Homemade Dry Rub for Pork
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This is a basic homemade dry rub for pork that is sugar-free and requires only 5 ingredients that most of you have in your pantry.
Making dry rub for pork from scratch is easy and quick. 5 ingredients and 2 minutes is all it takes!
I use this rub when making Instant Pot Hoisin Ribs and also Instant Pot Pulled Pork. It’s a simple pork dry rub recipe but the ingredients and amounts can easily be adjusted to your liking.
How to make dry rub for pork
All you have to do is combine all the ingredients together (salt, garlic powder, paprika black pepper, cinnamon) and you are good to go!
You can use a Ziploc bag, jar or a bowl to mix them. For storing the jar or bag would be the best options.
Additional extras
Like I have already mentioned this is a basic recipe for dry rub for pork. It adds just enough flavor to the meat without being overpowering.
It’s perfect for recipes where you also add an extra flavor in a form of a sauce or glaze to the meat (say BBQ sauce, hoisin sauce, …).
Now, if you want to add something more, here are some ideas for you:
Granulated Onion – the same amount as garlic powder.
Cayenne Pepper/Chili Powder – to your liking but less is more, especially when making it for the first time.
Brown Sugar – For this recipe I would go with about 3 tablespoons.
Can I leave a dry rub on ribs overnight?
Yes, you can. However, rubs contain salt and salt dries out meat. For this reason, it’s better to leave out the salt from any homemade dry rub you want to use and add it the following day (right before cooking).
Tips for making dry rub for pork
- You will get about 8 teaspoons of seasoning (almost 3 tablespoons) out of this batch. This will be enough to season 2 pounds of pork. If you need more, just double/triple the recipe.
- Even though this is a dry rub recipe for pork, you can try using it for chicken wings as well.
- Store it in a sealed jar in your pantry. It will last for several months.
- I use regular paprika but feel free to use smoked paprika, if that is what you have on hand!
If you like making your own seasonings, try Homemade Italian Seasoning or Homemade Fajita Seasoning Mix.
Homemade Dry Rub for Pork
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together.
- Store in a ziploc bag/sealed jar in your pantry.
Notes
- This amount of rub is enough to season 2 pounds (1 kg) of meat.
- This recipe can be easily doubled/tripled ….
- This is a basic recipe for a pork dry rub. Granulated onion, sugar, cayenne pepper can be added as well.
Going to try this on a 9 1/2 lb pork shoulder for the Superbowl…rubbing it up and letting it marinade until Saturday night then it goes on the treager low and slow about 12 hours!! Tried this before on these conquistadors I made and it was delicious!! Oh and go KC Chiefs…I guess…lol not my team but Kansas claims them and their Kermit the frog quarterback….lol
I just made this dry rub tonight and have it on my pork ribs that head to the smoker tomorrow! Can’t wait, the dry rub smelled wonderful! Thank you for sharing.
You are welcome, Allison! Hope you find some more recipes you might like on our blog. :)
Spice mixes like this are so convenient to have on hand, and even make cute hostess gifts in a pinch!
Right? :)
So many great ideas for homemade rubs and sauces. I think I need to try this one with smoked paprika because I’m obsessed with smoked paprika at the moment. :)
Yay! :)
I bet this run add so much flavour. Definitely going to give it a go!
Let me know what you think!
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for this recipe. I smoked 2 racks of ribs today with this seasoning. I was going to make it as written but I decided to add a little cayenne, granulated onion and some cumin. I used hot smoked paprika. This was AWESOME! I am enjoying my ribs as I type. My house is sugar free and it’s always hard to find good sugar free rub recipes.
Thank you for your feedback, Brandy! Hope you some more recipes from our blog. Happy Cooking!
I love adding cinnamon to flavors like this, it really adds to it! Can’t wait to make this
It does, doesn’t it?
I am loving all the flavours going on in this rub. Definitely going to give it a go.
That’s good to hear, Dannii!