Tasty Lick's BBQ products are the concoctions of an interesting guy named Fred. Fred Bernardo, aka Smokin Guitar Player, is the owner of Fred's Music and BBQ Supply in Shillington, PA. Fred's sells a wide variety music instruments as well as BBQ and grilling products, including Tasty Lick's rubs, sauces and salsas.

Fred was kind enough to send me several different samples of his spice rubs. The first one I used was the Red Eye Red Meat Rub. I had a beautiful NY Strip that was in need of some love so I brushed the it with olive oil and coated both sides with the Red Eye Rub. The sample packet was just enough to liberally season both sides of the 13 oz. steak. I let the steak chill and the spices rest for about eight hours.

After a few minutes on a hot grill the steak was perfectly seared. The rub created a nice crust on the exterior. It's not a sweet spice rub so it didn't burn when hit with the high heat. The flavor was incredibly savory. There was just the right amount of salt content. I can say, without hesitation, that Tasty Lick's Red Eye Red Meat rub is the best steak seasoning I've ever used. It's also the first sample that I've received that made me say, "I have to buy that." I will be placing an order soon and buying it in bulk.


Steak seasoning isn't the only thing that Tasty Licks does well. I used their Ribit Rib Rub and Smokin Good BBQ rub on two racks of beef ribs. Each sample pack had just enough to cover a rack of ribs. The rib rub is reminicent of a Memphis style dust. It has an underlying heat that would be great for dry ribs. However, the flavor still held its own when the sweet honey chipotle sauce was applied.

On the second rack of ribs, I used the Smokin Good BBQ rub. This rub was a mild all purpose spice rub. This rub is a typical BBQ rub with a sweet and spicy balance. None of the flavors are overly strong. It's merely intended to accent the flavor of the meat. Once the hot BBQ sauce was applied, the flavors of the rub were almost completely masked.

Tasty Licks has several more spice rubs in their catalog in additon to the three I mentioned. Rubs specifically made for Brisket, poultry and pork each feature unique flavor combinations. I still have a couple more to try myself.

Click the title of this review to view the Tasty Licks webpage. You can also find them on Facebook. As always, Tasty Licks' product ratings can be found on the "Product Reviews" page.