What you’ll find in this article:
- How we tasted and evaluated pork dry rubs
- The best pork rub—that’s also for chicken
- The best dry rub for pork, overall
- And more!
Whether you’re talking about pork cutlets, pork chops, pork ribs, pork shoulder—just pull up a picture of a pig and point to a part—pork is one of the most delicious meats on the market. But like so many meats, you can make it even better by adding a nice dry rub, for both a boost in flavor and to seal in some moisture as the meat cooks.
But what’s the best pork dry rub? That depends on what flavor you’re looking for, as there’s a wide range of different flavored pork rubs out there. Do you want your pork smoky? Sweet? Tangy? Spicy? We went through and taste-tested a range of different dry rubs for pork to find the best pork rub seasoning for you.
We tasted each pork rub on a basic pork cutlet in order to assess how well the rubs can enhance the flavor of the meat. And we found a wide range of great options. No matter what you’re looking for—sweet, savory, or even a little bit spicy—you’ll find the best pork rub seasoning to buy on our list
Note: While we chose dry rubs that were specifically advertised as pork dry rubs, there are a ton of spice mixes that we’ve tried and ranked in the past that could work for pork, as well. Check out our rankings of the best burger seasonings and best steak seasonings, too.
Best dry rubs for pork, ranked
- Kosmos Dry Rub Honey Killer Bee Meat Dry Rub
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While the name might have you expecting a very sweet, almost syrupy flavor, this blend is closer to traditional seasoning salt flavor thanks to a mix of paprika, garlic, and celery. And while the main ingredient listed is sugar, you’re definitely getting more of a savory, salty taste, with some hints of sweetness and honey to round it out. But that’s not a bad thing. It’s traditional, but also really, really good.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Stubbs Pork Rub with Sea Salt, Garlic and Lime
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This pork dry rub features lime juice concentrate, which gives it a real citrusy tang that’s unlike anything else on this list. That juice is combined with a blend of sugar, sea salt, paprika and brown mustard seed, leaving the whole thing with a slight heat and a hint of sweetness. But that lime juice really sets this one apart, as it gives the pork a great acidic, sharpness. While it’s not the best pork rub seasoning I tried, it was probably the most memorable. And it might be the best pork dry rub if you’re making pork tacos.
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Traeger Pork & Poultry Rub Apple & Honey
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Like the Kosmos honey pork rub, this one’s not overly sweet, despite including a mix of cane sugar, honey, and dehydrated apple (classic pork flavors). That’s probably because the rest of the mix is largely salt, paprika, onion, and chili pepper. It’s mildly hot, but never too spicy. Overall, the mix leans sweet, giving it a lighter, brighter flavor than any of the other dry rubs I tried. If you don’t like too much spice, but also don’t want to just coat your pork in brown sugar, this is probably the mix for you.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Amazon Grocery Pork Rub & Seasoning
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The main flavor in this pork dry rub is smoked paprika, which combines with the brown sugar to create a deliciously smoky flavor. It’s not a one-note flavor, as the rub also includes garlic and onion, which add another layer of savoriness beneath the smoke. There’s even a little lemon peel, too, for slight hints of tang that occasionally peek through the rest of the flavors. If you’re looking to give your meat that fire-licked flavor without breaking out the smoker, this, for sure, the best dry rub for pork ribs to buy.
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Weber Dry Rub For Smoking & Barbecuing Smoky Brown Sugar
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While this pork dry rub also has plenty of smoke flavor, the brown sugar in the mix adds an extra caramelized taste as the meat cooks, which really rounds out the savory flavor from its mix of garlic, paprika, and soy sauce flavor. The combination creates a great barbecue flavor. It’s a really tasty blend of sweet, smoke, and savory that gave my simple pork cutlet layers and layers of flavor. It’s the best pork dry rub for those classic flavors.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
Best Sweet-and-Savory
Best Citrusy Pork Rub
Best “Sweet” Rub
Best Dry Rub for Pork Ribs
Best of the Best
Other pork dry rubs we tried:
Great Value Pork Rub Seasoning, Sweet Preacher Pork Rub, Weber Dry Rub For Smoking & Barbecuing KC BBQ
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