Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Barbecue Rub

Exquisite barbecue rub flavour pairings and recipes, revealed through data science.

Barbecue rub immediately conjures the embrace of caramel and the bracing kiss of black pepper. But look beneath its obvious sweetness and you'll discover a captivating symphony of softer notes, a whisper of garlic, a hint of molasses, and subtle accents reminiscent of smoke, giving it remarkable depth. The key to an exceptional combination lies in appreciating how these notes harmonise and interact.

To map these harmonies, we analysed thousands of ingredients, breaking each one down across 150 flavour dimensions, identifying which notes complement and contrast. Our analysis reveals, for example, how chicken's glutamic tones enrich barbecue rub, and how yellow mustard's brassica notes create a surprising synergy with its warm sweetness.

An ingredient's flavour profile is determined by its core characteristics (e.g. spice, maillard, and woody) enhanced by layers of subtle aroma notes (outer bars). When pairing ingredients, aim for a mix of core traits to build balance, and select complementary aroma notes to create harmony.

Unlocking Flavour Combinations

To understand exactly which flavours harmonise, we compiled a database of over 50,000 ingredient pairings commonly used in cooking. We then analysed these pairings, identifying the specific flavour notes that frequently appear together.

The Flavours That Harmonise With Caramel Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of caramel is strongly associated with the flavour of cabbage. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a cabbagy flavour, such as yellow mustard, when pairing with the caramel accents of barbecue rub.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing barbecue rub with yellow mustard.

Harmonious Flavours Of Barbecue Rub

Just as our analysis revealed that caramel and cabbagy flavours are harmonious, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour accents present in barbecue rub. For instance, the peppery accents of barbecue rub are strongly associated with fatty and chickeny flavours.

The notes associated with the various accents of barbecue rub can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of chicken offers many of the aromas complementary to barbecue rub, including glutamic and poultry aroma accents. Because the flavour profile of chicken has many of the of the features that are complementary to barbecue rub, they are likely to pair very well together.

The chart above shows the unique profile of chicken across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with barbecue rub.

Recipes That Pair Barbecue Rub With Chicken

Linked Flavour Notes

Looking at the notes that are most strongly associated with the various flavours of barbecue rub, we can identify other ingredients that are likely to pair well.

The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of barbecue rub, along with the complementary aromas associated with each note. While the right side shows some of the ingredients that share many of the aromas complementary to barbecue rub.

What To Drink With Barbecue Rub

The rosemary notes in tuscany make it a perfect pairing with barbecue rub. Likewise, the rice flavours in sake create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of barbecue rub below.

How Flavonomics Works

We've pioneered a unique, data-driven approach to decode the intricate art of flavour pairing. Our goal is to move beyond intuition and uncover the science of why certain ingredients harmonise beautifully. This rigorous methodology allows us to provide you with insightful and reliable pairing recommendations.

Our analysis begins with over 50,000 carefully selected recipes from acclaimed chefs like Galton Blackiston, Marcello Tully, and Pierre Lambinon. This premium dataset ensures our model distils genuine culinary excellence and creativity.

Each ingredient from these recipes is deconstructed across 150 distinct flavour dimensions, creating a unique numerical "flavour fingerprint." This quantification allows us to apply advanced analytical methods to identify complex patterns between flavour notes.

We identify popular ingredient combinations that frequently appear in our recipe database. Regression analysis is then performed on these pairings to statistically validate and pinpoint truly harmonious flavours.

These insights drive our predictive model, which allows us to take any ingredient (e.g., Barbecue rub), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.