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With summer practically here it’s time for a good grill recipe, don’t you agree?
Okay it’s not a grill recipe to be exact but this smoky spice rub recipe can be used on pretty much anything, chicken, fish, burgers, steak, pork, ribs (<- hold tight for Monday’s post!), and even shrimp. It adds a big smoky, spicy, sweet flavor to anything you put it on. Best part is you can cook that meat up any way you like, pan sear, broil, roast, and of course GRILL it!
You guys, I have a real problem. I get board with repeat foods very easily (<- I guess I was meant to have food blog). We usually eat chicken several times a week. Chicken is great: it’s lean protein, it’s easy to cook, and it’s mild and neutral in taste so you can make it with any kind of flavor combination. This smoky spice rub was born out of my desperation to make my weekly chicken more fun and exciting!
The best part is that this smoky spice rub is it’s super easy to make, just mix up a handful of spices you probably already have on hand and rub it on the chicken or steak or whatever you are making. Then you cook that smoky spice rubbed meat however your heart desires and be prepared my friends, for an anything-but-boring piece of meat! That is music to my foodie heart right there! The result is a smoky, sweet, slightly spicy piece of any kind of protein.
Smoky spice rub only takes 5 minutes to mix up and rub onto your meat of choice. It only requires 6 ingredients + a few optional ones to make it spicy, if you desire (hello cayenne pepper and chipotle powder). You have the option to use it as a dry rub or to mix in a little grapeseed oil or avocado oil so that if forms a paste that will stick to meat a little easier (<– this is the way to go for chicken!). Also this recipe is easy to scale up or down depending on how much food you are making. You can even make an extra large batch, store it in a mason jar for 6 months and anytime you need to make anything a little more exciting up your smoky spice rub will happily be waiting for you!
No more boring pieces of chicken or any kind of meat – that is a beautiful thing! Go get your grill on! Or your whatever-kind-of-cooking-on!
Oh hey! I almost forgot to mention the other reason I created this smoky spice rub, for Father’s day. Father’s day is coming up this weekend and what dad doesn’t love some grilled meat?! Well I guess if your dad is vegan, but still he could put this smoky spice rub on some hearty veggies and roast or grill them or maybe even some firm tofu. (<- that would probably be really tasty, someone please try it and let me know in the comments how it was? PLEASE! ) Anyways, even though Father’s day is only two days away because this recipe only takes 5 minutes to throw together you still have time to whip it up and gift it to your dad so that he has something to look forward to the next time he wants to grill some steak! You’ll be the best daughter or son ever!
P.S. be prepared for a recipe featuring this smoky spice rub on Monday!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6 Ingredient Smoky Spice Rub
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: About 1/4 cup 1x
- Category: Spices, Chicken/Poultry, fish/seafood, red meat
- Cuisine: Gluten Free, Dairy free
Description
This smoky spice rub can be used on pretty much any kind of meat: chicken, fish, burgers, steak, pork, or ribs. It can be used as a dry rub or mix it with a little oil to create a paste. It’s a quick and EASY way to add excitement to any meat, It’s smoky, a little spicy, and sweet, perfect for grilling, roasting, or pan searing!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper
- Optional: 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
- Optional: 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Optional: 2 tablespoons avocado oil or grapeseed oil
Instructions
- Mix: Add all of the seasonings to a jar with a lid, close lid and shake until combined. OR add all ingredients to a small mixing bowl and whisk together. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- To Use: Either rub onto meat of choice as a dry rub, or mix with the oil until you reach a sand like consistency and then rub onto meat. Cook meat as needed depending on what you are making. You can either rub it on the meat and cook immediately or rub it on the meat up to 24 hours in advance. This rub is great on almost any meat: chicken, steak, pork, ribs, burgers, fish, shrimp etc.
Notes
You may have leftovers of the rub depending on how much meat you are making. You can easily scale the recipe up or down as needed.
You can make a large batch and keep it in a mason jar or old spice bottle so it’s ready whenever you want to easily add extra flavor to meat. It will keep for up to 6 months.
To ensure that this recipe is gluten free make sure that all of the spices you use are certified gluten free.
more delicious EASY chicken recipes:
One Pan Lemon Chicken
One Pan Apricot Chicken
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