BBQ Seasoning Recipe: 5 Ways to Use Barbecue Seasoning

BBQ seasoning is a blend of salt, spices, and sugar used to season meat for smoking, grilling, and roasting. This BBQ rub recipe includes a variety of spices that work well with beef, chicken, pork, or veggies. Use it immediately before cooking as a steak seasoning or apply it the night before as a marinade or dry brine for larger cuts of meat.

There are several ways to season and barbecue meat and vegetables, often classified by region. Kansas City-style BBQ uses thick sauces that chefs apply after the smoking process. Carolina-style is most associated with whole-hog cooking. A dry rub is essential to Memphis-style barbecuing, which involves seasoning the meat with a spice rub before smoking and serving it as-is or with a thin sauce on the side.

Here’s how to make the most of your homemade BBQ seasoning:

1. 1. Spatchcocked chicken: Removing the chicken’s backbone reduces the cooking time and allows the seasoning to penetrate the maximum surface area. Cover the spatchcocked chicken with the barbecue rub and let it marinate overnight before grilling, roasting, or smoking.
2. 2. Baby back ribs: Even without a smoker, the slow-cooked flavor of BBQ spice can add deep layers of flavor to a rack of ribs. Season the ribs with the dry rub, cover them with foil, and bake at 250 degrees Fahrenheit until tender, about four hours. Remove the foil and broil on low for ten minutes to caramelize the sugars from the rub and get a crust on the meat.
3. 3. Brisket: With larger pieces of meat like brisket and pork shoulder, this dry rub recipe works well as a dry brine. Apply the seasoning mix the night before cooking so the BBQ spice can form a crust and penetrate the thicker cut.
4. 4. Whole cauliflower: Dry rubs work well for large vegetables, too. Smoking a whole cauliflower is a delicious vegan option. Rubbing the cauliflower in a thin layer of mustard, BBQ sauce, or chipotle en adobo helps adhere the barbecue seasoning to every nook and cranny of the cauliflower.
5. 5. Pork chops: For thin-cut pork chops, season right before cooking. For thicker cuts or whole pork tenderloin, apply the seasoning blend a few hours before cooking.