“The best all-purpose BBQ rub for Father’s Day” is not a title to be taken lightly. Ask anyone who considers themselves a Grill Master, and they’ll tell you they’ve got the best recipe in town. A recipe honed through years of trial and error. A recipe that stands up to the greatest barbecue rubs in culinary history.

But they’d be wrong, because we’ve got the best all-purpose BBQ rub 🙂

Alright, we’ll stop bragging and start proving ourselves. This is a recipe created and fine-tuned by our own John Taylor, Marketing Manager for Cultivar Wine and Caspar Estate. A grill enthusiast since his formative years, John was big on store-bought marinades before until he caught an episode of Chef Bobby Flay’s first TV show, Grillin’ & Chillin. In the episode, Chef Flay explained how a dry rub flavors without tenderizing. This is especially important when smoking or grilling.

The soon-to-be Celebrity Chef recommended a few spices to get started, and using this as a base, John began experimenting with his own recipe.

Ingredients For The Best All-Purpose BBQ Rub

A dry rub is any combination of spices, salt and sugar used to season meat prior to cooking. Unlike seasonings, rubs are almost never added after cooking. Done properly, a dry rub can also be an alternative to a wet brine.

To create the best all-purpose BBQ rub for Father’s Day, you’ll need the following:

• 4 tbsp. Salt
• 4 tbsp. Pepper
• 4 tbsp. Smoked Paprika
• 4 tbsp. Chili Powder
• 3 tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 3 tbsp. Onion Powder
• 3 tbsp. Garlic Powder
• 3 tbsp. Lemon Pepper
• 2 tbsp. Ground Cumin
• 2 tbsp. Ground Coriander
• 1/2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

Combine all ingredients in a Mason jar or other airtight container and blend thoroughly. Store in a cool, dry place.

Using Your All-Purpose Dry Rub

As the name indicates, this is an excellent all-purpose rub: use it on steaks, pork loin, brisket, fish, or chicken. The salt & brown sugar can act as a dry brine, so we recommend applying it to your meat two hours ahead of grill time.

That said, you can use this rub right before you place your meat on the grill, or even as long as 8 hours before grilling or smoking. If you want to season your meat for longer than 2 hours, store the seasoned meat in the refrigerator. Then, take it out about an hour before placing it on the grill to return the meat to room temperature.

Of course, there’s one more necessary ingredient: the wine! Nothing goes with steaks quite like a Cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon. We have varietals from Coombsville, Oakville, and other Napa appellations that will be the highlight of our party. If you’re putting pork, lamb, or burgers on the grill, try a Cultivar Pinot Noir. Cultivar features Pinots from Sonoma Coast, Russian River, Alexander Valley, and other premiere Pinot Noir regions.

And if you’re looking for the perfect Father’s Day present for your grilling dad, try our “Father’s Day Cabernet” gift set. A bottle each of our 2019 Cultivar “Gold Label” Cabernet Sauvignon, North Coast, and our 2017 Cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, in a beautiful Cultivar gift box. Specially priced at $75 for Father’s Day!