Staff Pick: World’s Fair Barbecue Rub

Back when video rental stores were a thing, the staff movie picks section was always a joy to browse. We’re sharing our own staff picks starting with World’s Fair Barbecue Rub. This savory, sweet, and spicy rub features a coarse texture and a few special ingredients, such as Grains of Paradise and Hawaiian Black Lava Sea Salt. This blend is an obvious choice for any grilled meat, but you’ll soon find yourself using it for grilled or roasted vegetables, hearty stews, sautéed tofu, turkey burgers, and even kale chips. If you have a favorite way to use our World’s Fair Barbecue Rub, leave us a comment below!

BUY SPICE BLEND

Bursts of BBQ Flavor

Alex Wilkens, Director of Product and Sourcing

Texture is an important consideration when choosing a BBQ rub and all of my favorites have plenty of coarse chucky bits. Not only do these larger pieces stand up to high heat better than fine powders but they also provide bursts of flavor when you crunch into them. World’s Fair Barbecue Rub is one of those blends–full of coarse Tellicherry pepper, Hawaiian Black Lava Salt, minced garlic and sweet freeze dried shallots. This rub is all-purpose but works especially well on grilled or pan-roasted vegetables like cauliflower steaks, halved zucchini, or slabs of eggplant.

Garlic and Shallots Galore

Angelena Riedijk, Retail Manager

I love how versatile and balanced World’s Fair Barbecue Rub is. I’m a sucker for anything that has garlic, and along with the minced shallots and mild heat that World’s Fair has, it is a staple in my kitchen. I love it on vegetables like roasted cauliflower, green beans or potatoes, but it’s also amazing on ribs, pork chops, chicken, or fish!

Chicken Wing Treasure

Lonnie Romero, Culinary Specialist

When the outside temp gets up past 80 degrees, I–like all good Americans–love to get my grill on. Simple, smoke-perfumed meat is amazing and generally hits the spot. But, even salt-and-pepper cooks like myself occasionally want to spice things up. In walks World’s Fair Barbecue Rub. This delicious BBQ blend is useful on all types of proteins and vegetables. The combination of unique spices like Hawaiian Black Lava Sea Salt, Indian Peppercorns, West African Grains of Paradise come together to create a savory BBQ bomb that I love sprinkling on my chicken wings before hitting the grill.

Triple Treat: Savory, Spicy, and Sweet

Geoff Marshall, Digital Content Manager

I crave savory, sweet, and spicy flavors combos, so this rub was an instant favorite for me. It has a sweet hit of coriander, peppery punch of chiles, and a touch of sugar to round it all out. I recall hand-mixing this blend when I first joined The Spice House at our shop in Evanston, Illinois. The recipe calls for grinding the Grains of Paradise fresh in a vitamix blender. The spice’s aroma was foreign and intoxicating–with notes of toasted hazelnut, citrus, and pepper. I took a jar of the rub home and immediately grilled some simple bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. (Heavily seasoned, of course.) It was easily some of the tastiest chicken with the crispiest skin I’d ever cooked. I still play around with this blend, using it on homemade potato chips, grilled asparagus, and even my homemade barbecue sauce recipe–perfect for basting those chicken thighs!

Top Recipes for World's Fair Barbecue Rub

Barbecue Kale Chips

 These kale chips are an easy-to-make snack with a healthy crunch.

GET THE RECIPE

Pan-Fried Cauliflower Steaks

This rub is popular for beef steaks, and tuna steaks, but it is just as delicious on a vegan cauliflower steak.

GET THE RECIPE

World's Fair Barbecue Sauce

Tangy and slightly sweet, this barbecue sauce recipe is perfect for smoked pork shoulder or grilled chicken.

GET THE RECIPE