Cooking things from scratch is the ultimate flex for any home chef — the slow-simmered sauces, the hand-ground spices, marinades with secret ingredients. But there’s a special kind of respect reserved for cooks who know the smartest short-cuts that save time on prep and still deliver bold, layered flavors. Instead of looking down upon store-bought marinades and rubs, they try and try until they find the best ones. Which is exactly what we did.
In a Tasting Table taste-test, we ranked nine store-bought chicken dry rubs and while there were a few that over-promised and under-delivered, the big surprise was that the best one didn’t come from a food company. That’s right — the top-ranked chicken dry rub was Kick’n Chicken Seasoning from the grill-masters at Weber (for those of you who are curious, the Jack Daniel’s Chicken Rub ranked last because, frankly, it was boring).
Three things swung the vote in Weber’s favor. First, the ingredients stood out for their simplicity: Onion, salt, garlic, spices, red pepper, orange peel, sugar, red bell pepper, and paprika extractives for color. Second, the spices were left in visible pieces rather than ground to a fine powder, which made the meat look “delicious and tantalizingly fresh,” according to our reviewer. And finally, the flavor delivered a peppery warmth, a citrusy hit of orange, a touch of sweetness, just the right amount of salt, and a savory backbone that made a simple weeknight chicken dinner taste like you’d spent all Sunday on it.
Weber Kick’n Chicken Seasoning is loved for its versatility
To get maximum flavor out of your chicken, you need a spice mix that does a few key things really well — it needs to build layered flavor, add visual appeal, and cook cleanly without compromising texture. Weber’s Kick’n Chicken checked all three boxes, and we’re not the only ones who swear by it. One Redditor said that they didn’t just use it to marinate chicken, but also to add a kick to their homemade soups and stews as well.
This kind of experimentation seems to be the recurring theme with this popular blend finding a way into all kinds of dishes. Recipes online show it tossed with roasted vegetables, mixed into burger patties for a fiery boost or even sprinkled over popcorn for an instant flavor upgrade. What was created as a chicken seasoning has clearly evolved into a go-to spice mix for anyone who likes bold, balanced flavor without fuss. And if you do want to stick with chicken, the possibilities still stretch far beyond the grill. For example, make fajitas using Kick’n Chicken to season both the meat and the peppers. The most creative recipe we found involved blending crushed Cheez-Its with the seasoning to make a crunchy coating for oven-baked chicken, which sounds very wrong and yet very delicious.
Long story short, Weber’s Kick’n Chicken is a worthy winner — simple enough to be your weeknight shortcut, and bold enough to be a part of your signature recipe.
