Kinder's The BBQ Blend Rub, 6.25 oz

Kinder's started in 1946 as a butcher shop in San Pablo, California, and three generations later the seasoning line still reads like something worked out behind a meat counter. The BBQ Blend is the house barbecue rub: sweet and smoky rather than sharp, built to sit on meat through a long cook.

That sweetness is the reason to treat it as a rub and not a table shaker. Under indirect heat it darkens and sets into the crust barbecue cooks call bark, which is why it suits pork shoulder, spare ribs, and chicken thighs better than a two-minute sear. Coat the meat on every side, press it in with your palm so it sticks, and give it at least twenty minutes before cooking, or season the night before if you have the time.

The 6.25 oz shaker holds enough for several cookouts. It also earns its place on burgers, roasted potatoes, and a tray of wings finished in the oven.