Smoked Beef Rub (Dry Rub)
Need an amazing homemade rub recipe for beef? This beef rub recipe for smoking is a simple spice rub, perfect for beef.
We are purists when it comes to smoking meat. We use an old-fashioned chimney smoker, and only use charcoal and wood!
We typically opt for simple dry rub recipes and no wet brine, but that’s our personal taste.
This seasoning rub was born from my super popular Smoked Chicken Rub. I love this chicken rub because it’s heavy on paprika and herbs!
I modified my original rub recipe to fit the robust flavor of beef, adding more salt and pepper to the mix, and a few extra spices to add complexity. This rub truly has an AMAZING flavor and so much depth to it! It’s much like a traditional beef rub, with an herbaceous kick to it.
I developed this rub recipe as a beef brisket rub, but there is no one best way to use it. It’s super versatile and plays well with the natural flavors of beef. Here are some ideas for using this rub:
What can I use this dry rub recipe on?
- Beef Ribs
- Tri Tip Roast
- Beef Short Ribs
- Smoked brisket
- Any other cut of beef you’d like to smoke!
Substitutions and Modifications:
- Substitute white sugar for brown sugar. Remember, this small amount of sugar is not used to give the rub a sweet flavor, just to help bring out the great flavor of the spice blend.
- For a spicy rub, add 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
You will need the following ingredients:
- black pepper
- paprika
- coarse salt
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- brown sugar
- oregano
- thyme
- chili powder
- nutmeg
- pepper flakes (optional, this gives it a decent kick of heat!)
Smoked Beef Rub (Dry Rub)
Ingredients
- 1.5 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper
- 1.5 tablespoons coarse salt
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1 pinch thyme
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients.
- Bring your meat out of the refrigerator and let it rest on the counter, allowing the meat to come closer to room temperature.
- Pat your cut of meat dry with paper towels and place it on a baking sheet.
- Apply a generous amount of rub to the meat and give it a good rub down, working the spices into the meat with your fingers. You can also apply olive oil to the meat before applying the rub, making it more of a wet rub.
- Allow the rub to rest on the meat at least 30 minutes before smoking. You can also put this rub on the day before and leave it on the meat overnight in the refrigerator for extra flavor!
I used about two table spoons of a left over rub made from spiceology raspberry chipotle and tex mex seasoning. I didn’t measure anything and just added liberal amounts of kosher salt, course ground black pepper, and the remaining ingredients minus the nutmeg, pepper flakes, chili pepper, and oregano. I ground it all together with a mortar and pestle. I added it to beef ribs from costco and will BBQ them tomorrow!
Sounds amazing Shawn! 🙂
Michelle, do you use kosher salt or coarse sea salt, you don’t specify? I am assuming it’s kosher sat
Hi Deon! Thanks for asking, yes I use kosher.
How much brown sugar do you use? recipe does not specify. Recipe sounds great, would like to try it.
Hi Steve- I’m sorry about that, fixed!
Hello
I want to use this rub recipe for a brisket this weekend. I see you mention using brown sugar but I don’t see it on the recipe, what amount of brown sugar should use?
Also can I substitute pink himalaya salt for the coarse salt?
Looking forward to trying it out.
Hey Tony! Sorry about that. I fixed it. I don’t use much brown sugar at all, just a teaspoon or a hefty pinch. I think it helps with the crust!
Also, the pink himalaya salt would work fine!
How long can you store your dry rub
Hey Shawn! Up to 6 weeks if you have a cool/dry (not humid) place for it, in an airtight container. Too much humidity, and it will clump up because there’s no anti-clumping ingredients added like you see in the store bought rubs. You can also store it in the freezer if that’s easier!