Long-time readers may already know that we prefer making our own seasoning rub for smoked meats. That said, if you’re pressed for time or just don’t have access to all the ingredients you need, a store bought rub can work well in a pinch.
In this guide, we’ll share details about some of our favorite brands, focusing on the ones that work best with smoked turkey.
Best Store Bought Rub For Smoked Turkey
Meat Church, Snake River Farms, and Lawry’s all offer tasty seasoning mixes that will complement your smoked turkey. Look for milder blends that won’t overpower the lean poultry. Rubs that are overly spicy or that include bold ingredients like ground espresso beans will be too much for turkey.
What Makes a Great Seasoning Rub?
The best seasoning rubs will complement the smoke flavor, as well as the natural qualities of the meat. They should provide a nice kick of their own without overwhelming these other flavors.
The spice rubs sold in the store are available in a range of flavors and styles. Some are sweet and salty, while others are more herb-centric. Some might rely on the dry heat of black pepper, and some take it up a notch with cayenne or dried chili peppers.
Which spice rub you choose depends on the type of meat you’re smoking—turkey, in this case—as well as your own personal taste. That’s one of the reasons we prefer to make our own—we can tailor the recipe to suit the situation.
Best Store Bought Rub For Smoked Turkey: Product Reviews
Meat Church “Holy Gospel” BBQ Rub
Though this seasoning rub is fairly mild, it offers a smoky quality of its own, with an undercurrent of black pepper. The primary ingredients are sugar and salt, but you can also detect hints of paprika, garlic, and celery in the background.
The “Holy Gospel” blend came about as the result of customer feedback. Meat Church has many other offerings, among them “Holy Cow” and “Gospel.” As you might have guessed, this rub is a hybrid of those two.
Consumers claimed that “Gospel” was too mild, while the “Holy Cow” recipe contained too much pepper. With this combination, Meat Church has attempted to alleviate both of these issues—and to great effect.
The rub is excellent on turkey, but you can also use it to season ribs and beef brisket. It even works well on grilled vegetables like eggplant and zucchini.
Lane’s BBQ Signature Rub
If you (or anyone on your guest list) are following a Keto diet, give this seasoning rub from Lane’s BBQ a try. The recipe includes no sugar, so it’s Keto-friendly.
Like the “Holy Gospel” blend, Lane’s Signature rub has a mild flavor that won’t overwhelm the lean turkey. It’s made up primarily of kosher salt and black pepper, with an extra boost from ground mustard and ancho chile powder.
Best of all, this is an all-purpose rub that can be applied to anything you put on the grill or smoker. We’ve even been known to mix it into side dishes like potato and egg salad.
Traeger Winemaker’s Napa Valley Rub
It should come as no surprise that an offering from Traeger wound up on our list. The famed pellet grill manufacturers also feature an impressive lineup of seasoning rubs, and this one is ideal for poultry.
Unlike most of the other products listed here, this one relies on the subtle flavors of garlic, fennel, and red wine. It isn’t the best fit for red meat—for that, go for one of Traeger’s bolder blends. But the faint licorice flavor is excellent with smoked turkey.
Be forewarned that Traeger doesn’t provide full ingredient lists for their spice rubs. However, all of their blends are kosher, as well as gluten- and GMO-free.
Snake River Farms Rosemary Roast Seasoning
Available as one of the four mixes in the Snake River Farms Crafted Seasoning Pack, the Rosemary Roast blend offers an herb-forward alternative to spicier rubs.
Snake River Farms offers quality meat products, and their spice blends follow this tradition. We prefer to save the Rosemary Roast blend for poultry, but it would also pair well with beef tenderloin.
Plowboys Yardbird Rub
You can tell just from the name that Plowboys is attempting to create the ideal poultry rub here. This award-winning blend is made up of salt, sugar, chili pepper, garlic, onion, paprika, and mustard. Unsurprisingly, it’s superb with chicken and turkey.
The best store bought rub for smoked turkey will be mild and slightly sweet, with just a touch of heat. This one delivers on all levels, as the mustard and chili pepper provide balance to the sweet-salty profile.
Lawry’s Perfect Blend Chicken Rub
Although the label specifies chicken, this savory and bold herb blend from Lawry’s can be applied to turkey and vegetables as well. The company is known for their seasoning salt, but rest assured that this rub isn’t too salty.
Garlic and rosemary form the base of the flavor profile, which also includes thyme and parsley. As you might imagine, these ingredients smell heavenly when exposed to heat, especially when combined with wood smoke and the sizzle of savory meat.
We should point out that this blend can be tough to find on standard supermarket shelves. Fortunately, it’s readily available online.
Fords Gourmet Foods Bone Suckin’ All Purpose Rub
If you’ve ever tried the famed “Bone Suckin’ Sauce” from Fords Gourmet Foods, you might have some idea of what the company can offer in terms of flavor. Brown sugar is the main ingredient here, but there’s a decent amount of heat from paprika and pepper also.
This rub is versatile enough for steaks and pork as well as turkey and chicken. In fact, it’s even good when sprinkled on popcorn. Since the flavor is mild and mostly sweet, it’s a great option when there are a lot of young kids on your guest list.
How Much Spice Rub Do You Need For Smoked Turkey?
When smoking turkey, you don’t need to apply as much rub as you would on brisket and pork butt. Estimate about one teaspoon for every pound of turkey. In some cases, you might not even need this much.
The rub should coat the turkey without forming a thick paste on the skin. If some of the rub is falling off as you apply it, you’re probably using too much.
Tips on Application
When applying a spice rub, remember not to cross-contaminate. The hand that touches the raw meat should never come into contact with the rest of the seasoning rub. Otherwise, you’ll need to discard it.
First, coat the surface of the turkey with a layer of cooking spray. This will act as a binder for the spices so they don’t fall off. The oil will also help prevent the turkey skin from splitting open.
Use one hand to sprinkle the rub onto the turkey, and the other to rub it in. Make sure to rub the spices both over and under the skin. Don’t be afraid to really massage the spices into the meat—there’s a reason they’re called rubs and not sprinkles.
Also, wash your hands thoroughly before and after handling raw meat, especially poultry.
Should I Put The Rub On The Turkey The Night Before?
It’s fine to season the turkey the day before you plan to cook it. This saves a bit of time on the day of the barbecue. However, if you forget to season it in advance, don’t worry—the turkey should still taste fine.
If you do add the seasoning rub to the turkey the day before, put the bird back in the fridge without covering it up. That way, the skin will dry out, allowing it to crisp up better once you put it on the smoker.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy enough to make your own spice rub, but there are plenty of good options available in the supermarket, too. Once you know what flavor profile you prefer, it will be easier to experiment with your own blends in the future.
Happy grilling!
