1. Name - Traeger Pork & Poultry Rub

2. Purpose - Seasoning for Pork & Poultry

3. Pros and Cons - Determining Pros vs Cons depends on your preference between Sweet vs Savory seasonings. This is definitely a "Sweet" rub with just a little bit of heat.

4. Impressions - When I first purchased my Traeger pellet grill 6 years ago I became a huge fan of their shakes and rubs. I've purchased every variety of seasoning they offered and thought that the Pork & Poultry Shake was outstanding which I would stock by the dozen. Last January, as I was preparing to throw another butt in the pit,  I realized I was out of my precious Pork & Poultry Shake. No problem, I thought, so I just tooled over to the local Ace Hardware to pick up a couple of bottles and found that they no longer carried the Pork & Poultry Shake in plastic spice bottles but now offered Pork & Poultry Rub in a can with a green label (see comparison below).

So I tried this new rub thinking it would produce the same cherished flavor but boy was I wrong! Comparing the ingredients of the two seasonings, after experiencing the huge disappointment, I discovered the major ingredient changed from Salt to Cane Sugar! I contacted Traeger customer service and as was informed that:

"We reformulated all the spices and sauces early last year. The main reason was to make the spices and sauces more better for a mass majority of the population. We eliminated GMO’s and Gluten as a couple of the most prominent ingredients that were in our older formulations."

I pleaded that they share the formula of the original shake but they claimed ignorance of the whereabouts of the old recipe. I've also tested their updated Chicken Rub and found the same situation to be true. Consequently I have moved on from Traeger seasoning altogether...

5. Recommendation - Since I fall into the "Savory" camp, I would recommend that you stay far away from this rub and, unless you lean more to the "Sweet" side, don't even waste your time trying it.

excellent info, thx

It has been a while since I have tried a Traeger rub and probably not since I purchased the XL.  At that time, I thought it was too salty which seems to be opposite of your taste buds.  Interesting information though.  Thanks for taking the time to review and share with us.

Thanks for the review pberry. As you mentioned, taste is a preference, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this rub. 

Thanks for doing a review, we always appreciate when a member will take the time.

 That's some interesting!  It's a good thing the can distinguishes the new from the original...  You may wish to make your own rubs. The nice thing about home made is, they can be tweaked to perfection if

required.

Thanks for some great content!  Big Atta Boy!

Bar-B-Lew - I would actually agree with you that some of the original Traeger rubs were too salty.  I tried their Beef Rub on my first brisket and, while my son loved it, I thought it was too overpowering. I guess according to Traeger the majority of customers prefer a sweeter seasoning so looks like I'm in the minority.

Canadian John - I did try to copy the original shake recipe from taste (I have a little left in that bottle) but it just didn't turn out quite right because I actually don't know all the ingredients. I've since tried Byron's Butt Rub and Salt Lick for pulled pork and at this point I think I'll stick with Salt Lick as my go to replacement for Traeger Pork & Poultry Shake.