How Gregory Gourdet Upgrades His Grill Game with Spice Rubs, Marinades, and Glazes

James Beard Award-winning chef Gregory Gourdet is no stranger to grilling. His restaurant, Kann in Portland, Oregon, which was named the Best New Restaurant in 2023 by the James Beard Foundation, has an entire menu section dedicated to dishes “From the Hearth.” Gourdet leans on this Haitian heritage, where live-fire cooking is an anchor of the cuisine, for inspiration. Through his use of spice rubs, marinades, and glazes Gourdet brings bold flavors to grilled meats, and he’ll share those tips and techniques with attendees at the 2024 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. 

Marinades, like spicy jerk paste and herb-rich epis, a fundamental Haitian seasoning made with parsley, scallions, and garlic, come together quickly in a blender and are an excellent way to liven up everything from grilled plantains to steelhead trout. Gourdet’s jerk chicken marinade combines fiery Scotch bonnet chiles with earthy allspice berries and tamari, a byproduct of miso paste. Tamari, a seasoning liquid similar to soy sauce, imparts the marinade with a savory complexity. Gourdet generously coats chicken leg quarters with the jerk paste, lets them marinate for at least 12 hours in the refrigerator, and then grills them until lightly charred and tender. For an extra burst of flavor, Gourdet brushes the grilled chicken with a mixture of reserved jerk paste and olive oil just before serving.

Spice rubs are another option for incorporating big flavor when grilling. Unlike marinades, which need time to infuse the meat with flavor, spice mixes can be rubbed on the protein right before it hits the heat. Gourdet creates a mix of ground coffee, cumin, black pepper, and brown sugar to rub on quick-cooking hanger steak. The bold, earthy notes of the coffee combined with the molasses-like sweetness of the brown sugar form a rich, deeply complex crust on the outside of the steak, highlighting the savoriness of the beef. Gourdet uses his own recently released brand of coffee to make the spice rub. Kann Coffee is a medium roast coffee made from Organic Haitian Blue Mountain Arabica blended with Haitian cinnamon, star anise, and vanilla bean. If you don’t have Kann Coffee at home, add a small pinch of cinnamon to any medium roast ground coffee, and then mix it with the rest of your spice rub ingredients.

Another trick Gourdet uses to upgrade his grill game are glazes. He brushes the sugary finish on meats near the end of cooking to add a glossy lacquer. Glazes work particularly well with fatty meats such as pork, duck, and salmon to balance their richness. Gourdet’s three-ingredient glazed duck breasts — simply Pekin duck, kosher salt, and cane syrup — showcases how effortlessly a glaze can transform a dish by adding a bright sweetness. "I hope to show folks that with a few pantry staples of dried and fresh spices, chiles, and aromatics you can quickly put together a rub, glaze, or marinade that really ups the flavor of your grilled or roasted foods," says Gourdet.