When you hear the words BBQ rub, it’s easy to picture ribs, pulled pork and food cooking over charcoal.
We love all of that. But your seasoning collection shouldn’t have to sit in the cupboard waiting for the sun to come out.
At The Smokey Carter, we’re big believers in using seasonings all year round. Air fryer, oven, frying pan, slow cooker or BBQ – a good seasoning is simply an easy way to put more flavour into your food.
So, if you’ve got a few rubs sitting in the cupboard, here are 15 ways to put them to work.
Coat chicken breasts, thighs, wings or strips with a little oil and your chosen seasoning before air frying.
Change the seasoning and you can completely change the meal without changing the main ingredient.
One of the easiest upgrades around.
Cook your fries or chips until crisp, then toss them with seasoning while they’re still hot.
Buffalo Dust, Cajun-style seasonings and garlic-based blends are particularly good for this.
Stir your seasoning into mayonnaise, sour cream or Greek yoghurt.
In seconds, you’ve got an easy dip for wings, chips, wedges, vegetable sticks or flatbreads.
You don’t need to save seasoned potatoes for Christmas.
Add your chosen seasoning before roasting and you can take them in completely different directions – smoky, spicy, garlicky, herby or BBQ-inspired.
Season minced beef before shaping your burgers, or sprinkle seasoning over smash burgers as they cook.
You can also mix the same seasoning into mayonnaise to create a matching burger sauce.
Seasonings are brilliant on cauliflower, broccoli, courgettes, peppers, mushrooms, sweet potatoes and corn.
A little oil, plenty of seasoning and a hot oven or air fryer can turn fairly ordinary vegetables into one of the best parts of the meal.
Wings and seasonings were made for each other.
Use the seasoning before cooking as a dry rub, then add sauce afterwards if you want an extra layer of flavour.
Buffalo Dust is an obvious choice, but experimenting with other blends can produce some brilliant combinations too.
Mix seasoning through softened butter and refrigerate it until firm.
Slice it over steak, chicken, corn on the cob or vegetables, or spread it over bread before grilling.
Try stirring a seasoning into mayo before adding it to a chicken sandwich, burger or toastie.
You can also sprinkle a small amount directly over the filling before cooking.
Pulled pork, shredded chicken, beef and slow-cooked stews all benefit from a good seasoning blend.
It’s an especially useful way to build flavour without reaching for lots of separate jars of herbs and spices.
Add seasoning to the cheese sauce or sprinkle some over the top before baking.
Buffalo-style flavours work particularly well with rich, creamy cheese sauces.
BBQ rub doesn’t automatically mean beef or pork.
Many seasoning blends work brilliantly on salmon, white fish and prawns, particularly citrus, garlic, herb, Cajun and chilli-led flavours.
Start with seasoned fries, then pile on your favourite toppings.
Chicken, pulled pork, cheese, jalapeños and seasoned mayo can turn a bag of potatoes into serious comfort food.
A little seasoning can give soups, chilli and stews extra depth without having to measure out several different spices.
Start with a small amount, taste and add more if required.
Season chicken or meat before adding it to pizza, mix a seasoning into pizza sauce or sprinkle a small amount over the finished pizza.
Our Hot Honey Garlic Butter BBQ Rub, for example, lends itself brilliantly to chicken and pizza-style food.
This is why we don’t think seasonings should be confined to the BBQ.
They can help turn simple ingredients into completely different meals and make everyday cooking quicker and more interesting.
Use them indoors. Use them outdoors.
Shake. Rub. Sprinkle. Mix.
And don’t wait for barbecue weather.
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