FOUR MONKEYS BBQ: Pork Rub – 240g

Sweet smoke, straight to the shoulder

This is the rub that built the Four Monkeys name on the Australian competition circuit. Pitmaster Daniel Barrett blended it for one job — pork — and it does that job with the kind of balance that wins tables. Sweet enough to build a lacquered bark, savoury enough that it never tips into candy.

The flavour

Paprika and sugar lead, warm and sweet across the front palate. Garlic and mustard fill the middle with a proper savoury backbone, and a whisper of chilli lifts the finish without ever reading as hot. It is the classic Australian pork profile, tightened up.

How to cook with it

• Coat a pork shoulder heavily the night before, then smoke at 110°C until it probes like butter and pulls into moist strands.
• Season a rack of ribs on both sides, smoke for three hours, wrap with a splash of apple juice, then finish naked to set the bark.
• Score pork belly, work the rub into the cuts and roast hot to start, then drop the heat to render the fat down.
• Dust it over thick loin chops on a screaming grill for a fast weeknight cook with competition flavour.
• Rogue move: stir a spoonful through the butter you toss roasted pumpkin in — the sweet paprika does the rest.

In the shaker

A medium-coarse rust-red grind flecked with white salt and darker spice. It clings well to a mustard binder and blooms deep red as the sugars caramelise.

Ingredients & Dietary

Ingredients: Sugar, salt, garlic, chilli, other mixed spices, no more than 2% anti caking agent (551)

Dietary: No gluten-containing ingredients are listed, so we describe this as gluten friendly rather than certified gluten free. Allergens and traces — always check the physical label.

The Rub Smuggler's Verdict

Every fridge needs one pork rub it can trust, and this is the crate I keep behind the false panel. Bind with mustard, season from a height, and let the sugars do the work low and slow. Glaze it late with Kosmos Q Apple Chipotle BBQ Sauce, then put a spoon of Drunken Sailor Smokey Tomato Relish on the plate to cut the richness.

FAQ

Is Four Monkeys Pork Rub gluten free?
There is no gluten ingredient in the blend, so we list it as gluten friendly rather than certified gluten free. Always check the physical label.

How much should I use?
Bind the meat with a thin smear of mustard or oil, then season from a height until the surface is evenly covered — roughly a tablespoon per kilo of pork.

Will the sugar burn?
Only over fierce direct heat. Low and slow at 110–135°C it caramelises into a sweet mahogany bark.