Arthur Bryant's Meat & Rib Rub

Arthur Bryant is BBQ royalty, and in Kansas City's he's a BBQ god. It's hard to cook for the masses. Since everyones' tastes differ, the easiest way to please the most people is to be mediocre. Most people don't really appreciate good BBQ. They don't understand what it takes to craft a BBQ flavor profile and to layer flavors with just the right amount of smoke. Arthur Bryant's takes some of that guess work out with their rub.
You can't paint the Mona Lisa with poor quality paint. Ditto for BBQ. If you use a poor quality rub, you lost the battle before the first shot was fired.
Arthur Bryant's rub isn't overly complex but it has an outstanding sweet and smoky profile.
Primary flavor tone is paprika, but there are subtle notes of ground mustard and pepper.
My test smoke was on three slabs of ribs that I cut to St. Louis-style. I rubbed the ribs liberally with Arthur Bryant's and put them in the refrigerator in plastic wrap overnight. In all, the ribs were rubbed for a total of 16 hours. I had very little rub left in the 6 ounce bottle, but I probably could have done one more slab.
The ribs smoked for four hours over hickory. I wrapped them in foil after 2 hours.
I'm always very skeptical with commercial rubs, but this was great. I was pleasantly surprised.
The only issue I have with this rub is the price. If you can get it for under $1 per ounce, it's a steal. But that's not easy. Depending on where you live, you may have to order it from the company's website.
A 2-pack of 6 ounce bottles from their website will set you back $24.50. It's simply not worth that, and I really like this rub.

MY RATING:

OFFICIAL RUB REVIEW: If you're a BBQ amateur, this is a fast way to feel (and cook) like a pro. The flavor profile will take you to a new level. Not sugar-heavy, so it doesn't burn on the smoker. Not to hot and not too sweet. It will be a crowd pleaser.

WHY DIDN'T IT GET 5 STARS? It has an intense smoke flavor, which surprisingly doesn't come across as artificial. I like to leave the smoking to the wood and the flavoring to the wood.

BANG FOR THE BUCK:  If you can get a 6 ounce bottle for around $6, jump on it. Get more than one. You won't regret it. Much more than that, the value just isn't there.