Dry Rubs

If you are not familiar with dry rubs, then you need to be.  Meat on the barbecue should be coated with a dry rub before cooking. It will add flavor, texture, color and a bark (a crust) to the meat.  The taste, texture and flavors imparted by a rub are one of the main ingredients of great barbecue.
Merlin's Magic Dry Rub
This is a great rub for ribs, pork, chicken and salmon.  Each recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups of rub, a fairly decent amount.  I'll generally make 2X or 3X quantity and keep the extra in shaker jars.  It will last for months.  Sift all ingredients together before mixing.
     1 X        3 X 
    5 TB     1 Cup          Paprika
    4 TB     3/4 Cup      Turbinado sugar*
    2 TB     1/3 Cup      Salt
    3 TB     1/2 Cup      Onion powder
    3 TB     1/2 Cup      Garlic powder
    2 TB     1/3 Cup      Ground black pepper
    2 TB     1/3 Cup      Chili powder
    1 TB     3 TB           Cayenne (but ONLY if you like a hot kick)
    2 TB    1/3 Cup       Dry mustard
    2 TB    1/3 Cup       Thyme or Coriander
(* Turbinado: A raw sugar that will not burn until a much higher temperature than regular sugars)

Merlin's Magic Brisket Dry Rub
My brisket rub is fairly simple but delicious. This recipe compliments the meat and brings out the great brisket flavor. You can obviously adjust or add ingredients to create your own rub, but this one really works great.
Mix the following together.  Makes enough for a couple of packer size briskets:

     ¼ cup Kosher or Sea Salt
     2 Tblsp Black Pepper
     ¼ cup Turbinado Sugar
     ½ cup Garlic Powder
     ¼ cup Cumin
     2 Tblsp Chili Powder