Simple chicken rub recipe?

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mythmaster

Master of the Pit
Original poster
SMF Premier Member
Mar 24, 2010
1,256
34
Guthrie, OK
I took a 5.8 lb cut-up fryer out of the freezer yesterday that I plan to brine and smoke today, but I can't figure out what to rub it with.  I've searched through the forum and the web but still have nothing definitive.  Does anyone have a simple recipe to share?

In return, this:

 
I did some chicken breasts yesterday that I sprinkled with Montreal Chicken seasoning and threw in the smoker at 325 for 1 1/2 hours.  Skin nice and crisp, meat juicy and tender and the flavor was great.  Just sayin.....
 
I don't have anything commercial for chicken except "Kickin' Chicken" and that's too strong to use by itself.  I'm looking for basic stuff like "x amount garlic powder, x amount w/e".  Thanks, though.  My MES only goes to 275* so I think that I'll crisp up the skin under the broiler.
 
Here is my chicken rub recipe, I think it is a mix of a couple of recipes that I have found and a little of my tweeking.  I use it for beer can chicken as well

1 T Onion Powder

1 T Garlic Powder

2 T Turbinado (sugar in the raw)

1 T Kosher Salt

2 T Paprika

1 tsp Black Pepper

1 tsp Chili Powder

1/2 tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp Cayenne

1/2 tsp Lemon Pepper

I am very liberal when I put this on, if you beer can one I push the rub all the way down and around inside the skin, then I pull the extra skin up over the neck hole and weave toothpick through it to keep it closed.  

Hope this helps.

Aaron
 
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Thanks, guys.  That does help, Aaron.  I don't have any Turbinado -- I wonder if brown sugar would work or if I should just use regular.  I was looking for Cumin the other day and I don't have any, so I'll leave that out.  Everything else looks perfect -- I even have some hickory-smoked kosher salt to use.

No beer can this time since it's already cut up, but thanks for the tips.  I'll post another thread whenever I do this later.
 
Thanks, scar -- I know about the snakebite recipe, I just don't have all of that stuff on hand.
 
I have also used this one and liked the results
[h1]Wild Willies No 1 Dry Rub[/h1]
[h4]Ingredients[/h4]
  • 9 parts fine ground paprika
  • 3 parts fine ground black pepper
  • 3 parts salt
  • 3 parts sugar
  • 2 parts fine ground New Mexico chile
  • 2 parts garlic powder
  • 2 parts onion powder
  • 1 part fine gound cayenne pepper
 
Thanks, guys.  That does help, Aaron.  I don't have any Turbinado -- I wonder if brown sugar would work or if I should just use regular.  I was looking for Cumin the other day and I don't have any, so I'll leave that out.  Everything else looks perfect -- I even have some hickory-smoked kosher salt to use.

No beer can this time since it's already cut up, but thanks for the tips.  I'll post another thread whenever I do this later.
Yeah I think brown sugar would probably be just fine
 
here is a simple but very versatile one:

one tbls

salt

pepper

one tsp

gran. garlic

gran. onion

the thing is, depending on what direction you want to go you can add thyme,sage, marj. , rosemary, basil..........etc

as for spices you can add curry, cumin, paprika, ginger, lemon, saffron, 5 spice.............etc

and as ALWAYS you can add chilis and chili paste!
 
Cool, thanks.  I'm assuming that you meant "Black Pepper" instead of "Black Powder".  I just mixed some up, and it smells great.  I found some Cumin, btw, so the only thing that I had to substitute was the sugar (I used brown).
 
Yeah I think brown sugar would probably be just fine
 
here is a simple but very versatile one:

one tbls

salt

pepper

one tsp

gran. garlic

gran. onion

the thing is, depending on what direction you want to go you can add thyme,sage, marj. , rosemary, basil..........etc

as for spices you can add curry, cumin, paprika, ginger, lemon, saffron, 5 spice.............etc

and as ALWAYS you can add chilis and chili paste!
Thanks, chefrob!

 
Here is the rub I used on my chicken:

            2 parts garlic powder

            2 parts onion powder

            2 parts paprika

            2 parts dark brown sugar

            1 part kosher salt

            1 part black pepper

My entire chicken smoke is documented in this thread:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/97184/first-smoked-chicken-success-details-and-q-
Thanks, Walt -- that looked great!  Did you spritz or mop?
 
Awesome.  That went into my rub folder, too.  Is that a GP rub?  Sounds like it'll be good on most anything.
 
Yup - I have used it on lots of stuff - It came from a cookbook called Smoke and Spice written back in 94 and was used on Chicken on a Throne - one of the original names for beer can chicken and it is the rub for the chicken and an ingredient in the brine
 
 
Memphis Rub

2 tablespoons paprika (Spanish pimenton is excellent)
1 1/2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
 
 
Thanks, Flash -- I saved that one, too.
smile.gif


I used RowdyRawhide's rub, and I really liked it.  My only complaint is that my MES doesn't get hot enough to crisp it up.  They were tasty and juicy though.  I brined them for 90 mins with the comp chicken recipe first and stuck them under the broiler for a couple of minutes after.  They never did crisp much, but they came out pretty good:

d16f75cf_DSC00343.jpg


2b82742c_DSC00345.jpg
 
I always finish chicken on my grill to crisp up - it only takes a few minutes and is well worth the time
 
Yeah, I'd do that, too, but I don't have a gas grill -- just an el-cheapo charcoal one that I haven't used since I got my smoker.  I'd fire it up if I were cooking for company, though.
 
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