This is one of the very first rubs we developed and it remains one of our most popular chicken rubs. Now while this is one of our simpler rubs, with just a few spices and herbs, it certainly isn’t lacking in flavor!

The Story Behind Our Honey Chipotle Rub

During the first year or two of our existence we were pretty much strictly spices, herbs, chiles and a couple of pre-mixed seasoning blends (that we got from one of our first suppliers). As we started learning more about spices we began researching seasoning blends and then tried our hand at some of the more common blends - a ubiquitous Taco Seasoning, a basic Italian Seasoning and then a more exotic Garam Masala.

Some of our early customers were regional competition barbecuers so we started looking into what these guys were looking for and what type of seasoning blends they were doing. These guys tended to gravitate towards sweet with just a tiny bit of heat for their pork (most often ribs or pulled pork) and chicken. It was the first time that we heard the term “sweet heat”. We also started seeing this “sweet heat” theme popping up on more and more flavor trends reports so we just had to dive in.

Now most of the “sweet” in these sweet heat blends tended to be sugar with the usual suspects being brown sugar, turbinado sugar and if they were really exotic muscovado sugar or demerara sugar. We wanted something a bit different and that was when we first came across granulated honey. Now we would love to use a 100% pure granulated honey but that just isn’t possible. What they have to do is spray honey over sugar, dry it and then it’s broken into pin-head sized granules. The result is 8-10% honey and the balance is sugar. Nonetheless the flavor is amazing.

For the heat we weren’t interested in “burn your face off” but being more in tune with our barbecue brethren we wanted more of a “just hot enough” sensation. Chipotle Chiles were the way to go after testing several other chiles (Ancho wasn’t hot enough and Habanero was a bit too much).

Cooking with Honey Chipotle Rub

Now while we initially tested this rub on chicken and fish our customers have found numerous others ways to use this -- everything from beef tenderloins, black eyed peas and ham, mixing in dips, seasoning pork ribs and chops, adding to sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, salmon and stir fries.

If you’re not familiar with a dry rub it’s a seasoning blend of dry spices and most often salt. The seasoning is applied to the meat and then rubbed evenly on all sides before cooking, this helps to form a tasty crust that contains tremendous flavor. If you have ever tasted great barbeque, it is most likely that a dry rub was used. Dry rubs give meats (beef, chicken, fish or pork) a memorable flavor.

We use as little salt as possible in our spice blends and dry rubs and instead prefer using other ingredients in higher amounts for the best flavor possible. We use salt to enhance the flavors of the other spices and herbs not to be the dominant flavor characteristic of the blend.

Apply our Honey Chipotle Rub liberally on all sides of your chicken, fish or pork. As a rule of thumb we recommend starting out with 1 tablespoon of rub per pound of meat (for fish use half that amount). Because of the salt in this blend there is no need to use any kind of brine or marinade.

Once the rub is applied we like to let the chicken or pork "marinate in the seasoning" in the fridge. Once the rub has worked its way into the meat, it will look wet and tacky.  Be sure to touch up any spots where the rub didn’t take during seasoning prior to cooking. For best results apply the rub to your chicken or pork at least 2 hours in advance of hitting the grill, oven or smoker. For fish or seafood only let the seasoning marry for about 30 minutes before cooking.

What's In It?

Our Honey Chipotle Rub is blended from granulated honey, sea salt, onion, paprika, chipotle powder and Italian seasoning.

What Does it Taste Like?

This blend has the ideal balance of sweet and heat. We absolutely love the sweet taste provided by the honey combined with the smoky flavor of the ground chipotle powder. The granulated honey really helps to form an ideal crust that all good grilled or smoked chicken, fish and ribs should have. The crust helps seal in the moisture and makes for a juicier meat.


Nutritional Information
Serving Size 1 teaspoon, Amount Per Serving: Calories 8.5, Fat Cal.0, Total Fat 0g (0% DV), Sat. Fat 0g (0% DV), Trans Fat 0g (0% DV), Cholest. 0mg (0% DV), Sodium 225.4mg (9% DV), Total Carb. 2.1g (1% DV), Dietary Fiber .1g (0% DV), Sugars 0g, Protein 0g (0%DV), Vitamin A 1.3% DV), Vitamin C (.2% DV), Calcium (.2% DV), Iron (.3% DV), Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Related Blog Posts

The 66 Best Seasonings & Spices for Chicken
Flavor Characteristics of Spices
What Spices Go with what Meat
8 Healthiest Cuisines in the World