Spice Rub a.k.a. Magic Dust

My father was the king of barbecue in our family. Whatever the weather, you could find him contentedly tending to pieces of chicken on the grill, turning them over and moving them around until each piece was a crispy, golden brown on the outside and tender and moist on the inside. A purist, Dad eschewed any type of seasoning on the chicken and turned his nose up at barbecue sauce, but every bite of grilled chicken was filled with deep, smoky flavor. The barbecue scepter has passed on to me in my household and I hope that my father is not disappointed that I’ve upped the game a little bit with this five star spice rub shared by Bonnie Stern and published in the National Post.

Spice Rub a.k.a. Magic Dust

A dry rub is a blend of seasonings and spices, without any wet ingredients, that you rub on meat or chicken shortly before it is cooked. According to Alex Delaney of Bon Appetit magazine, the big advantage of dry rubs is that they don’t add any additional moisture to the exterior of a piece of meat. A dry rub will enhance the caramelized crust on barbecued meat or chicken. However there’s nothing wrong with incorporating a liquid element after the chicken or meat has developed a beautifully browned exterior. Brushing on a glaze or even some store-bought barbecue sauce during the last few minutes on the grill helps to create layers of complex, concentrated flavor.

This dry rub recipe was developed by award winning pitmaster Mike Mills, owner of the 17th Street Bar and Grill in Illinois. This recipe makes about two cups of spice rub. Stored in a resealable container in the fridge, I use it to amplify the flavor of chicken and ribs cooked on the barbecue, brushing them with barbecue sauce at the very end for a glazed finish

Assemble your ingredients. The list of spices for this rub may seem a bit extensive but it makes a large quantity which I store in the refrigerator and use over several months.

Rub raw chicken (or beef) with a tablespoon or two of spice rub both on top of and underneath the skin.  Spray the barbecue grill with cooking spray or oil it carefully with vegetable oil and a paper towel. Preheat the barbecue on high.

Place the chicken skin side down. Barbecue until the skin starts to turn golden. (Don’t go anywhere. This doesn’t take long.) Turn the grill down to medium heat and flip over the pieces of chicken. Turn off the middle burner, close the barbecue lid and enjoy the sunshine for about fifteen minutes. The temperature of the barbecue should be about 400 F. Take the temperature of the chicken after about 15 minutes. It should be in the 150 F. range. Brush your favorite barbecue sauce on the tops of the chicken. Close the lid and cook until the internal temperature of the chicken is about 160 F. Flip the chicken and brush the underside with more barbecue side. Grill for another 2 minutes. When the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 F. remove it from the grill and serve. 

Print Recipe

Spice Rub a.k.a. Magic Dust

Meat, Chicken and Fish

By Bonnie Stern, Mike Mills – Serves: 16

Prep Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 5 minutes

Savory spice rub to enhance the flavor of chicken or beef.

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup smoked paprika
• 1⁄4 cup kosher salt
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 1⁄4 cup chili powder
• 1⁄4 cup cumin
• 1⁄4 cup granulated garlic
• 2 tablespoons mustard powder
• 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons cayenne

Instructions

1

Combine all ingredients together. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.

Notes

No barbecue? No worries. The spice rub can also be used on oven-roasted chicken, beef or fish.