Can I have some recommendations for rubs and sauces?

Buy one of each you have listed and see which one you like the best....:razz:

I like what you've mentioned

Swamp boys is good, well balanced
I like various blues hog sauces
Kosmos sauce and head country are good but not overly sweet.
I've also had good experience with the shed brand

Honestly I've heard good things about most of those brands you listed.

I'm a big fan of what you have already listed, but I'd also say Eat BBQ is worth picking up. I think it gives some great color to whatever you're smoking.

I was also going to suggest Meat Church's Honey Hog, but that may be a little too sweet based on your preferences you laid out.

Being a NC guy, I figure I'm obligated to say you should pick up Texas Pete

Check out the BBQ rub and BBQ sauce reviews in thr trading Post forum

Slap yo Daddy Love Meat Tender is a great rub for pork especially ribs. Did a Rib Rub throw down using St Louis Spares with Love Meat Tender, ORBBQ Secret Weapon, Dominator and a home made rub, the Love Meat Tender had the best color and picked as a favorite by most.

Not a big fan of BBQ sauce but if I'm going to use it I like to use Blues Hog Tennessee Red, it's thin tangy with a apple cider vinegar base and peppery. A lot of people like to use BH Original and cut it 50/50 with Tenn Red. The Big Bob Gibson Alabama White Sauce is great on chicken.

Another vote for Blues Hog. Get a bottle of Original and TN red if they've both.

I saw Plowboys in the rub list, and IMO Plowboys yardbird is a must try for everyone. I keep a bottle in the cabinet at all times. I've never had it be bad on anything.

I also saw Old Bay on there...if you've never had Old Bay, you gotta get a tin of that as well. Goes amazing on anything from the ocean, and believe it or not actually goes really well on buffalo wings if you're up for trying something different.

IMHO Big Bob Gibsons is over rated (I live not very far from the actual restaurant, and the stores around here are loaded with it so I speak from experience), but YMMV.

edit: Just saw Oakridge in the list, overlooked it the first time. You gotta try the legendary Habanero Death Dust if they've got it.

Blues Hog Original is very sweet which is why lots of folks (I'm one of them) mix it with Blues Hog Tennessee Red.

Another vote for Plowboys Yardbird.

Would buy every type of Oakridge and Simply Marvelous if budget allows.

I've been using Simply Marvelous for years. Most are on the sweet side, but I season with salt and pepper as a base, then layer a small amount of SM rubs on top. They are low on salt and complex in flavor.

Anything sucklebusters make is top notch. Hog walker and hoochie mamma are both amazing as well as there lemon pepper garlic on seafood and veggies. Their fajita seasoning is great too.

Plowboys is great too, and you already mentioned Oakridge which is my go to most times.

LordRiffenstein said:

We're going to visit one of the biggest BBQ stores in Europe in 2 weeks and I would like to get some recommendations for rubs and sauces.



For rubs, I don't like a lot of salt, I don't mind sweetness in a rub but not to much, unless I can mix it with another. I plan on picking up some more Oakridge rubs but want to try some other brands. I believe Plowboys Yardbird rub is liked by many and I'll also check out the Simply Marvelous rubs. But what else should I try?



For sauces, again not to sweet, I like Sweet Baby Rays but in small quantities. I like the Stubb sauces a lot.



Here's what the store has:



The rub brands:



BBQ Bob-Bad Byron's-Big Bob Gibson-Blues Hog-Bone Sucking Sauce-Butcher BBQ-Code 3 Spices-Eat BBQ-Gator Hammock-Happy Holla-Head Country-JP Custom Smoke-Jack Daniels-Kansas City Cow Town-Killer Hogs-Kosmo's Q-Lotta Bull BBQ-Lynchburg-Mad Hunky-Meadow Creek-Meat Church-Oakridge-Old Bay (Mc Cormick)-Owens BBQ-Papa Tony's-Paul Prudhomme-Pig's Ass Rub-Pit Barrel Cooker-Pit Happens-Plowboys-Pork Mafia-Simply Marvelous-Slab Yo Daddy-Slabs-Special Sh!t!-Steven Raichlen-Stockyard-Stubbs-SuckleBusters-Swamp Boys-Sweet Swine o Mine-The BBQ Shack-The Rub Co-Todd's-Twisted Belly-Uncle Kenny-Wicked Que



The sauce brands:



Big Bob Gibson-Big Moe Cason-Blues Hog-Bone Sucking Sauce-Budweiser BBQ-Bull's BBQ-Cajohns-Elvis-Frank's-Fri-B-Que-Full Trottle-Gator Hammock-Granny's BBQ Sauce-Heinz-Holy Cow-Jack Daniels-KC Masterpiece-Killer Hogs-Levi Roots Reggae Reggae -Lotta Bull BBQ-Lynchburg-Mississipi-Ole Ray's-Special Sh!t!-Steven Raichlen-Stockyard-Stubbs-SuckleBusters-Sue-Bee-Sweet Baby Ray's-Sweet Swine o Mine-Texas Pete-The Rub Co-The Shedd-Todd's-Twisted Belly

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Try some Swamp Boys. I think you’ll be pleased.


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I can't do the regular Blues Hog. It's like pure sugar to me. So for your taste I would steer clear of it. But the red is not bad.

dannypat21 said:

I've been using Simply Marvelous for years. Most are on the sweet side, but I season with salt and pepper as a base, then layer a small amount of SM rubs on top. They are low on salt and complex in flavor.

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Steph seems to recommend a base of his season all before the rub.

I've found most of these sweet style rubs need to be layered with with something else. Either salty or heat blends work well.

Same goes for some sauces.

I know this is probably going against the grain, but I recommend making your own. I started with a basic rub recipe borrowed from a book and then just kept tweaking it to my.. err, my wife's taste. The rub also serves as a base for sauce. That being said, I like Stubb's

West River BBQ said:

I know this is probably going against the grain, but I recommend making your own. I started with a basic rub recipe borrowed from a book and then just kept tweaking it to my.. err, my wife's taste. The rub also serves as a base for sauce. That being said, I like Stubb's

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Making your own can be fun but some of this stuff has ingredients not easily obtainable from regular markets.

I spent time making rubs but I ended up with a spice rack full of things I didn't use much and after a few years it just goes to waste.

I always keep a bottle of Big Bob Gibson original white sauce in the pantry. The BBG habanero red sauce is good too, especially on ribs. It has some kick but not too much.

smoke ninja said:

Making your own can be fun but some of this stuff has ingredients not easily obtainable from regular markets.

I spent time making rubs but I ended up with a spice rack full of things I didn't use much and after a few years it just goes to waste.

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I couldn't agree more. I've been avoiding cleaning out my spice cabinet because some of that stuff was expensive and I hate to toss it but I need too.

Oakridge Secret Weapon, Black Ops, and Santa Maria.
You better bring a pile of Euros.

I have to agree with Smoke Ninja....


The spices available in the common market are not higher quality spices, and they should be ground fresh to give you the best end result. Taking time to track down the best varieties from specific regions can take a lot of time. Good spices aren't cheap, and cheap spice aren't good.



Yes making homemade rubs can be a fun experiment and the outcome can be good. I have tried recipes and even varied them from time to time, but never created anything I consider to be outstanding. From my personal experience, by the time you buy the spices, take the time to weigh and mix them, test them. You really don't save any money by doing it yourself. Add the cost of good spices, the time required to process them (time is money), and you have saved nothing.


Personally, quality rubs are best when left to the commercial producers. Higher quality commercial rub producers do not order run of the mill store shelf types of spices, but rather specific varieties from specific regions. That is why some of the commercial rub producers have superior products. They have years of testing and fine tuning their blends. Yes it's true that with a commercial rub that it was mixed in commercial environment, but with much higher quality control standards that insure consistency time after time.


My personal favorite rubs are made by Oakridge BBQ Rubs. The use fresh ingredients and are hand-crafted when you order, to give you the best and freshest product possible. You'll find that Oakridge BBQ Rubs are lower in sugar and salt content than most other producers, this means more spices in the blend which means more vivid flavors in the end product.


Try a sample package..... You won't be sorry.


Sauces, there are so many to choose from, so many regional favorites and personal tastes to consider. Blues Hog Competition Blend (or a 50/50 mix of Blues Hog Original and Blues Hog Tennessee Red) gives a great balance of sweet and savory. Head Country is a basic Texas Style sauce and comes in Original and Hot. A new producer in the market is Yes Dear sauces, they currently have a Red Sauce and a Yellow Sauce both which are great, they are producing a new sauce which is probably one of the best I have ever had.





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Plowboys Yardbird good on everything. OR Secret Weapon very nice on ribs,chicken and even baked potatoes. OR Santa Maria on TT and steaks. Wanted to get Carne Crosta for steaks but settled for Grillmates Cowboy Rub for coffee flavor and I liked it. Sauces I liked were Blues Hog Champions Blend, Stubbs Original, Swampboys Original and Bootleg Red.