Professional chefs usually don’t think of herbs and spices when they speak of seasoning a dish. They are usually talking about salt and pepper. Period. And most chefs think that these two basic additives are absolutely positively essential. Salt is an excellent flavor enhancer because it actually opens up your taste buds and this really wakes up the flavor of meat and vegetables. It also helps the meat retain water.
When the rest of us speak of seasoning, we usually mean salt and pepper and all the other flavorings. Spice blends, commonly called dry rubs, and wet rubs, which are spice blends mixed with water or oil are a great way to amp it up to 11. Here’s a list of our favorite rubs for beef, poultry, pork, vegetables, and more.
