Sauce, Rub combos that compliment each other

Knoxvols

Hi all I’ve been on a mission as of late to find a good rub and bbq sauce combo that work well complimenting each other and the meat.   We grill smoke lots of Chicken, ribs, shoulder, and it usually turns out fine. I’m just looking for suggestion that others have tried that go well together. I feel like I’ve messed up some good cooks here by adding the wrong things.  

Thanks

kl8ton

I feel it's best to keep it simple.  In my "early years" I thought that rubs and sauces and marinades and condiments were what counted the most. We're almost trained that way as restaurants and pre packaged and highly processed foods require them all as a crutch to make protein passable. At any fast food or franchised establishment, it doesn't matter what protien is between the buns because the sauce masks it. 

Now. . .  I'm too far on the other side.  A common question asked at parties I cook for: 

Where is the bbq sauce? 

Ha!  There is none!   Taste the meat. 

I'm not letting you drown prime brisket with high fructose corn syrup. 

I guess what I'm saying is,  let the meat do the talking.  Find a rub that compliments the meat or a sauce that doesn't have sugar or corn syrup in it... or at least sugar is the 5th ingredient. 

Ok I'll put my soap box away. 

kl8ton

PING @RRP
He has some recipes that will knock your socks off.  

Knoxvols

kl8ton said:

I feel it's best to keep it simple.  In my "early years" I thought that rubs and sauces and marinades and condiments were what counted the most. We're almost trained that way as restaurants and pre packaged and highly processed foods require them all as a crutch to make protein passable. At any fast food or franchised establishment, it doesn't matter what protien is between the buns because the sauce masks it. 

Now. . .  I'm too far on the other side.  A common question asked at parties I cook for: 

Where is the bbq sauce? 

Ha!  There is none!   Taste the meat. 

I'm not letting you drown prime brisket with high fructose corn syrup. 

I guess what I'm saying is,  let the meat do the talking.  Find a rub that compliments the meat or a sauce that doesn't have sugar or corn syrup in it... or at least sugar is the 5th ingredient. 

Ok I'll put my soap box away. 

I definitely agree to keep it simple and let the meat shine which I normally follow that’ methodology.  That said though sometimes we want those sticky bbq ribs or chicken and I can’t find a good sauce/rub combo.  

fence0407

For a classic bbq flavor, I typically season pork or chicken with Lane's BBQ Sweet Heat rub and then mop with Sweet Baby Ray's Original BBQ Sauce. Below are links to their websites. 

https://lanesbbq.com/collections/rubs

https://www.sweetbabyrays.com/Sauces/Barbecue-Sauces/Original-Barbecue-Sauce

EDIT - I would also throw in @AlbuKirky Seasonings into that mix. Specifically their Green Chile rub! I use that quite often on pork and it's fantastic. Come to think of it, I use it on a lot of different things - like fried eggs instead of S&P. Here is a link to their stuff - highly recommend! 

https://www.albukirkyseasonings.com/collections/rubs-spice-blends