Costco has started selling Traeger’s Chili Garlic dry rub seasoning and I was eager to give it a try. You get almost two pounds of seasoning so it should last you a while!
Let’s take a look at what’s in this rub and the best way to put it to use.
Nutrition and Ingredients
Let’s take a closer look at what you get with this jar of dry rub.
Nutrition Facts
You get 29 ounces of seasoning in each jar. One serving is 1/4 teaspoon and there are about 822 servings per jar.
The nutritional facts for a single serving are:
- Calories: 0
- Fat: 0g (0% DV)
- Cholesterol: 0mg (0% DV)
- Sodium: 190mg (8% DV)
- Carbohydrates: 0g (0% DV)
- Protein: 0g
I have ranted about serving sizes before when I tried Trader Joe’s BBQ 101 Seasoning.
Calling 1/4 teaspoon a serving is ridiculous as you need about a tablespoon of rub to fully season a pound of meat.
I suspect Traeger is using 1/4 teaspoon as a serving because if they used 1 tablespoon as a serving then the label would have to say it contained 96% of your Daily Value of sodium.
Ingredient List
The seasoning has the following ingredients:
- Salt
- Cane Sugar
- Spices (Including Basil)
- Brown Sugar
- Paprika
- Garlic
- Chili pepper
- Sunflower Oil
- Cane Molasses
Taste
The primary flavor of this rub is salty. You get a surprising amount of basil along with savory heat that is finally finished by a touch of sweetness.
It is worth noting that, despite containing three types of sugar, this is not a sweet rub.
You get salty, savory heat.
I have been using this rub on tri tip and other cuts of beef and on fatty cuts of pork like the butt. I season the meats liberally and cook smoke them in my pellet grill using Traeger Gourmet wood pellets for smoke.
The rub gives a beautiful color to the meats and the boldness of the flavor profile works best with beef.
If you wanted to use this rub for baby back ribs or chicken breasts then I would suggest blending it with an equal amount of brown sugar.
Costco Value
Most Traeger products are wildly overpriced so it is nice to have Costco impose reasonable prices.
I bought the 29 ounce jar of rub for $14.49 which comes out to a cost of $0.50 per ounce.
You can buy a 9 ounce tin of this same rub at Home Depot for $9.99 which comes out to a cost of $1.11 per ounce.
This means you will save $0.61 per ounce (55%) by purchasing the rub at Costco.
