Meat Church BBQ.
Matt Pittman's Texas Competition Rubs.

Matt Pittman is the founder of Meat Church BBQ, the Texas-based competition rub brand he built out of Waxahachie, Texas. Meat Church is best known for its enormous YouTube following, the largest BBQ-focused channel in the world, where Pittman runs through brisket cooks, rib techniques, and competition prep with millions of views per video.

The brand started as a competition rub line for KCBS-sanctioned BBQ events and has grown into a household name across the United States BBQ community. Holy Cow for beef and Honey Hog for pork and chicken remain the two flagship rubs Pittman is best known for in the videos, and the range has since grown to seven: Texas Sugar, Blanco, Fajita Seasoning, Honey Bacon, and The Holy Gospel round out the line-up with sweeter, all-purpose, and Tex-Mex options. They have built a cult following because they deliver the Texas competition profile in a bottle you can buy.

BBQ Republic is an authorised Australian dealer, so every bottle on our shelf is current-batch genuine product imported through the proper channel.

Different rubs for different proteins.

Holy Cow is the Texas-style beef rub. Coarse salt, coarse black pepper, garlic, and paprika in the traditional Texas brisket-rub style. No sugar, no fillers. The whole point is to let the beef be the hero while a proper bark forms from the pepper crust. Use it on brisket, beef ribs, chuck roast, smoked tri-tip, and steaks where you want Texas competition results.

Honey Hog is the sweet pork and chicken rub. Built around honey, brown sugar, paprika, and a balanced spice blend designed to caramelise during the cook and form deep mahogany bark. This is the rub that wins KCBS pork ribs and pulled pork comps. Use it on pork ribs, pork shoulder, whole chicken, and wings where you want the sweet bark profile.

The simple rule: Holy Cow on beef, Honey Hog on everything else. Between them, you cover the full Texas BBQ playbook with two bottles.

If you want a third option that leans sweeter and more versatile again, Texas Sugar is a cumin-led Southwestern rub that works across pork, poultry, seafood, and even smoked cream cheese, and is less sweet than most sugar-forward rubs despite the name.

Beyond those three, the range has grown further with Blanco (an all-purpose steak seasoning good on just about everything), Fajita Seasoning (a citrus-infused Tex-Mex blend), Honey Bacon (Honey Hog with a smoky bacon twist), and The Holy Gospel (a purpose-built mash-up of Holy Cow and The Gospel). If you are deciding between just the original two, the simple rule above still holds; the newer additions are there once you want to branch out.

Yes. Holy Cow is one of the most popular brisket rubs in the United States, used by competition teams and backyard cooks alike. Matt Pittman built the formula specifically around Texas-style brisket where the goal is a salt-pepper-garlic crust that builds bark while letting the beef stay the dominant flavour.

To apply: coat heavily on a trimmed brisket. Holy Cow is built to be used aggressively, you want a visible layer across the entire brisket. Apply to the dry surface with no oil or mustard binder needed (the rub adheres to the brisket's natural surface moisture).

For competition-style results, pair Holy Cow with a low and slow cook at 110°C to 120°C until the brisket probes tender at around 95°C internal temperature. Smoke with post oak, hickory, or oak (available in our wood chunks range) for the proper Texas smoke profile.

For comparison: Carolina Smoke Beef is the gentler sweet-savoury alternative if you find Holy Cow's pepper aggression too much.

The competition technique that Matt Pittman teaches:

Step 1: Apply Honey Hog liberally to trimmed pork ribs. Light yellow mustard binder is optional but helps the rub stick. Apply on all surfaces including the bone side and let the rub sweat into the meat for 30 minutes before going on the smoker.

Step 2: Smoke at 110°C to 120°C for around 3 hours until bark forms. Smoke with fruit wood (cherry, apple) or pecan from our wood chunks range for the classic sweet pork profile.

Step 3: Wrap in foil or butcher paper with a small pat of butter, brown sugar, and (optional) a finishing glaze like Peach Bourbon Glaze. Continue cooking until probe-tender (around 93°C internal).

Step 4: Rest, slice, and serve. The Honey Hog sugars caramelise during the wrap stage and build the deep mahogany bark competition cooks chase.

Honey Hog also works the same way on pork shoulder for pulled pork and whole chicken on the rotisserie.

Yes. Meat Church Holy Cow, Honey Hog, Texas Sugar, Blanco, Fajita Seasoning, Honey Bacon, and The Holy Gospel are all gluten-free, formulated without wheat, barley, rye, or any gluten-containing ingredients. The brand publishes gluten-free status on their packaging and product information.

This makes Meat Church a safe choice for coeliac and gluten-intolerant pitmasters, alongside most other premium American competition rubs which tend to be gluten-free by formulation (gluten-containing fillers are typically only used in cheaper supermarket rubs as bulking agents). Note that Blanco does contain MSG, so if you are avoiding MSG specifically rather than gluten, check the label or reach for one of the other six.

If you have specific dietary requirements beyond gluten-free, call us on 0434 010 411 and we can check current batch packaging for full allergen and dietary declarations.

Yes. Across the Sydney metro area we offer same-day or next-business-day delivery on Meat Church rubs. Orders dispatch from our Wetherill Park showroom in Sydney's west.

For the rest of Australia, Meat Church ships through our standard parcel service. Bottles are light and cheap to freight, especially when combined with other orders. Pair Meat Church with charcoal, pellets, or anything else and we will combine the delivery, no extra freight on the second item.

Pickup from the showroom is also available any business day. Call us on 0434 010 411 to confirm stock if you want to grab them for a weekend cook.