I, personally, am partial to the rubs.
If my only option is a sauce then I will water it down so it becomes thin and I can brush it on.

I dislike gooey thick sauces but I can get used to thin marinades or sprays.


I really like spraying apple cider or pineapple juice onto my ribs while they are cooking.





wbu?

i like both but i think dry rubs are the best to cook with and sauce is best for dipping!

you should allways use a dry rub IMO, but only a dry rub im not too much of a fan.

smoke forms on dry stuff, with thick gooey sauces the sauce is going to dry out and start to pick up the smoke before the meat does, with thinner sauces the sauce only forms a thin layer it dries out quickly and dosnt really get in the way of the smoke entering the meat.

ones not really better than the other, its more about using them correctly, I like a nice thick glaze on my chicken, while for pulled pork I really only use butter, for ribs ill use a thin sauce, wrap them in lots of brown sugar and butter, then finish them off on a rib rack with a thick glaze.

though with most meats ill dry rub them, let them sit for 1 hour in the fridge to dry alittle, pat them dry with a paper towel, and then let them go in the smoker for 30 mins to an hour depending on the meat before I mop it just to make sure I get a good bit of smoke in the meat.