Quick Tips
• For an even more intense flavour from whole spices, toast them over a high heat in a dry frying pan before you grind them.
• Whole spices and bay leaves release flavour more slowly than when they’re ground, making them ideal for slow-cooked dishes.
• Whole spices keep longer than ground ones – so grind your own blends when you need them, and you’ll get maximum flavour.
• Dry rubs are simply combinations of dry ground spices, sometimes with chopped herbs. When you apply them liberally to a good piece of meat, they add a lot of flavour – and when you cook the meat at high heat, the rub creates a crust of flavour that locks in the juices. You can apply spice rubs generously, as the intense flavour is mellowed by cooking.
• Just like dry rubs, wet rubs contain mainly dry ground spices, but they’re made into a loose paste by adding small amounts of liquid – often water, wine or stock. Wet rubs are best cooked slowly, at lower heat.
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