After thoroughly enjoying the delicious Jamaican jerk spatchcock chicken, it was clear that spiced rubs can enrich a meal. The “Life of Spice” company offer a range of rubs to enhance flavours. I tried five individual rubs on some chicken legs, all distinct and very tasty.

I cooked these direct on our Big Green Egg (BGE), it could probably be done on a normal BBQ. The next day I cooked some in an oven for comparison, the rub flavour was good but the chicken was not as moist. This led to the rub tasting quite dry.

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• Life of Spice rubs (details of the rubs are below)
• Chicken legs

Method

1. Pre-heat you chosen cooking appliance.
   • Set up the BGE for direct cooking at 190°C/375°F. If using a Minimax, ensure that there is a decent gap between the coals and the cooking grid.
   • Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (or 180°C/355°F for fan oven).
2. Brush each chicken leg with 1 tsp of olive oil, and then lightly coat with a teaspoon of a Life of Spice rub.
   • Use plastic gloves to rub into the chicken skin, wash gloves after each use.
3. Repeat above step with a different rub for each chicken leg.
4. Cook chicken legs for 45 minutes or until internal temperature for each of them is at least 74°C/165°F. Ensure that the juices run clear.
5. If using a BGE, flip the legs over and cook skin-side down for 2-3 minutes.

For the large BGE, I use a couple of fire bricks raise the grid to the felt line. This makes it easier to manipulate the chicken.

Life of Spice Rubs

We had the American Rub Collection from the Life of Spice company:

• Memphis Belle
• Sweet Home Alabama
• Savannah Gold
• Much Adobo About Nothing
• Kansas City Rib Rub

They had markedly different tastes, if I had to choose a favourite it would be the Savannah Gold. The Sweet Home Alabama was also very good, it has Oregano, Basil and Sage for a lovely savory note.