The Four Saucemen Original BBQ Rub Gift Set

None of the four mates behind The Four Saucemen were chefs. They were backyard cooks from Auckland's eastern suburbs who entered the first Meatstock Auckland in 2017, stayed up all night over their smokers and came home with second place in pork ribs. A year later they went back and took first.

Adam and Sarah Winter made the rubs for that first competition in their home kitchen. They had tried popular American rubs brought back by friends and weren't impressed, so they built their own, then turned it into a business in 2019 from their kitchen and garage with NZ$10,000.

By early 2025 the brand was selling through more than 500 retailers across New Zealand and Australia. In the US, the brand's Manuka Hot Honey Rub came sixth from more than 900 entries at the American Royal World Series of Barbecue, and one of the judges tracked it down afterwards to buy it.

Three of these rubs lean sweet and one leans salty, and that difference decides how you use them. The chicken, lamb and pork rubs carry between 31 and 39 g of sugars per 100 g, which gives you colour, caramelisation and bark. The beef rub has just 8.5 g, and with around 16.9 g of sodium per 100 g it works more like a seasoning salt with a lot of extra character.

None of the four is hot. The chicken and pork rubs have a little heat, the lamb rub has a subtle warmth, and the beef rub is peppery rather than spicy, so they suit a family table as well as a competition box.

Open this jar and the first thing you notice is the colour. Dried beetroot turns the rub a deep purple-red, and it brings an earthy sweetness that sits well against sea salt, garlic and pepper. With only five ingredients on the list, it seasons beef without covering the taste of it.

The short list is what makes it the most useful steak rub of the four. Sugar isn't one of the ingredients, so it's better suited to a hot sear than the sweeter rubs in the box. It carries an SCA winner's seal, and the team are qualifiers for the World Steak Cook-Off Association in Texas.

• Use it on: steak, beef short rib, brisket, venison and lamb shanks
• Also worth trying: as a curing rub on seafood

The brand calls this its most valuable rub, and its record backs that up: first at Smoke on the Coast 2021, second at Meatstock 2020, and third at the Australian BBQ Alliance 2020. Sugar leads the blend, followed by spices, sea salt, onion and garlic, with a little heat coming through at the end.

That sugar is why it works so well on poultry. It browns on the skin as the chicken cooks and gives you a deep, sticky colour. It's a good one for a butterflied bird on the kettle or a tray of Friday night wings.

• Use it on: butterflied chicken, wings, breast and thigh
• Also worth trying: 4 tablespoons mixed through 1 cup of flour for a seasoned chicken coating

This is the one that surprises people. Instead of the usual rosemary and mint, it goes in a North African direction with cumin, cinnamon, garlic and cocoa. The cocoa adds depth and a dark edge, and the sugar brings sweetness that suits the richness of lamb fat.

It has a strong record on the competition circuit too, with first place at the Kumeu BBQ Comp 2021 and fifth at Meatstock 2020. It's equally at home in summer on the grill and in winter in the slow cooker.

• Use it on: legs, shoulders and ribs of lamb
• Also worth trying: lamb steaks and mini meatballs

This is the original Four Saucemen rub and the one that took first place in pork ribs at Meatstock in both 2018 and 2019. Spices lead the blend, with Spanish smoked paprika doing the heavy lifting for the aroma and the deep orange-red colour, backed by sea salt, sugar, brown sugar and garlic.

It's sweet and smoky with a little heat, and it was built for long cooks where the sugars have time to set into a sticky bark on the meat.

• Use it on: pork ribs and pork shoulder
• Also worth trying: chicken

All four work on charcoal, gas, pellet grills and smokers. The three sweeter rubs do their best work with indirect heat and low and slow cooks, where the sugar has time to caramelise.

Not ideal for: the chicken, lamb and pork rubs over aggressive direct heat, as sugar can scorch above roughly 175°C. If you want char, cook indirect first and finish over the coals for the last few minutes. For a straight hot sear, reach for the beef rub.

1. Buy the best meat you can, then coat it with olive oil so the rub has something to stick to. Use a light coat on beef.
2. For chicken, lamb and pork, sprinkle the rub liberally on all sides about 30 minutes before cooking. Chicken and lamb can sit for longer if you have the time.
3. For beef, go lighter. An even, fine layer over all sides is enough, because this rub is much saltier than the other three.
4. Barbecue or bake pork, grill or bake beef, and barbecue, bake or grill chicken and lamb until done. An INKBIRD instant read thermometer takes the guesswork out of knowing when that is.

For ribs, season with the pork rub and finish with the Four Saucemen Manuka Hot Honey Rib Glaze for a sticky coat over the bark. You'll find the rest of the range in our Four Saucemen collection, and more options in our rub gift packs.

The Chicken Rub: Sugar, spices and spice extract, sea salt, dehydrated vegetables (onion, garlic), anticaking agent (551).

The Beef Rub: Sea salt, dehydrated vegetables (garlic, beetroot), spice, vegetable oil.

The Lamb Rub: Sugar, salt, spices and spice extract, dehydrated garlic, cocoa powder.

The Pork Rub: Spices and spice extract, sea salt, sugar, brown sugar, garlic powder, anti-caking agent (551).

All four rubs are gluten free, with no MSG and no artificial flavours or colours. No allergen or may-contain statement is listed for these rubs. If you have an allergy, check the pack before use.

Store in a cool, dry place and keep the lids on firmly between uses.