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    Home » Recipes » Rotisserie

    Rotisserie Chicken with Spanish Smoked Paprika Rub

    Published: Jan 23, 2014 · Modified: Feb 28, 2017 by Mike Vrobel · This post may contain affiliate links · 16 Comments

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    Rotisserie Chicken with Smoked Spanish Paprika Rub
    Rotisserie Chicken with Smoked Spanish Paprika Rub

    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
    Print
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    Rotisserie Chicken with Spanish Smoked Paprika Rub


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    • Author: Mike Vrobel
    • Total Time: 2 hours
    • Yield: 4-6 1x
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    Description

    Rotisserie Chicken with Spanish Smoked Paprika Rub recipe - chicken rubbed with my favorite secret ingredient, smoked spanish paprika.


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 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

    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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

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    Rubbed, trussed, spit, and on the grill
    Rubbed, trussed, spit, and on the grill

     

    Heating up
    Heating up

     

    Spinning away
    Spinning away

     

    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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    Comments

    1. Erich says

      June 25, 2023 at 2:30 pm

      This has been our go-to recipe for years, and I’ve never reviewed it till now! Thanks for this, Mike!!

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        June 26, 2023 at 6:26 pm

        You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoy it!

        Reply
    2. Nupur says

      December 25, 2014 at 2:10 am

      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!)

      Reply
    3. Ryan says

      October 28, 2014 at 8:21 pm

      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.

      Reply
    4. Ryan says

      October 24, 2014 at 1:48 pm

      Well if you had to rate them which do you prefer? Rob Walsh's or your canning jar one?

      Reply
    5. Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says

      October 24, 2014 at 1:18 pm

      It is pretty close, but not exact.

      Reply
    6. Ryan says

      October 24, 2014 at 1:13 pm

      Is that your Canning Jar Margarita recipe found on your site?

      Reply
    7. Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says

      October 24, 2014 at 12:30 pm

      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.

      Reply
    8. Ryan says

      October 24, 2014 at 1:54 am

      What's your margarita recipe? My dad loves them frozen.

      Reply
    9. Ryan says

      October 24, 2014 at 1:53 am

      Fantastic. I can't wait to try though I think it needs some olive brine.

      Reply
    10. Just One Donna says

      September 07, 2014 at 10:31 pm

      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!

      Reply
    11. Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says

      June 09, 2014 at 11:32 pm

      Great! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

      Reply
    12. Ken says

      June 09, 2014 at 10:16 pm

      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!

      Reply
    13. Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says

      May 29, 2014 at 10:04 am

      You're welcome - enjoy it!

      Reply
    14. Volite says

      May 29, 2014 at 3:36 am

      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!

      Reply
    15. Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says

      January 25, 2014 at 3:47 pm

      Thanks for getting back to me - mine's stored in my knife block, and so far, so good...

      Reply

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    Welcome to Dad Cooks Dinner!

    I'm Mike Vrobel, a dad who cooks dinner every night. I'm an enthusiastic home cook, and I write about pressure cooking, rotisserie grilling, and other food topics that grab my attention.

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