personally use it for chicken and pork.

Notes

If you don’t have brownulated sugar, use light brown sugar. I’d even shake it through a mesh sieve if you can.

If you don’t have Diamond crystal kosher salt, use 1/2 the amount in Mortons.

If you like more heat, use another 1/2 tsp of chipotle powder.