4-3-2-1 Spice Rub

This is a great rub, but I reduced the salt in half and added 2 tablespoons of garlic powder instead. Kept the rest of the rub ingredients the same. The chicken is incredibly moist and flavourful.

• alexandalisa

• Ottawa, Canada

• 8/20/2020

I make this in small batches and keep it in the spice drawer in a repurposed plastic spice container, so I can shake it over salmon (planked on the grill), veggies before roasting, steaks or almost anything else we grill. Haven’t yet tried it on slow cooker ribs (finished on the grill), but guess what’s for dinner tomorrow!

• lisalmf2474

• Philadelphia

• 11/3/2018

The absolute best chicken I have ever had. Wasn't too salty at all. Had to stand guard during the cookout to make sure everyone had a chance to sample it.

• kngwly

• ColumColumba, MissouriColumbiColumbia, MO

• 5/24/2017

This made the best beer can chicken we have ever had!

• Anonymous

• Maine

• 11/26/2016

I've made this recipe a few times and yes as some reviewers have said it is too salty, next time I will cut back to 2tbsp. salt and add another tbsp if necessary. One change I have made and continue to do is use 1tbsp sweet paprika and 1tbsp smoked paprika. I do enjoy the subtle smokiness.

• moecanada

• Welland On. Canada

• 4/26/2016

This is so quick to mix up and adds great flavor to so many things. I use it to season vegetables before roasting, flavor meats (beer can chicken as well as other things). I didn't find it too salty, but I use the store brand kosher salt, so maybe it's not as salty as others.

• eavers

• 3/9/2016

Fellow gastronomes: all kosher salts are NOT created equal(ly). Diamond Crystal is (approximately) half as salty (by weight) as Morton's which is almost as salty by weight/volume as table salt (1.75-1.85 Morton's tsp= 2 tsp table salt~ 4 tsp Diamond Crystal). (Exact substitution figures are available all over the internet). Diamond Crystal is my go-to brand for rubs for this reason (I can multiply/divide by 2 easier than 1.85) , AND it can be substituted on a 2-1 basis for table salt in most recipes; makes a nice finishing salt on if you don't have any fancy fleur-de-sel. Mortons is good for topping homemade pretzels, bagels, where you want a dense, crunchy sodium topping.

• Anonymous

• North Jersey

• 10/25/2015

Sorry but the amount of salt was way to much, I might try this recipe again but have the brown sugar at 4 parts the salt at 2 parts and the rest of the ingredients as suggested

• cookie3

• Ottawa, Ont. Can.

• 8/3/2015

TOO much salt. For beer can chicken (4.15) thought the seasoning quantity was too much. Like another review, I will use tsp and reduce salt by half. VERY good on the spice side, prepared for 2 of us, can't wait for leftovers.

• garlicbutter

• Mechanicsville, va

• 7/7/2015

Great rub. I do not find it too salty or too hot, but then again I am growing Carolina Reapers in my garden. Do use kosher salt, and I buy small 3-3.5 lb chickens that cook in about an hour and stay balanced easily on a beer can. So my unit of measure is tsps. not tablespoons, which is enough for two small chix.

• BobinMass3

• Durham, NC

• 5/7/2015

Wow. So salty that even our most polite guest only took a few bites of my husband's beer can chicken. And, yes, I used Kosher salt. I tried it a second time with half the recommended amt of salt and it was truly fabulous. So I'm renaming it the 2-3-2-1 spice rub and it's now my go-to BBQ rub.

• heckabore

• SF Bay Area, CA

• 9/14/2014

I made this rub for chicken it was pretty powerful, but when I used the leftovers on baby back ribs, it was amazing!

• JTauscher1

• Sunset, CA

• 7/19/2014

I LOVE THIS RUB. i have used it on Beer can chicken,Steaks and pork it is greattttttttttttttttt. i have made four or five times this month.

• iSteve66

• Amarillo,Tx viva NYC

• 7/16/2014

This rub is incredible. I would guess that all the folks who thought it was too salty used table salt instead of kosher salt. If you only have table salt on hand, cut the salt by half. This is our go to rub - when we add the BBQ sauce from the same Bon Appetit edition, this is the best BBQ chicken we've ever had - guests say the same!

• andreaghall

• Reston, VA

• 5/4/2014

Great rub to make extra and have on had for a quick dinner prep. Use the Kosher Salt - it does make a difference.

• dzucker

• 10/20/2013