A dry rub is a mix of salt, pepper and spices. It’s used to infuse flavor, tenderize proteins, and prevent meat from drying out during cooking. Got time? Opt for a dry rub—the flavor gets more enhanced the longer it sits on your protein. 

In barbeque, dry loves dry and wet loves wet. Before using a dry rub, pat your proteins dry in order to get all of those delicious spices to stick. Get in there with your hands and really rub them in for maximum flavor impact. If your meat is wet, your rub will run right off, and no one wants that. 

A wet rub is a marinade in which the spices are mixed with an acid (like vinegar), oil, or water. Just like a dry rub, it infuses flavor and keeps the meat from drying out during cooking. Thanks to its vinegar content, it tenderizes meat in a hurry, which makes it perfect for when you’re pressed for time.

Sauces and wet rubs can be continually added to the meat during cooking. We recommend using a spray bottle or a brush depending on how thick the liquid is. We also lightly drizzle or spoon our wet rub, mop sauce, or other sauces over the meat after cooking to keep it nice and moist.

If you don’t know the difference, we don’t blame you. Pitmasters who learned their craft in the country, like we did, use the two terms interchangeably. Outside of our circle, “seasoning” refers to only salt and pepper, while “flavoring” is any added herbs and spices, like you’ll find in our rubs. 

A "binder" is a term used in BBQ circles that refers to coating the meat with a sauce to help the rub “bind” before cooking. Our rubs get top marks for sticking to the meat on their own, so we forego binders and let the rub shine. However, if you want to use a binder, mustard is a great flavor enhancer on most meats and doesn’t disrupt the cooking. We love this one from True Made Foods. Experiment with and without a binding mustard and see what you like best! 

The tradition of BBQ is older than America itself. With its roots in African tribes, BBQ was brought to North America by those who were enslaved by European colonists. Depending on where those colonists were from, regional styles developed as African Americans cooked for enslavers’ tastes.

Well, we’re in it to start! Ed’s contributions to barbeque were recognized with his induction into the HOF in 2022, cementing his legend among America’s most influential Pitmasters. The BBQ Hall of Fame is dedicated to recognizing, documenting, and preserving the heritage of barbeque, as well as spreading education that honors its history and traditions. 

Ed Mitchell has been featured in books by Calvin Trillin, John T. Edge, Peter Kaminsky, and Michael Pollan. You can also watch him on the small screen in the Netflix original food documentary film, “Cooked,” based on Michael Pollan’s book of the same name, “A Cook’s Tour” with Anthony Bourdain (S2E12), and “Throwdown With Bobby Flay” (Episode BT0607HA).

You can get a taste of The Pitmaster’s craft at our restaurant, The Preserve, or you can order our famous smoked meats and sides from Goldbelly. If you’re more of a DIY type, you can pick up our signature sauces and rubs right here, to get some of that Pitmaster magic for your next BBQ.