The Highly Rated BBQ Seasoning You'll Be Sprinkling On Everything

Innovations arrive on the barbecue scene to shake things up pretty infrequently. So when an exciting stroke of flavoring innovation like Head Country Championship Seasoning shows up, grill masters take notice. This robust blend ramps up basic foods in a bold way, mixing unexpectedly harmonious seasonings to create a BBQ dust that adds magic to everything you shake it over. It's a simple add-in that lets you reinvent your favorite BBQ and grilling recipes in two shakes — or three, if you're a certified flavor fiend.

But isn't it just a bottle of seasoning like all the other jars in the spice section of the grocery store? And how much reinvention can a BBQ flavoring offer anyway? Head Country Championship Seasoning pulls out all the stops to combine everything you love in traditional BBQ flavors into a single add-in that takes your dishes directly into delicious terrain. More than that, it's a combination that reaches beyond the grill to add excitement to any dish you can think of, from vegetables to pasta to snacks. Of course, it's perfect for punching up a simple BBQ sauce recipe, but it also invites you to add sensational smoky-sweet goodness to just about anything you can cook up.

You say you want a BBQ seasoning that gets all your taste buds firing at the same time? Head Country does its best to achieve just that. It could be the secret ingredient at your next neighborhood BBQ showdown, the enchanting dust that takes your delicious creations over the finish line. Snapping open the lid is enough to release an aroma that'll fool you into thinking you've stepped into a professional pit in the savory South.

There's nothing outrageous in the recipe; a blend of garlic, onion, and bell pepper in their dehydrated states blend with paprika, sugar, and smoke, plus a concentration of salt and some unspecified spices to round out the formulation. You'll also find an amount of monosodium glutamate — MSG — in the bottle, which may cause sensitive eaters to steer clear. Everyone else should get a kick out of the recreation of all the best bits of a BBQ sauce without having to reach for the sauce bottle, the texture and consistency of which doesn't always suit the occasion.

Shoppers have heralded this premium product with high ratings on Amazon, with customer reviews proclaiming their use in their favorite recipes, from brisket rubs to chicken seasoning. It's a savory extension of Head Country's BBQ flavorings line, which features pourable sauces and marinades in addition to dry powders. A 12-ounce bottle for $5.93 provides a generous quantity that encourages plentiful shaking over whatever your imagination conjures up. If you like what you taste and want to incorporate it into your regular BBQ practices, you can also find restaurant-level quantities priced just north of $71 for a 7-pound barrel.

Even if you have a fully-stocked spice rack that couldn't possibly fit another bottle, Head Country is worth clearing out a little space. Think of it as America's contribution to seasonings from around the world representing regional flavors with classic cookout spirit. It pulls together elements of what you might consider your core seasoning mix, saving you time and money with a pre-combined powder that gives you a direct line to top-tier BBQ goodness with a click of the lid.

There's nothing terribly notable about the nutritional facts on the Head Country Championship Seasoning label. The ingredients are easy to read and recognize: With 10% of your daily recommended allowance of sodium present in a ¼ teaspoon serving, which could build up quickly depending on the recipe you use it in. And since the effects of eating too much salt are well-documented, it's best to go slowly with the shaker to keep things under control. It's also advisable to forgo whatever salt might be in your recipe in favor of letting the Head Country salt content do the heavy lifting.

You'll also find MSG under the lid. For anyone who doesn't know about MSG, this additive is used to impart umami flavoring to foods from tortilla chips to Asian dishes. Some eaters experience headaches and gastrointestinal distress from eating MSG, symptoms that have been studied by experts who've determined that modest consumption is safe. Still, if you have a history of reacting to the presence of MSG, it's best to stick with seasonings that don't include the powder to keep your BBQ dining as enjoyable as possible.

Being a newly-rededicated herbivore, I knew I'd be trying Head Country on my go-to vegetables to see how easily it lends its enticing formula to otherwise-undressed plant matter. The first dish that needed trying was a simple baked potato with no butter; the otherwise neutral flavor of the starch made an effective blank slate to let the hickory essence come through. I also crafted a batch of roasted potato wedges, replacing my usual combo of onion and garlic powder with a liberal application of this seasoning instead.

For a green vegetable test, I steamed a few broccoli florets and let Head Country work its wonders. It's a much tastier option than simple salt, easily playing up the savory aspects of the florets while dimming the bold, grassy flavor that can be off-putting. I added about a teaspoon to a rice dish topped with chickpeas and found the zing of the powder pulls together the two mellow flavors nicely. And because pasta is just begging for some kind of potent seasoning, I tossed penne with a bit of oil and some of the seasoning to see how well it works; a secret discovery about the untold truth of BBQ is that it can breathe new life to your same-old noodle selections.

To test Head Country on ground beef, I enlisted my son, who has an adventurous palate and isn't afraid to dive into a new seasoning fork-first. He reported the sprinkle I added to a chunk of chuck to be pleasant but not overly exciting, which means I probably used too little to pack in enough flavor. My note for next time: go bigger for the beef eaters in the room to make sure all the elements are present on the plate. I anticipate taco night featuring Head Country in place of the usual taco mix for a fun spin on the familiar menu.

For myself, I fired up a Dr. Praeger's California veggie burger, one of the chunkier patties on the market, chock-a-block with carrots, peas, and soybeans. All it took was a shake or two on top of the burger and the seasoning added an exciting new layer to the otherwise-savory substance. It lent a fresh-from-the-grill flavor and aroma that let the meal lean into meatier territory, despite being fully vegan. I'll be eager to try it on other versions of plant-based meat and figure on creating Impossible Burgers using Head Country to make a new culinary power couple.

It can be used as a duster for popcorn, adding a fun tingle that displays different flavors in each handful. It borders on being too salty when not incorporated into a more malleable food, something I failed to realize when applying the seasoning on the first go. My second try was much more judicious and worked perfectly. To see if I could create a personalized chip duster, I made handcrafted corn tortilla chips (a simple combination of masa and water) to sprinkle the shaker on. It hid behind the corn notes this time, which means I probably should have added it to the dough before baking.

I also wondered how it would play with premade condiments to expand the range of flavors on the fridge door. A little applied to ketchup made a dependably BBQ-flavored dipper for my potato wedges and would undoubtedly fare favorably on top of a burger as well. I had a jar of plant-based mayo begging for something oomph-worthy and discovered Head Country Championship Seasoning adds a wonderful kick, similar to a creamy chipotle spread but without the peppery sting. It would be an exceptional make-ahead sandwich and bagel schmear to have on hand to dress up any dish that could use a bit of dazzle.

Honestly, I couldn't wait to jump in and give Head Country Championship Seasoning a try on everything I could think of. I was over the moon after pulling back the inner seal and discovering the incredible smoky aroma. It has the potency of a restaurant-style seasoning that could transform into rubs and sauces. Though for modest home cooks who aren't quite so confident in their gourmet skills, having these flavors present in shake-on form let me give whatever I wanted to a dose of soulful BBQ flavoring without any special recipe required. I simply added it to the foods I was eating during the week, replacing my usual seasonings with the BBQ powder instead. I also aimed for a variety of foods to make sure I sampled the full range of flavor possibilities present in the bottle.

Because the flakes in the jar tend to clump in the too-small holes of the shaker top, you may be tempted to shake out a little extra. I certainly was, thinking it would turn up the smoky-sweet aspects of the flavoring. But the concentration of salt overpowers in large quantities. I advise holding back as much as possible; start off with one shake or a ½ teaspoon and taste what you're making, then add a bit more until you have something that suits your taste.