Pork Stank has been one of our top-selling pork rubs since we added it to our lineup over a decade ago. It was created for us by the owner of a competition barbecue team who also ran a successful barbecue catering business.

This is a flavorful all-purpose pork rub and is more sweet than hot, like many great pork rubs. This 16-ingredient pork rub has won competitions up and down the east coast in both the pork butt and pork rib categories. We tested this in our test kitchen using pork shoulder. We tasted it without sauce to get the pork rub’s full flavor. Our kitchen taste testers claimed it was perfect.

Flavor Profile

Pork Stank is sweet and earthy with some herby undertones and a very mild back-of-the-throat heat.

How to Use

When using Pork Stank as a pork rub, you can apply it in advance, with some people liking to apply it 8-24 hours before smoking. The truth is that most of the rub's molecules are too large and will penetrate less than a 1/2" into the meat during this time.

A good pork rub is meant more as a surface treatment for flavor and to create the bark. We like to apply the rub just before cooking with a thin layer of oil (olive, canola, or vegetable oil all work well), as most of the flavors in the rub are oil soluble. Spread the rub generously on the thicker portions of the shoulder.

You want to maximize the flavor when smoking large cuts of pork butts because these roasts have a great deal of meat compared to the available surface area. You need to get the most out of your rub and apply as much of the Pork Stank into the meat as it will hold.

One trick we did learn from our time working with the competition barbecuers was to add two tablespoons of Pork Stank to one cup of apple juice to spray on the meat while it is smoking.

Once the pork butt hits 150 to 160°F, the moisture from inside the meat starts to move to the surface and begins evaporating, which cools the surface of the meat. This is what starts drying the exterior and helps form the bark.

If you're not familiar with a pork shoulder, there are two halves, the "Boston butt" (also called the pork butt) and the "picnic ham.” The "butt" comes from the top half of the shoulder, from the back of the pig near the spine through the shoulder blade.

Butts normally weigh between 4 and 14 pounds and typically have shoulder blade bones, although some butchers will remove the bones and sell them as "boneless butts.” Calling it, a butt seems odd since it comes from the front of the hog. But make no mistake, when seasoned and smoked correctly, this portion of the hog provides the tastiest meat for pulled pork sandwiches.

In addition to pork butts and pork ribs, this Pork Stank is equally delicious on ham and pork chops.