Over the last several years, Americans have become increasingly fascinated with “sweet and heat” flavors. We first watched this trend emerge when we introduced our Honey Chipotle Rub about 5 years ago. Proving that “sweet heat” is a trend and not a fad was evident with the introduction of our blend Bourbon Molasses which has quickly become one of our most popular rubs.

The Importance of the Right Heat

Now, heat is subjective, as “burn your face off hot” to one person may be relatively mild to a more experienced chile head (who has a higher threshold for heat). Some chile heads are only interested in crazy hot heat that lingers - think something with Carolina Reaper Chiles (1,400,000 - 2,000,000 SHU), while others are more fans of a quick hitting heat that doesn’t linger. For this type of heat, we're big fans of Habanero Chiles - a quick heat (150,000 - 325,000 SHU) that dissipates quickly.

Why Sugar Matters in a Rub

Sweet, of course, is equally important in a rub. Many companies will take the boring, tired approach of using just highly processed plain white sugar, maybe some brown sugar, or if they are really feeling adventurous a raw sugar like demerara in their blends. We like for our sugar bases to be a bit more out-of-the-ordinary - honey, pineapple and molasses being some of our current favorites.  

When creating a rub for chicken or pork, sugar is essential; as it helps in forming the critical "bark" or crust that can really lock in the meat’s juices. We are very aware that excessive use of salt and sugar has directly led to a slew of health issues in the U.S. (rising obesity rates, diabetes, high blood pressure etc.), but we also know that salt and sugar play starring roles in the most spectacular rubs for the grill or the smoker. So how do we balance this? We have chosen to only use salt and sugar in our blends as a way to enhance flavor, and not as excessive fillers to drive down the cost of the blend.

The Story Behind Our Honey Habanero Rub

In my continuous quest for the next rub, I typically have numerous rubs "in the works". So I consistently have three stages going on - the next idea, sourcing and testing. I am always on the lookout for my next inspiration. It might be from an article I read, a recipe I found or a new product in a related category. An idea might also spring forward from a new product we’ve sourced (we are sourcing new products just about every day). In our test kitchen we constantly have a variety of new seasoning blends in the works. Some will be in the recipe development stage, while others are further along in the process and are being tested on the grill or in the smoker on chicken, pork or fish.

If you've been buying from us for a while you've probably read somewhere along the way that some rubs go through multiple tweaks in the test kitchen before we hit just the right blend of spices, while some never make it out of the test kitchen. Over the years, the test kitchen failures aren't quite as frequent as they were in the early days, but that has more to do with spending more time in the research and inspiration phase and also having a better knowledge of what spices and ingredients work best together.

Now for this particular rub, I knew that the Habanero was going to be my base chile (looking for quick heat), but it was up in the air as to what was going to be my sugar base. I've been spending a lot of time experimenting with our Granulated Molasses but could never quite get the flavor profile of the Molasses and Habanero just right. After a couple of test versions using either Granulated Molasses or Granulated Honey I found the right flavor with the honey.

What I've found over the years is that the citrusy flavor of orange zest tends to play well with the Habanero. For the light amount of salt that I added to this blend I wanted something just a bit smoky, so I went with a Texas inspired Smoked Mesquite Salt.

How Much and When

The general rule of thumb with the majority of our rubs is to use about 1 tablespoon of dry rub per pound of chicken or pork. If you’re using our Honey Habanero Rub on fish or shrimp use about half that much to start. I typically recommend using a bit less the first time you experiment with a rub, as you can always add more flavor if desired, but you can’t take flavor away if you over season.

I’ve seasoned both chicken and pork with this rub, and have then let them sit in the refrigerator for 1-24 hours to allow the seasoning to marry with the meat before smoking or grilling. 3-4 hours seemed to work best for me, but you should experiment until you find what works best for you. For fish, I only let the seasoning sit for about 30 minutes and for shrimp about 15 minutes before cooking.

Flavor Profile

First you will pick up the unmistakable sweetness of the honey, followed by the quick blast of Habanero heat and then you'll notice hints of citrus and a bit of smokiness from the salt and the paprika.   

What’s In It

Hand blended from granulated honey, orange zest, paprika, organic habanero chile powder, smoked mesquite salt, garlic and onion.    

Helpful Hints

If you are a fan of chicken rubs with a bit of sweet and heat then be sure to check out our best selling Applewood Chipotle Rub and if you love pork ribs or pulled pork then you won’t want to miss our barbecue competition winning Pork Stank.

Related Blog Posts

What Spices Go with What Meat
The 66 Best Chicken Seasonings, Spices and Rubs
The 12 Secrets of Cooking Smoked Ribs
How to Make the Perfect Homemade BBQ Sauce


Nutritional Information
Serving Size 1 Teaspoon, Amount Per Serving: Calories 10.5, Fat Cal. 0.9, Total Fat 0.1g (0% DV), Sat. Fat 0.0g (0% DV), Trans Fat 0.0g (0% DV), Cholest. 0.0mg (0% DV), Sodium 58.7mg (2% DV), Total Carb. 2.6g (1% DV), Dietary Fiber 0.3g (1% DV), Sugars 2.4g, Protein 0.1g (0%DV), Vitamin A 3.6% DV), Vitamin C 1.2% DV), Calcium (0.1% DV), Iron (0.5% DV), Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.