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    Home » Condiment Recipes

    The Best Chicken Dry Rub

    LAST UPDATED: June 9, 2020 PUBLISHED: June 9, 2020 By Pam Greer 5 Comments As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    This is a basic barbecue rub that goes great on chicken or anything really! With only 6 ingredients that you already probably have in your pantry, you can easily make this dry rub.

    Glass bowl filled with spices and a whisk is laying next to it.

    It's grilling season people and this year I am all about upping my grilling game.

    I want to work my way through some ideas of barbecue rubs, sauces and marinades. Give you a good solid core of grilling basics that you can turn to time and time again.

    I'm starting with this basic (but delicious) chicken dry rub. I am calling it a chicken rub, simply because it's really basic and I used it on chicken. You could also use it on beef, pork, or seafood!

    I revisited my Grilled Spatchcocked Chicken and instead of using the rosemary garlic marinade, I used this dry rub. Delicious!

    Click here to pin this now!

    Kosher salt, cayenne pepper, ground black pepper, paprika, chili powder and brown sugar on a white wicker table.

    Ingredients

    Kosher Salt - I use either Morton or Diamond Crystal. I prefer Diamond Crystal for my everyday cooking, but since it's so difficult to find, I use Morton's for brines and rubs.

    Cayenne Pepper - I bought a new jar and I couldn't believe how faded the pepper in my old jar was!

    Coarse Ground Black Pepper - you can grind this yourself, but I like to keep a jar handy for whenever I need large amounts.

    Paprika - this is one where you definitely want to buy as big a jar as you can. Most rubs use lots of paprika!

    Chili Powder - I have all sorts of fancy chili powders in my spice cabinet, for this one, I use just a plain chili powder.

    Brown Sugar - I had light brown sugar in my pantry so that is what I used.

    Photo collage showing 3 white plates with chili powder, paprika, brown sugar, black pepper, kosher salt and cayenne pepper.

    Instructions

    Measure:

    • 1 tablespoon chili powder
    • 1 tablespoon paprika
    • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
    • 2 teaspoons black pepper
    • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
    • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    Photo collage showing spices added to a bowl and then what they look like whisked together.

    Place all the spices in a bowl and whisk to combine.

    That's it, you've just made an easy (and delicious) chicken rub!

    Grilled chicken covered in a deep red rub.

    This was so good!! This recipe makes enough to easily cover one chicken. I might have actually gone a little heavy handed with it.

    But it was still so good! Added the perfect sweet and spicy flavor to the chicken. Perfectly balanced.

    I dry rubbed the chicken when I took it out of the fridge to come to room temperature. You can use also use the dry rub more like a marinade and rub it in up to 12 hours before grilling.

    For even more flavor, you can lift up the skin and apply some of the dry rub directly on to the chicken meat. So much yum!

    Click here to pin this now!

    More barbecue rubs for you to try:

    • Espresso Cardamom Rub
    • Red Chile Rub
    • Spicy Chicken Rub

    Recipe

    **As an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Bowl with spices and whisk laying next to it.
    Print Pin Save Saved!
    5 from 26 votes

    Chicken Rub

    This bbq chicken dry rub uses only 6 ingredients, most of which you probably already have in your pantry to make a delicious and easy rub!
    Course Condiment
    Cuisine American
    Prep Time 5 minutes
    Total Time 5 minutes
    Servings 6
    Calories 18kcal

    Ingredients

    • 1 tbsp chili powder
    • 1 tbsp paprika
    • 1 tbsp brown sugar
    • 2 teaspoons black pepper
    • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
    • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

    Instructions

    • Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
    • Store in a lidded jar in your pantry.

    Notes

    Stored in a pantry, this will keep for about a year.  It won't necessarily go bad, it will just lose some of it's flavor.  That's why it's better to make it in small batches. 

    Video

    Nutrition

    Calories: 18kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 798mg | Potassium: 68mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1109IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg

    More Condiment Recipes

    • Cranberry Salad Dressing
    • Pickled Collard Stems
    • Roasted Red Pepper Dip
    • Vietnamese Pickled Carrots

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Angela says

      June 09, 2020 at 11:58 am

      5 stars
      This rub would be great on so many things! I can't wait to make some more!

      Reply
    2. Amy Desrosiers says

      June 09, 2020 at 11:13 am

      I love a smokey flavored chicken and know these would be perfect for achieving those results. I can't wait to try it on some grilled chicken pieces.

      Reply
    3. Luci says

      June 09, 2020 at 10:52 am

      5 stars
      I love how simple and easy this rub is. I have everything already and can't wait to try it on my chicken tonight! I know everyone will love it!

      Reply
    4. Alisa Infanti says

      June 09, 2020 at 10:35 am

      5 stars
      I used this rub for some shrimp skewers last night and it was delicious!

      Reply
    5. Ana F. says

      June 09, 2020 at 10:29 am

      5 stars
      I'm definitely making a small batch of this delicious rub! I can almost taste that chicken thru my computer! The combo sounds amazing! Thanks Pam for the recipe

      Reply

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    Pam Greer from Sidewalk Shoes

    Hi, I'm Pam. I'm the person who plans whole vacations around where to eat and drink. Beautiful scenery is optional.

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