Smoked Spanish paprika is my secret ingredient.…Whoops. If it’s a secret, I’m not supposed to tell you, right? Never mind - smoked paprika is too good to keep a secret. I love the subtle flavor it brings to food.
I needed a quick rub, because of a warm snap in January. (Warm enough to light a chimney of charcoal without frostbite! Whoo hoo!). I used my secret ingredient in its natural habitat, a rub with flavors from Spain - garlic, thyme and lemon.
The chicken went on the rotisserie, of course - January or no January, if I’m grilling a chicken, I’m rotisserie grilling a chicken. But, no rotisserie? No worries. See the notes section for regular grill-roast chicken instructions.
Recipe: Rotisserie Chicken with Spanish Smoked Paprika Rub
Equipment:
- Grill with Rotisserie attachment (I use Weber Kettle Grill
with the Rotisserie Attachment) - Charcoal Chimney (The Weber Charocal Chimney holds the right amount of charcoal for this recipe)
- Aluminum foil drip pan (9“x13”, or whatever fits your grill. I use an enameled steel roasting pan or Weber Extra-Large aluminum foil drip pans.)
- Butchers twine
- Instant Read Thermometer
with the 
)
Rotisserie Chicken with Spanish Smoked Paprika Rub
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
Rotisserie Chicken with Spanish Smoked Paprika Rub recipe - chicken rubbed with my favorite secret ingredient, smoked spanish paprika.
Ingredients
- 1 (4 pound) chicken
Spanish Smoked Paprika Rub
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt (or 1 ½ teaspoons table salt)
- 1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic (or garlic powder)
- ½ teaspoons dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon minced lemon peel (I used dried, fresh is better)
Instructions
- Rub the chicken: Mix the Spanish Smoked Paprika rub ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle the chicken with the rub, inside and out, patting it onto the chicken to help it stick. Gently work your fingers under the skin on the breast, then rub some of the spices directly onto the breast meat. Fold the wingtips under the wings and truss the chicken. Skewer the chicken on the rotisserie spit, securing it with the spit forks. Let the chicken rest at room temperature until it is time to grill.
- If you’re planning ahead, use the rub as a dry brine. Four to twenty-four hours before cooking, rub the chicken, put it in a baking dish, and let it rest in the refrigerator. One hour before cooking, remove it from the refrigerator to let it warm up a bit, then continue with trussing.
- Set up the grill for indirect high heat: Set the grill up for indirect high heat with the drip pan in the middle of the grill. For my Weber kettle, I light a chimney starter full of charcoal, wait for it to be covered with ash, then pour it in two equal piles in the charcoal baskets on the sides of the grill, and put the drip pan in the middle, between the baskets.
- Rotisserie grill the chicken: Put the spit on the grill, start the motor spinning, and make sure the drip pan is centered beneath the chicken. Close the lid and cook until the chicken reaches 160°F in the thickest part of the breast, about 1 hour.
- Serve: Remove the chicken from the rotisserie spit and remove the twine trussing the chicken. Be careful - the spit and forks are blazing hot. Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes, then carve and serve.
Notes
For trussing instructions, see my Rotisserie Grilling: Two Chickens video.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Rotisserie
- Cuisine: American
Notes
- I used dried minced lemon peel from Penzeys in the rub. If you can’t find dried lemon peel, use fresh lemon peel. (Fresh lemon peel tastes better than dried anyhow.)
- No rotisserie? No worries. Your best option is grilling a butterflied chicken - use the instructions in my grilled butterflied chicken recipe, but substitute the smoked Spanish paprika rub for the dry brine.
- Grill-Roast Chicken: Don’t feel like butterflying the chicken? Set the grill up for indirect high heat as described in step 2, then put the grill grate in the grill, and put the chicken, breast side down, on the grate over the drip pan. Close the lid and cook for 30 minutes, then flip the chicken breast side up (using wads of paper towels to protect your hands), and grill until the chicken measures 160°F in the breast, about 30 more minutes.
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Rotisserie Chicken Zatar
Rotisserie Chicken with Knob Creek Maple Glaze and Drip Pan Potatoes
Grilled Butterflied Chicken with Dry Brine
My list of Rotisserie Recipes
 Check out my cookbook, Rotisserie Grilling. |
Everything you could ask about the rotisserie,
plus 50 (mostly) new recipes to get you cooking.
It's available as a paperback, or in Kindle e-book format if you want to download it and start reading immediately!
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Erich
This has been our go-to recipe for years, and I’ve never reviewed it till now! Thanks for this, Mike!!
Mike Vrobel
You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoy it!
Nupur
This recipe was amazing! Thank you so much! I actually looked up the recipe at the last minute and didn't have time to infuse my tequila, so I added an ounce of jalapeño juice from the bottle to the recipe.. Worked perfectly! And I used lime juice from a bottle which substituted just fine (though I'm sure fresh would have been better!)
Ryan
So I've made this a couple times for my dad based on Robb's recipe. When I use 3 heaping tablespoons of frozen limeaid I'm using about half a can (6 ounces!). Robb's recipe calls for 1/4 cup (2oz). I guess my idea of heaping is different than his. I may have to break out a 1/4 cup to measure to see if it's better or worse with 1/3 the limeaid concentrate I'm presently adding.
Ryan
Well if you had to rate them which do you prefer? Rob Walsh's or your canning jar one?
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
It is pretty close, but not exact.
Ryan
Is that your Canning Jar Margarita recipe found on your site?
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
My recipe is based on the Frozen Margaritas recipe in Robb Walsh's The Tex-Mex Cookbook:http://forums.egullet.org/topic/127147-frozen-margaritas/
I use these rough proportions, but I eyeball it.
Ryan
What's your margarita recipe? My dad loves them frozen.
Ryan
Fantastic. I can't wait to try though I think it needs some olive brine.
Just One Donna
Your recipe inspired me. While I have infused spirits in the past I was much too impatient to do so for thus cocktail. Instead I muddled a couple of slices of jalapeno pepper in my shaker. We were out of cointreau so used the closest thing we had- Grand Marnier. Loved everything about this drink! The olives added a must have flavor. Love!
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
Great! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Ken
Wow, is this good! I steeped 3 large jalapenos in the tequila for 24 hours. I followed your recipe exactly and it is excellent. Thanks Mike!
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
You're welcome - enjoy it!
Volite
Ditto.. born, raised and living in Texas. I live about 2 miles from a Chuy's and I LOVE this martini! It's even better than the Mexican Martini at Trudy's (I know.. blasphemy!). Thank you for posting this recipe. I can't wait to try it!
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner
Thanks for getting back to me - mine's stored in my knife block, and so far, so good...