18 Spice Chicken Rub

One of the most common questions we receive from our customers is "What are the best seasonings or spices for chicken?"

These customers are usually trying to eat healthier, aren't big fans of fish and chicken is often their protein of choice for many of their meals. We know from firsthand experience that when you're eating a lot of chicken it can get awful boring.

 

The Story Behind Our 18 Spice Chicken Rub

Well I love to cook chicken - whether it's on the grill, roasted in the oven or tossed into the slow cooker and so naturally I'm constantly experimenting with new chicken rubs, seasonings, marinades or some exotic flavor combination to find something that will surprise my taste buds (which is not easy to do). When testing new blends on the grill I especially enjoy summer (although I do grill year round in Pennsylvania) as one of the first nuggets of feedback I get will come from my neighbors (whichever side of the house is downwind that day) as one of them will often come over and say - "oh that smells good so what seasoning are you cooking with tonight?". Always a good sign.

Because we've been creating blends for almost 10 years now (not just ours but custom blends as well) we've gained a tremendous amount of knowledge about not only what pairs well together but also which spices create the perfect base for a rub or seasoning. A great deal of that knowledge has been incorporated into this blend which is also one of our most popular.

Now typically I prefer big and bold flavors on my chicken (gravitating more towards African, Latin American and Middle Eastern inspired blends) but this rub is gentler and tends to be very well received by family members who prefer subtler flavors.

 

What Does 18 Spice Chicken Rub Taste Like

Like many good chicken rubs our 18 Spice Chicken Rub has a bit of sweetness to it from the demerara sugar and cinnamon. When grilling chicken the demerara sugar helps form a nice crust to keep the juices in. Now while there are a variety of chiles we used (ancho, pasilla, de arbol and cayenne) in this blend it only has a very, very mild kick. Finally you'll note some very gentle hints of licorice from the fennel with some subtle fruitiness from the ancho and cloves.

Now we're big believers in salt free seasonings but sometimes in order to make a good rub become a great rub you need a dash of salt and this was one of those times. For some of our customers they feel that this chicken rub needs a bit more salt - so if you feel the same way after trying it the first time by all means add a bit more salt to it the second time around.

 

Cooking with 18 Spice Chicken Rub

For best results I like to season my chicken for at least 2-4 hours prior to cooking to allow the seasoning to work its magic (place in the refrigerator and remove 30 minutes prior to cooking). I personally like to let it season for about 5-10 hours for optimum flavor (perfect when cooking on the weekend). I recommend using about 1 tablespoon of seasoning per pound of chicken. You can always add more if you feel that it needs a bit more.

 

What's In 18 Spice Chicken Rub

Hand blended from ancho, pasilla, cinnamon, ginger, onion, garlic, cumin, sea salt, demerara sugar, mustard, black pepper, coriander, California paprika, cloves, allspice, fennel, cayenne and de arbol.

 

More Chicken Seasoning Favorites

If you're a fan of chicken seasonings then you'll want to be sure to check out these customer favorites - our best selling chicken seasoning Honey Chipotle (a bit of sweet and just a bit of heat), Flippin' The Bird (more herby flavored), Piri Piri (when I'm in the mood for some spicy African flavor) and one of my current favorites is actually Napa Valley Pepper (forms a great crust on grilled chicken).

 

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