A Dynamite Smoked Chicken Rub
This smoked chicken rub balances sweet and savory flavors using a combination of smoked paprika, brown sugar, cumin, garlic powder, and chipotle to develop deeply flavored chicken that tastes delicious. It is particularly good on Smoked Chicken Wings.
A good chicken rub is a simple way to smoke or grill chicken that is tender and juicy on the inside, packed with delicious flavors, and has crispy skin on the outside.
When I was developing this recipe, I wanted to create a simple dry rub for chicken that worked equally well with the low temperatures and smoke from a smoker and the higher heat and fire from a grill. I also wanted to keep it simple enough that people could make it from ingredients they had on hand.
The result is a well-balanced rub that builds on the flavors from the smoke and fire to infuse the chicken with deep savory flavors while promoting caramelization, helping crisp up the skin.
Highlights
This smoked chicken rub infuses its deep, rich barbecue flavors into chicken that is cooked low and slow in a smoker or over high heat on a grill.
Content
Why You Should Use a Dry Rub When Smoking Chicken
A good dry rub uses herbs and spices, usually with salt and pepper, to impart flavor to the meat or vegetables being cooked. The best dry rubs have a point of view that creates interesting flavors that build on the cooking method being used to deliver a delicious dish.
Using fire and smoke changes how the chicken tastes as it absorbs the flavors and aroma from the smoker. What makes this seasoning stand out is how it builds on these flavors. Flavors that strike the right balance between sweet and savory, with just the right amount of heat.
The reason dry rubs are so important to smoking chicken is that they add complexity, giving the chicken depth of flavor and making it taste more interesting than chicken whose only flavor comes from the smoke.
Homemade Smoked Chicken Rub
To create this tasty homemade chicken rub, I combine spices that bring some sweetness, some heat, and a little bit of smokiness. The sweet and heat come from a combination of brown sugar, which promotes caramelization, smoked paprika that accentuates smokiness and helps give the chicken a deep red color, along with chili and chipotle powders that add heat and pizzazz.
This versatile dry rub recipe works with chicken wings, whole chickens, chicken thighs, drumsticks, chicken breasts, and chicken quarters. It’s also a great way to add BBQ flavors to chicken roasted in the oven.
Over the years, I’ve tried different ratios of brown sugar for sweetness, chipotle and cayenne for heat, and smoked paprika for depth. Trying to avoid the trap that many other chicken rubs fall into, which is being cloyingly sweet or so hot that they burn your mouth.
In the end, my guiding light was finding a balance that makes this rub flexible enough that it works for any cut of chicken cooked in the smoker or on the grill.
Tips for the Best Chicken Rub
This smoked chicken rub can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place to prevent clumping. If it’s being made ahead of time, I recommend doubling or tripling the amount being made to have some on hand whenever you want barbecue chicken.
The rub will essentially last indefinitely, but like all spice rubs, its potency declines over time. Ideally, it should be used within 9 to 12 months.
In general, one batch makes just under a cup of seasoning and will cover 2 to 4 pounds of meat, depending on how it’s prepared. For instance, it will season a whole bird, 4 to 6 quarters, 8 chicken legs, or 2 lbs of wings.
The ingredients in this smoked chicken rub include:
Smoked Paprika – An essential item for great barbecue, smoked paprika adds depth of flavor, smokiness, and a small bit of bite. It also enhances the chicken’s color and is a step up from regular paprika.
Chili Powder – A good chili powder can serve as the foundation for lots of dry rubs and barbecue sauces.
Brown Sugar – Brown sugar adds sweetness to the chicken while promoting caramelization.
Garlic Powder – Garlic powder is the best way to add garlic flavor to dry rubs. It combines effortlessly with the other ingredients and won’t burn like fresh garlic can when subject to the intense heat of the grill or the long cook time in the smoker.
Cumin – Ground cumin adds bite to dry rubs while brightening a dish. It’s the type of ingredient that makes a dish stand out when it’s used, and tastes like something is missing when it’s left out.
Chipotle – The reason we use ground chipotle in so many of our spice blends is that it has the perfect combination of heat and smokiness that makes it easy to adjust the heat in a rub up or down by adding or subtracting a 1/4 tsp at a time. If chipotle isn’t available, substitute cayenne pepper.
Black Pepper – Using a good quality black pepper helps round out the spice rub’s flavors.
Kosher Salt – The large flakes in kosher salt help the spices penetrate the meat.
Here are a few simple ways to adjust the heat and flavor to fit your taste.
- Sweeter – Add a 1/2 tsp of brown sugar
- Hotter – Add a 1/2 tsp of ground chipotle
- Smokier – Add a 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
- Smokier and Hotter – Add a 1/2 tsp of ground chipotle
Using the Seasoning
The best way to infuse the rub’s flavors into the chicken is to get it under the skin and spread the dry rub into all of the nooks and crannies. If the seasoning is only applied to the outside of the chicken skin, very little of the flavor will penetrate the skin and flavor the meat.
This is more important with large cuts, such as whole chickens, thighs, and breasts, where people will be taking bites without any of the skin. It is less important on wings or drummies, where every bite includes skin and meat.
The rub can be applied up to a day in advance, giving it and the chicken time to bond.
To help the seasoning stick, it can be helpful to coat the pieces of chicken in a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, olive oil, or hot sauce to act as a binder before spreading on the rub. It can also be helpful to pat the chicken dry with a paper towel before adding the binder to get rid of unwanted moisture.
What I like about using vinegar is that it helps improve the overall flavor while giving the spices something to grab onto. Adding a little Tabasco or other hot sauce with the vinegar adds a subtle heat.
The barbecue forward flavors in this spice rub tend to complement hickory and mesquite, which provide more smoke flavor than lighter woods such as apple and cherry. I don’t recommend using oak to smoke chicken; its heavy flavors can be overpowering.
This versatile seasoning will work with just about any smoked chicken recipe. It can also be used to smoke pork, turkey, and other poultry.
Smoking with the Chicken Rub
There are a few reasons why smoking chicken is growing in popularity. The first is that it is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to feed lots of people. The second is because it is a straightforward way to add flavor and moisture to a protein that is often underseasoned and overcooked.
I generally season the chicken with the dry rub and then set up the smoker, giving the spices time to work their magic without complicating meal prep. Keeping your smoker clean helps make sure the chicken tastes great and doesn’t pick up any off-putting flavors.
A common question when it comes to smoking chicken is how long the rub needs to be on before it goes in the smoker. Since it will cook for a couple of hours in the smoker, it’s much more important that the rub completely coats each piece than how long it spends on the bird before smoking.
The primary cause of dry chicken is cooking it too long or letting its temperature get too high before taking it out of the smoker.
To keep the chicken moist and juicy, use a low smoking temperature, generally between 225℉ (107℃) and 250℉ (121℃), and only cook it until it reaches the desired temperature. I like to use this Digital Meat Thermometer to keep track of the chicken’s internal temp.
The USDA considers chicken safe for consumption when its internal temperature has reached 165℉ (74℃).
To learn more about smoking chicken, including how to get smoked chicken with crispy skin, read our in-depth guide, Helpful Tips for Smoking Chicken. The piece includes specific time and temperature recommendations for different types of chicken.
Grilling with the Chicken Rub
This rub is a simple way to make grilled chicken taste delicious. I often use this recipe when I’m grilling chicken drumsticks, thighs, or wings. Espicially when I want tangy barbecue flavor and there’s not enough time to break out the smoker.
To get the most flavor from this rub, grill the chicken over indirect heat until it’s almost finished. Then place it over high heat to crisp up and caramelize the skin.
The best way to do this is to use the Flip, Fire, and Paint Technique with a good homemade BBQ sauce to crisp up thin layers of barbecue sauce on the outside of the chicken. The combination of the chicken rub flavoring the meat and the barbecue sauce flavoring the crispy chicken skin is unbeatable.
Smoked Chicken Rub Recipe
Ingredients
Dry Rub Ingredients
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin, ground
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp chipotle, ground
Instructions
- Mix the brown sugar, smoked paprika, cumin, chili, garlic, and chipotle powders with the salt and pepper in a small bowl.2 tsp brown sugar, 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp chipotle
- Spread the rub on the chicken, taking the time to get it under the skin and into all the nooks and crannies.
- Cook the chicken until it reaches the desired internal temperature.
Notes
Recommended Equipment
Favorite Recipes for Smoked & Grilled Chicken
As a big fan of flavorful chicken, we’ve developed recipes for all sorts of different cuts and occasions. Here are a few of our best chicken recipes.
Smoked Chicken Quarters With Crispy Skin – Smoked quarters have a rich smoky flavor and warm buttery texture that melts in your mouth. This recipe includes everything you need to get the meat tender and juicy on the inside with crispy, golden brown skin on the outside.
How to Smoke a Whole Chicken – Learn to smoke a whole chicken that has a light smoky flavor, crisp skin, and tender and juicy meat.
Smoked Chicken Legs – Smoked drumsticks are one of the simplest ways to make tasty, smoky chicken for a crowd. What makes chicken legs such a great choice is how they absorb the flavors from the smoke and homemade dry rub while staying tender and juicy.
Grilled BBQ Chicken – This sweet, tangy barbecue recipe is a simple way to make slow-cooked, delicious barbecue chicken thighs on the grill.
Smoked Chicken Breast – This smoked chicken breast recipe uses rosemary, thyme, and sage to make it taste like it was slow roasted over a wood fire.
For more recipe ideas and recommendations for what to serve with smoked chicken, check out Our Favorite Smoked Chicken Recipes and The Best Smoked Meat & How to Make it Taste Delicious.
Mark is an experienced food writer, recipe developer, and photographer who is also Umami’s publisher and CEO. A passionate cook who loves to cook for friends, he can often be found in the kitchen or by the grill testing new recipes.
More Info About Mark Hinds
Learn More
Find more recipes, tips, and ideas about these techniques, ingredients, and cuisines.
Techniques:
- Barbecue
- ·
- Grilling
- ·
- Rotisserie
- ·
- Slow Cooking
- ·
- Smoking
Ingredients:
- Black Pepper
- ·
- Brown Sugar
- ·
- Chicken
- ·
- Chicken Breasts
- ·
- Chicken Quarters
- ·
- Chicken Thighs
- ·
- Chicken Wings
- ·
- Chili Powder
- ·
- Chipolte
- ·
- Cumin
- ·
- Garlic
- ·
- Kosher Salt
- ·
- Smoked Paprika
- ·
- Spices
Cuisines:
- American
- ·
- BBQ
- ·
- Midwestern
- ·
- Southern
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