This sugar-free barbecue seasoning contains a natural sweetener called allulose, which can cause some harmless clumping.
When we set out to create our Red Rock BBQ Seasoning, we wanted to capture the classic, smoky flavor that makes barbecue so delicious. We also wanted to make our barbecue blend as healthy as possible. For us, that meant leaving out an ingredient that’s found in most barbecue rubs: sugar.
Sugar plays an important role when slow-cooking or smoking meat. During the cooking process, it helps bind the seasoning to the meat. Sugar also caramelizes as it cooks, and the caramel flavor acts as a compliment to the chili powder, paprika, or other seasonings you find in barbecue rubs. As you can imagine, finding a sweetener that could fill sugar’s big barbecue shoes without spiking your blood sugar was a tall order.
The sweetener we decided to use is allulose. Allulose is a keto-friendly sweetener that caramelizes beautifully and provides a delicious flavor, just like real sugar. Unfortunately, allulose does make your seasoning clump a bit. This clumping is harmless and doesn’t negatively impact the quality or flavor in any way.
We thought a little clumping was a small price to pay to create a great-tasting, better-for-you barbecue blend that doesn’t send your blood sugar on a rollercoaster ride, and we hope you agree! If you notice clumping, we recommend gently knocking the jar against the edge of a counter to break it up.