Raptor Rubs - Herbes Chicken Rub product reviews

I love cooking, especially from scratch, but often all of those herbs and spices just end up going stale by the time you use them up. For that reason, I love using spice blends, as they tend to have more uses and are much better value for me. I was really excited to see this range from Raptor Rubs, and particularly excited to see the Herbes Chicken variety. I love cooking with smoky paprika, thyme, oregano, tarragon and bay (amongst the core component of herbes de Provence), and was conjuring up all sorts of ideas of what I could use it for.

The pack itself is great- a generous size meaning that it will last a while, and no faffy bit in the top of the lid to get crusted up with the stuck mix. I also loved that it had cooking instructions on the back of the packet, making it really easy to make a delicious and quick dinner. I had some chicken legs which I needed to use up, and so did exactly as the pack instructed, but only leaving the rub to marinade for a few minutes (because apparently, the toddler couldn't wait for dinner). The result from simply putting the chicken under the grill was immense. The flavour was smoky, yet light fresh and delicate from the herbs. Every mouthful you kept finding more taste, and the whole lot was polished off in record time.

After that meal's success, I decided to really branch out and see what it could do. I sprinkled the rub over roasted winter veggies with some oil, and roasted until they were a beautiful caramelised colour. Different notes came out this time, slightly less smoky, and more herby, but all perfectly complimenting the vegetables. I also used it as an addition to meatballs. Not on the suggested list of things that you can do with it, but the paprika gave the meat a subtle smoky BBQ flavour, and the herbs perfectly complemented the tomato sauce. Once again, a meal finished off in minutes by the whole family. Finally, I added the rub to breadcrumbs to coat some pieces of pork schnitzel. Just one word for these- delicious.

Overall, this has been a really impressive spice and herb blend to use. So often you find either spices or herbs in a blend, but the combination of both here is a perfect pairing, and has brightened up so many meals in our house. Great value, great utility and just a great product in general. If you try this you will not be disappointed.

This Rub was something I was a little worried about as I am not a huge fan of spices. But once you open the lid the smell is amazing. Checking our chickens for dinner and you open the oven and lid and the smell was smelt all over the house, which to me is a good sign of a great mix. The children didn't mind that either.

Raptor Rubs covered the two chickens we had nicely and evenly without rubbing to much off like some rubs can. Left the chickens with a not to spicy taste which was a major hit with all children. Great thing was when pulling chicken out there was still rub on the chicken and not on bottom of pan like most rubs. So major bonus there for this product. My husband even sprinkled a little in the potatoes when making mashed potatoes for our meal. Even enough left so that I can cover chicken pieces for tea tomorrow night.

Made in New Zealand is a great advantage as I like to try and buy NZ made products. Like the idea that it is Nut and Dairy free as well as Gluten free, means I can recommend this to my mother who is Gluten free. It has some nice smelling ingredients, NZ Kosher Sea Salt, Cracked Black Pepper, Spanish Smoked Paprika, Culinary Lavender to name a few. Very cute little containers, love the wee chicken on front. All information needed was clearly displayed. This weeks shopping list will include another of these Herb + Spice Rubs to try next weekend. Only thing I am worried about is the price for this little container but I do think that the flavour out weights that price.

Having already tried the vegie salt sprinkle in this range, I was keen to see what the similarities between the two might be since the price is quite high - and to decide whether it would be worthwhile having both on hand. I tasted a little from the jar before I started cooking, and was glad to find that the flavours could not be more different. And if, as was the case with the variety I had already tried, a little would go a long way, then that would certainly put the price into perspective.

The sweet taste, which was quite prominent, was unexpected. I checked the ingredients and found that this was almost certainly due to the inclusion of coconut sugar and lavender - two items I would not have expected to find in a herb mix. I have used lavender before, but only dipped in sugar syrup and then used to make edible cake decorations. I would not have thought of including it in a savoury dish. As for the coconut sugar, I have discovered it only recently as a wonderful topping for porridge in the winter.

First, I tried it as a rub on some grilled chicken breast. I was serving this as a very plain meal (with basmati rice and cooked greens) so I thought it would be useful as a flavour booster and also to add interest. Three of us (two adults and a teenager) shared the meal, and all three of us were impressed with the enhanced taste even though I had been cautious about using as little as possible. It is great when you can get an impressive result when using a small quantity. In fact, it would be easy to overdo it by putting too much on!

A couple of days later, I used it (again as a rub) on some pork riblets. I had thought they were pork chops until I got home and was disappointed to find they were riblets as they have much less flavour. The addition of some Herbes Chicken on each one, however, transformed the somewhat boring sausage-type meat into a tasty dish. Served with mashed potato and gravy, seared mushrooms and courgettes, and fresh persimmon slices, it made a filling and very satisfying meal for a winter evening. Both of us loved the taste of the spices with the meat and persimmon, and in the end I was sorry I had not cooked more!

My last experiment was with stuffed eggs. I usually make them with curry powder and a little butter, so I substituted Herbes Chicken for the curry. However, I would normally use a tablespoon of curry powder for six eggs, so I gauged that a teaspoon of this spice would be more than enough. That was about right: any more would have overwhelmed the flavour of the egg. I could probably have got away with a bit less, but there is always next time.

I plan to stock up on this once the original container is empty. Cold weather meals can be so uninteresting, even downright stodgy, so anything that turns the experience into a positive gets the tick from me.

I am not a person that usually uses rubs in my cooking and I wasn't sure how my family would react to it so I chose the herbes chicken rub from Raptor Rubs for them to try. It is interesting to note that although designed for use with chicken it is a vegan product and the label suggests it could be used with vegetables or tofu.

I cut up chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and tossed it in some oil and then a mix of the rub with breadcrumbs. I also did the same with some pumpkin. I then but these on a roasting dish along side some uncoated chicken and pumpkin. My children preferred the uncoated food where as my husband and I both loved the flavour that the rub gave to our meal. I took some leftovers to work the next day and my workmates commented of the lovely smell of my lunch and thought I must be a fancy cook. I will admit that the rub gave a very nice aroma and made a plain mean love much nicer.

I am keen to use the rub more for myself and my husband and we may even try the other varieties of Raptor Rubs. These would by great on potato wedges or the barbecue too.I also think a potato bake could benefit from this rub on top as it would add both flavour and colour to it.

So, I had some chicken tenderloins I planned to cook up and serve over rice, and I wanted something to give them flavour without adding anything unhealthy to the dish. Since I don't have much in the way of a spice rack, I thought this could be a great opportunity to try out this spice rub. I melted some Cocavo Light and mixed it with a very generous portion of this rub to make a marinade-style paste, which I left the chicken resting in for about 2 hours in the fridge. I then cooked the chicken in a hot frying pan along with some chunky-sliced onion and capsicum, adding a little water at the end to deglaze the pan and create a bit of a light sauce to add flavour to the steamed brown rice I served this on.

Ideally, this should have made two portions, but after trying a small bit of the chicken, I threw caution, and my diet, to the wind for one night and dumped it all on the plate. I felt justified in this, since it was the only thing I found time to eat today. The joys of working from home for the day - work took priority and eating got sidelined in the interests of catching up on the insane to-do list.

I have to say, knowing that the rice had next to no flavour of its own, and realising that the Cocavo added only a subtle hint to the dish, the full impact of this spice rub was brought to the fore and it was amazing. I couldn't even begin to name all the flavours that popped across my awareness as I chewed, but every mouthful was a delight to eat. I have been restricting myself to a lot of steamed foods in an effort to reduce the amount of fats and oils I take in - which has helped a great deal with my weight-loss goals - but it sure was nice to have a meal that simply exploded with flavour again.

Taking into account the effort that has gone into getting the mix and balance just right, and the cost of artisan foods these days, the price tag isn't at all unreasonable... but it is a little pricier than I would be happy to spend had I not tried it first. Now, having tried it, I plan to get more in time, but I also plan to ration this jar out as long as possible, saving it for special occasion meals and 'special treat' dishes every now and then. it's not going to be an "everyday use" mix - more because I don't tend to cook chicken very often these days due to the rising price of fresh meats.

Overall, as something special, and thus warranting careful allocation and use, this is a great product and one I am definitely glad I got to try. I am not looking forward to the day the jar runs out, and I hope that at that time my budget allows me to restock with a couple of jars. I'm curious to try the other flavours in the range, but that will have to wait for now.