An insanely delicious dry rub for chicken or pork. Sweet with a little heat perfect for chicken wings, beer can chicken, pork chops and ribs! Great for keto BBQ!
One of the pleasures of living in Southern California is being able to grill all year. With a little advance planning, grilling enables me to have a tasty dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes. All I need is a salad or an easy side to complete the meal.
We flavor and season our meats with great marinades and flavorful dry rubs. Unfortunately, most store bought BBQ rubs contain sugar. Luckily low carb sugar substitutes have improved over the years so making a homemade sugar-free dry rub is easy!
This amazing keto rub is one of our favorites. It’s smoky-sweet flavor makes a delicious smoked beer can chicken and is also great on turkey and pork. or mixed into ground pork for pork burgers.
What is dry rub?
PURIST:
A dry rub is a blend of dry seasonings and spices applied directly to meats. Purists argue that dry rubs be applied to dry meat without the aid of water or oil.
Meat needs to sit overnight in the refrigerator on a rack so that the rub doesn’t get wet. Salt is not added to a dry rub because salt pulls water out of the meat, therefore turning the dry rub into a wet rub. Oil should not be rubbed on the meat before applying a dry rub for the same reason.
ME:
I oil and season my meats with salt before adding a rub. Then, I refrigerate them on a sheet pan or in a dish overnight before grilling. Sometimes, I season my chicken with a dry rub just before cooking. Some rules are meant to be broken and we always have tasty meals.
Dry rub vs bbq sauce
Dry rub vs bbq sauceDry rubs are applied before cooking whereas bbq sauces are applied after cooking begins, often towards the end of cooking. Since most barbecue sauces are tomato based and full of sugar, they caramelize and burn quickly. (My keto bbq sauce recipe gets rave reviews!)
How to dry rub chicken
Dry the meat. Evenly coat the surface with the dry rub. Refrigerate on a rack overnight. Alternately, oil your meat, apply an even coating of seasoning. Massage into the meat or leave as is. Let sit for 20 minutes to several hours to overnight before cooking.
When to put dry rub on chicken
Apply dry rub to chicken or pork the day before, to several minutes before you grill. It’s up to you. The longer the rub sits on the meat, the stronger the flavor. Grill away and serve with a cooling Alabama white BBQ sauce and my favorite keto coleslaw.
How much dry rub to put on chicken
How much dry rub you use depends on the potency of the rub and whether or not it contains salt. Some pre-made or store bought rubs have serving suggestions like: ¼ tsp per serving. I use ¼ – ½ teaspoon per side for chicken breasts or pork chops. I use more on my keto oven ribs.
NOTE: If you notice I use Montreal Steak Seasoning as a base for this rub. The reason is because it already contains salt, pepper, garlic, onion and other spices. This cuts down on the number of ingredients one needs to pull out of the cabinet.
For those who love and herby Italian flavor, here’s a great all around homemade garlic and herb seasoning.
Keto BBQ Rub for Chicken
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Montreal Steak Seasoning (see notes)
- 1/4 cup Low carb brown sugar (coconut sugar or brown sugar for regular folks)
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or more to taste
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.
- Use 1/4 tsp per side for a chicken breast/ pork chop or more to taste.
- Makes 10 tablespoons or 60 servings at 1/2 teaspoon each.
Notes
Nutrition
Quick and easy recipe! I’m all for building off of pre-mixed seasonings and this recipe is a great combination of flavors. Thanks Kim!
Thanks Patrice! -Kim
Hi, Kim
Love this rub! Question for you though. Is storing this rub best in the fridge or just in the cupboard?
Thank you :)
Hi Jen. I’m glad you like it. I keep it in a jar in the cupboard. -Kim
Hard to find a dry rub I don’t like except those that have tablespoons of salt!! This was a simple one building on a good basic steak seasoning. Great for everyone who may not have the time to blend, grind, a dozen ingredients. Loved its simplicity!
I made my own Montreal Steak seasoning because I didn’t have any either. I just Googled a recipe.
This is great. Have you written cookbooks?
Thank you, Joanne. I have turned down offer after offer to write a cookbook. It just doesn’t fit in my life just now. -Kim
Twice I chased your recipe for a great chicken rub – both times the recipe called for pre-made ingredients (montreal steak seasoning) what a bummer.
How can I subscribe to this site? Recipes are awesome and defeat boring meals.
Hi Kathy. If you are on mobile, there should be a subscribe bar at the top (in green). Should be the same for desktop. -Kim
HI Kim, I just wanted to thank you so much for what you do! I have been recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes….no more sugar or carbs for me, but it’s hard…especially when you have to feed your family…..You seem to make meals that the whole family enjoys, and this is no easy feat……Every single recipe I’ve tried has been fantastic, and I look forward to trying new ones every week. Reading that you don’t take money to promote expensive, unnecessary products just makes me appreciate you even more. Thank you again for helping so many of use live a healthy and delicious life,
Hey Sugar! I’m so glad you have enjoyed the recipes you’ve tried so far. I know that everyone has different tastebuds and you can’t please everybody! Lol. It’s my extreme pleasure to share what we are eating at home. I appreciate your kind words and the time you took to comment. Have a wonderful day. -Kim
Hi Kim, thank you for the new letter . I always enjoy it. Which brand of Montreal steak seasoning do you use ? I saw
some @ Costco , is it McCormick ? Maybe there is a *copycat* recipe for it on line . I have all other ingredients .
I applaud you for not posting advertisement !!! I know that you could make extra money -another feather in your hat !
I really appreciate you !
Take care, Barbara from Ca.
Hi Barbara, thanks for the kind words. I use the McCormick brand. I bought the big container at Costco which is very coarse and I put it in the coffee grinder to make it more fine. It’s lasted me two years so far! Yeah, you guys don’t need me to advertise products in the newsletter so I get commissions. That’s not fun for anyone. I hope you enjoy the dry rub. Take care. -Kim
Thank you for your recipe. I made the dry rub and put it on chicken wings and it was delicious!
I am so glad you liked the dry rub, Linda. I bet is was wonderful on your chicken wings. Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know what you thought. Have a wonderful day. -Kim