The Spice Rub To Build If You Want To Beat Bobby Flay

Spice and seasoning are everything when it comes to cooking good food. Thanks to Samin Nosrat, we know that the combination of salt, fat, acid, and heat are necessary to achieve a perfectly balanced dish (Per Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat). One of Samin's tips for ensuring perfectly seasoned meat involves pre-salting the entire piece of meat before cooking so that it seeps into the meat. While her tip is explicitly referring to meat, vegetables also need to feel the seasoning love in order to reach their full flavor potential.

As is the case for meat, many vegetables can handle a bevy of spices. According to The Kitchn, even salad greens should be seasoned with salt before being dressed and served. While salt is the most basic seasoning, the possibilities are endless when it comes to types of dried spices that can be used to dress up a simple dish. Celebrity chef and restaurateur, Bobby Flay, knows a thing or two about seasoning his food. Scott Conant's advice for beating Flay involves focusing on seasoning and flavor since everyone knows Flay brings the heat. Even if you're not planning to compete against the chef, Flay does offer up some easy tips to make your food taste (almost) as good as his.

In an interview with Bon Appétit, Flay shared some of his secrets for upping a home cook's seasoning game. Flay said that one of the major differences between him and home cooks is that he "seasons 60% more than the home cook." Though Flay loves to cook steaks — he has an entire steak restaurant – it's his vegetable cooking technique that can take food to the next level. Flay makes vegetables the star of the dinner plate by relying on a spice rub. For Flay, a spice rub is ready to use right away, unlike a marinade that has to sit for several hours. A rub also imparts a crust onto whatever you are cooking. When Flay shared a look into his pantry, it came as no surprise that he keeps it stocked with a variety of spices and chiles.

Per Food Network, Flay's all-purpose spice rub is a mixture of paprika, chile powder, cumin, coriander, cayenne, mustard powder, oregano, salt, and pepper. His dry rub can be used on most proteins like fish, chicken, beef, and lamb, or for vegetables. When you are ready to apply the spice rub, Flay suggests taking the time to rub the spices in to ensure the flavor is imparted all the way through.