A good sweet pork rub is ESSENTIAL to have in your grilling arsenal, and this rub hits all the right notes. Bring a burst of flavor to your pulled pork and smoked pork recipes with this signature sweet rub.
Recipe by Susie Bulloch on April 25, 2022
Prep time: PT5M
Total time: PT5M
Rating
4.94 stars (124 reviews)
Keywords
Pork Rub, Sweet Rub
Ingredients
¼ cup dark brown sugar
1 Tablespoon coarse sea salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons smoked paprika ((hot or mild, whichever you prefer))
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon ground mustard powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Categories
Main Dish
Cuisine
Barbecue
Steps
Mix. Combine all of the ingredients for the rub in a small bowl. Stir well to combine, using a fork to break up any clumps.
Use or store. Store BBQ sweet rub in an airtight container. This rub will last in your cupboard for up to a month.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 23 kcal
Carbohydrates: 6 g
Protein: 1 g
Fat: 1 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Sodium: 2 mg
Sugar: 5 g
Reviews
Lee on 2026-07-01 (5 stars): I have used this several times now for family get togethers and always get compliments on my butts.
One thing I have done for the last few batches was to use a couple of moisture absorbers. This stopped the sugar from hardening and makes it easier to keep a triple batch stored.
Anthony Carl Schimmel on 2026-06-30 (5 stars): Excellent spice rub for chicken and ribs as the title says.
Toni on 2026-06-27 (5 stars): Absolutely the best rub!!
dave marshall on 2026-06-26 (5 stars): Excellent on pork belly burnt ends - at the very end
Tim on 2026-06-21 (5 stars): Just made this, but doubled the cayenne pepper. Amazing on salmon.
Josh Wilken on 2026-05-10 (5 stars): This is a great spice blend, and the recipe overall for the smoked pulled pork is outstanding. It's my go-to method. I go a little heavier on the spices, admittedly, but everything else I follow to a T.
Thank you for sharing all of this information. Great pulled pork every time. My family loves it. I'm doing 6 pork butts as we speak for my son's graduation. : )
Maxine Sumner on 2026-04-22 (5 stars): Best dry rub for pork or chicken I love this so much I use it all the time never disappoints me !! Thank you for sharing this rub!!
Brian on 2026-03-22 (5 stars): dry brined and spatchocked a whole chicken - used Hey Grill Hey rub (without the salt since I dry brined) ...was best smoked chicken I've ever made! Thank you!
A. E. Poynor on 2025-12-15 (5 stars): My tongue chipped 6 front teeth trying to get to the country ribs I grilled with this rub!
Petal on 2025-12-09 (5 stars): I use this rub all the time! Everytime I use it on pork or chicken, I get lots of compliments about the taste.
Atticus g lucas on 2025-09-16 (5 stars): I eat a lot of chicken and pork, and this is my go too rub. I don't like over salted products and this rub has the right balance of salt and sweet that compliments your main protein.
Mish on 2025-08-28 (5 stars): Sweet baby back ribs... this rub is DELICIOUS.
Family says my stove top pork chops & tofu, never tasted so good.
Thank you for the divine kitchen alchemy.
Sharon on 2025-08-02 (4 stars): I found that it was too peppery for us, but cutting the pepper back this time made it perfect.
