Best Dry Rub for Beef Roast – Easy Homemade Recipe

Add a new flavor to a traditional beef roast with this delicious homemade dry rub recipe. This spice blend is one of our easiest pot roast recipes, and it’s a family favorite that tastes amazing. This dry rub recipe only has 5 basic pantry ingredients — Kosher Salt, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Cumin & Chili Powder.

One of our favorite kitchen tricks is to use different meat dry rubs to spice up every day meals. Yes, you could go to your local grocery store and buy a dry rub, but homemade rubs are so much better.

Most good rub beef recipes use very common ingredients found in any spice cabinet so they’re easy to throw together any time. You can make a delicious dry rub and use it the day-of, or make a large batch and store for a later date.

Beef dry rubs are a great way to add flavor to beef, but not any fat. One of the many reasons we like rubs is because they can create a savory crust on beef.

This is an easy pot roast seasoning recipe that works with any cut of roast. Our favorite beef cut to use this on is a chuck roast, but it’s also great on arm roast, sirloin roast, bottom round roast, eye of round roast — you name it! It’s a great all-purpose rub with amazing flavor that creates a savory crust on the beef, with a little kick.

What is a Dry Rub?

Meat rubs come in two basic varieties: wet and dry. We usually seem to use dry rubs, but we do have a few favorite wet rubs too.

Both dry rubs and wet rubs use herbs and spices. Wet rubs differ because they also use a wet ingredient like soy sauce or oil to form a paste.

A dry rub is a mixture of spices that you rub into a piece of meat.

What does a Dry Rub do?

A well-balanced dry rub does three things to a roast:

• Enhances the beef’s natural flavor and beefiness without masking it
• Forms a beautiful, flavorful crust through caramelization
• Infuses every bite with a spices that can be savory, smoky or subtle sweetness.

If you have a cut of beef that you want to up the flavor on, try a dry rub. You’ll be amazed at how it can transform beef.

How Do You Make a Dry Rub?

Making this roast dry rub is super simple. We think the easiest way is to add all the ingredients to a small bowl and stir with a fork to combine. Or, you could also place all ingredients in a container with a lid and shake to combine.

Ingredients

This recipe only uses five-ingredients. We like it because of its simplicity, but it’s also a great foundation if you want to customize it with other ingredients. If so, think outside of the box and try adding a tsp onion powder, celery salt, sea salt, garlic powder, dark brown sugar, red pepper flakes, or other dry herbs to create your own spice blends.

• Kosher Salt: Salt is the foundation of any good seasoning blend. It helps the meat’s natural flavors and with moisture retention. Kosher Salt is ideal because it has larger, coarse crystals that than regular table salt, which makes it easier to apply and it adheres to the meat better.

• Black Pepper: Fresh ground black pepper adds a slightly spicy kick to the meat
  
• Garlic Powder: This ingredient is an umami booster. Unlike fresh garlic, it won’t burn at high temperatures, which is why it’s ideal for roasting
  
• Chili Powder: If you enjoy a bit of heat, the chili powder adds a touch of spice without overwhelming the other flavors.
  
• Cumin: Cumin adds a slightly nutty and earthy flavor that works exceptionally well with beef.

How to Apply Dry Rub to Roast

You really can’t apply a rub incorrectly, but here are a few helpful hints:

1. Pat roast dry with a paper towel.
2. Sprinkle rub on beef.
3. Use 1-2 tablespoons of a dry rub for each pound of meat.
4. Apply the rub directly to the surface of the meat using your hands.
5. After applying, put it in a Ziploc bag or place roast in a shallow dish and cover. Then, place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours before cooking. This will give time for the flavors to be absorbed in the meat. The longer you let the beef sit with the rub, the more you’ll notice the rub’s flavors in the cooked beef.

How to Store Dry Rub

This recipe will make a big batch and is enough for several pot roasts. The best way to store a spice rub is in an airtight container on a shelf in a cool, dry place. Alternatively, you can also store in a ziploc bag in the freezer. It should remain fresh for four months. For storage, we really like these small mason jars, but any air-tight container will do.

What Pieces of Meat Are Best for This Roast Rub?

We like this rub best on beef cuts, like chuck roast. However, it is an all-purpose rub so you can try it on other pieces of meat. We have tried it on pork and chicken, and it was good. 

How Do You Cook Beef Roast?

There are four main methods to cooking pot roast: stovetop in a heavy pot, oven in a roasting pan, slow cooker and pressure cooker. We’ve used all these methods, and are two favorite methods are either in the oven in a covered roasting pan or in a slow cooker.

The reason we would rather not cook a roast on the stove top is because it requires more attention; you can’t set-it-and-forget-it.  The pressure cooker allows the roast cook faster, but in our opinion, the texture and taste are slightly different than cooking in an oven or slow cooker.

We’ve written a very detailed post on how to cook beef roast, and it includes one of our favorite classic beef roast recipes.

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More Beef Recipes to Try:

• Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon
• 7 Steps to Grilling Steak to Perfection
• Easy Carne Asada Street Tacos
• Prime Rib Roast with Garlic Herb Butter
• How to choose the best cut of steak (Top 4 cuts)
• What everybody ought to know about beef cuts
• Homemade dry rub (the secret 8:3:1:1 ratio)

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