How To Make A BBQ Chicken Rub
Jun 10, 2025
You can make your own BBQ Chicken Rub and get cook some amazing tasting chicken in your backyard. We will show you how to create your own rub with ingredients you probably have in your kitchen. Let’s talk about it!
BBQ Chicken Rub - Why Make Your Own
When my wife purchased my first smoker for my birthday, I immediately started making my own rub. I found a BBQ rub recipe that has become my go-to all-purpose rub. I used it on everything from BBQ chicken to brisket. It was amazing!
As I progressed, I decided to start experimenting by adding different seasonings. For turkey, I used this recipe but added some rosemary and thyme. That is the nice thing about making your own seasonings is you get to experiment!
Try this BBQ chicken rub, see what you like, tweak it and make it your own! You will start to really enjoy testing and perfecting BBQ rubs. This chicken seasoning is a result of my testing.
The BBQ Chicken Rub Recipe
When making a chicken seasoning for smoking, you want to make sure not to add too much salt. When smoking chicken, it cooks relatively quickly vs a brisket. The chicken is a smaller piece of meat and does not cook long enough to form a bark.
In this BBQ chicken rub recipe, I use a smaller amount of salt vs some of the other rubs I have made.
Ok, ok I know, can you get to the recipe! No problem, the recipe is below:
- 1 tbsp fine sea salt
- 2 tsp cracked black pepper
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp ground mustard
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper – optional if you want some heat!
What Makes This a Great Chicken Seasoning
This is a great chicken seasoning because it appeals to the kiddos as well as the adults.
The flavor balance is quite nice, it is not sweet, it doesn’t have much or any heat, and it just works for poultry!
Sweet rubs can work for poultry, but they are preferred for pork.
Again, this is the fun of homemade rubs, experiment. If you like your chicken with some sweetness, add a ¼ cup of brown sugar and that should appease your sweet tooth!
In Conclusion
Ok, so there you have it. This is a simple rub that is amazing on chicken!
You might also be concerned about your chicken breasts drying out. We got your back for that as well. I use Butcher BBQ Original Bird Booster to add additional chicken flavor and moisture. It’s truly amazing how delicious pairing your BBQ chicken rub with Bird Booster will do!
Ok, it’s your turn, dust those birds and let’s get cooking!
