Tex-Mex BBQ chicken — recipe with dry rub

Updated

Tex-Mex BBQ chicken combines warm cumin, chilli and smoked paprika with grilled corn, guacamole and tortillas. Coat the thighs in dry rub and cook indirectly at around 185°C. You can cook immediately or let the seasoning sit in the fridge beforehand. Check every piece reaches at least 74°C with a meat thermometer; a dark crust or fixed grilling time alone does not demonstrate safe cooking.

Tex-Mex Rub in a brown bag with a red label, surrounded by spices
Product illustration of a 100 g pack. Check your chosen variant for the current contents; the decorative spices are not an ingredients list.

This recipe's flavour profile

Here, Tex-Mex means warm seasoning, a smoky note and fresh accompaniments. Our Tex-Mex rub's product description names cumin, chilli, smoked paprika and oregano. This is not a complete ingredients or allergen list; check the current product label.

Tex-Mex blends do not all require the same ingredients or heat level. Smoked paprika is a flavour choice, not a rule for the entire cuisine. Nor is a red or brown crust simply ‘caramelised paprika and cumin’: colour can come from the spices themselves and from browning during cooking.

Ingredients for 4 people

  • 1.2–1.5 kg chicken thighs, with or without skin
  • Tex-Mex BBQ Rub: 65 g per 1.5 kg chicken
  • Olive oil as a thin binder
  • Corn cobs, avocado, lime and tortillas for serving
  • Meat thermometer and BBQ with a lid

Adjust rub quantity to salt content and product guidance. Skin can be crisped; without skin, seasoning sits directly on the meat. Neither automatically guarantees juiciness. Bone, thickness and size affect cooking time; assess those differences with a thermometer.

Seasoning and optional chilled resting

  1. Use fully thawed chicken and pat dry with kitchen paper if needed. Discard the used paper immediately.
  2. Apply a thin layer of olive oil followed by rub on all sides, carefully underneath the skin if desired.
  3. You can cook immediately; a two-hour seasoning period is not compulsory. If you want to give the seasoning more time, leave the chicken covered in the fridge at 4°C for a few hours or overnight, as preferred. Always stay within its use-by date. Longer is not better without limit, and seasoning time does not replace doneness checks.
  4. Keep chilled until the BBQ is ready. A compulsory 30 minutes at room temperature is unnecessary. Keep raw chicken, hands and utensils separate from salad, bread and cooked food.

Indirect grilling at around 185°C

  1. Create an indirect zone and keep the temperature steady at around 185°C. Do not position the thighs directly above fuel or flames.
  2. Treat 25–30 minutes as an initial guide for smaller pieces, not a fixed finish time for all thighs. Large or bone-in pieces may take longer. Turn as needed for even cooking.
  3. Measure every piece in its thickest part, avoiding bone. Continue until at least 74°C is reached. Colour, clear juices or a smoke ring do not replace this check.
  4. For more colour or crisper skin, briefly finish over direct heat if wanted. Watch closely and move the chicken away from flames or rapid darkening. Do not automatically add another 5 minutes, and avoid burning.
  5. Rest sufficiently cooked chicken for about 5 minutes on a clean plate. Remove any bones, then slice into strips, against the grain where practical.

Smoking wood is optional. Use a small amount of clean, dry, untreated wood intended for cooking, such as apple or cherry. The rub already contains smoked paprika; extra smoke is not essential to this recipe.

Corn and the Tex-Mex table

Grill the corn for around 15 minutes as a guide, turning regularly until the kernels are cooked and the colour looks right. Keep corn and serving utensils free of raw chicken juices. Finish with a little rub and lime juice to taste.

Warm tortillas briefly on the grill while watching them. A fixed minute per side will not suit every tortilla or heat level. Serve fresh guacamole made with avocado, lime, coriander and salt. Add sour cream, fresh coriander, lime and optional jalapeño so everyone can choose their preferred heat.

Storing and reheating

Cool leftover chicken quickly in small, shallow portions and refrigerate within 2 hours at 4°C. Include resting and serving time in that limit. Keep covered for no more than 2 days or freeze. Store chicken separately from cold accompaniments.

Reheat only the portion needed, once, until steaming hot throughout, including near any bone. A little water and a cover help prevent drying. Discard leftovers from the reheated portion.

Choosing rubs and shipping

Our rubs are blended to order. The Starter Pack contains three 100 g bags of your choice. Check shipping charges for your selected destination at checkout.

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