If you're gonna be eating beef you're gonna want to taste it. You can use any number of rubs or sauces to accent the flavor, but do you wanna spend 12 hours smoking 10 pounds of brisket so you can taste vinegar or tomato's? Maybe you do, but I'd rather taste the meat, so I present, solved for the first time, the eternal riddle of the perfect beef seasoning:
Black pepper
Kosher salt
Most people will say mix them 1 to 1, 1 part salt to 1 part pepper, which is a good ratio; the problem I've always had is, once mixed it's tough to get them both to pour out evenly. I apply my rub by dusting the meat down with pepper, then sprinkling kosher salt over top. You'll taste the pepper when the meat is done, so don't just cake it on, same with your salt, distribute and apply it evenly, and press it into the meat when done so it'll stick.