A Spice Rub Is The Easy Way To Improve Store-Bought Rotisserie Chicken

A grocery store rotisserie chicken can be the saving grace of a weeknight dinner. Because, while Ina Garten might call roast chicken the simplest dish to cook in the world, you don't always want to wait up to two hours for your dinner to be ready after a long day at work.

But, especially if you are a single person, that rotisserie chicken can last quite a while. So it's always worth considering how you can spice it up over the course of several meals — literally. Spice rubs aren't just good for chicken on its way into the oven; rotisserie chickens provide a blank canvas for different flavors to shine, even when added in post.

All you need to do is mix together your desired spices, lightly coat your chicken with them, and pop it in the oven for a few minutes to reheat. The results will give you all the flavor of a home-cooked chicken, with almost none of the effort.

The great part about a rotisserie chicken is that you can go in many different directions for your spice rub. You probably won't need to add salt, but you should definitely add things like garlic and onion powder, paprika, rosemary, thyme, freshly cracked black pepper, crushed coriander seeds, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes. A little brown sugar will work wonders as well, but it will definitely need to be baked, so the sugar melts onto the chicken's skin and creates a delightful crust.

If you're meal prepping, consider breaking up your rotisserie chicken into different pieces and giving them each a different spice rub. Some za'atar and Aleppo pepper could set you up for a Mediterranean-style pita sandwich with tzatziki, tomato, cucumber, and onion. Ancho chili powder, oregano, cumin, and paprika could give you a great base for Taco Tuesday. For a cheater's tandoori chicken rice bowl, grab some garam masala, ginger, coriander, turmeric, and chili powder. Warm your spices in a pan, add the chicken and perhaps a touch of yogurt, and you have the start of a delicious meal.

Adding a dry rub isn't the only way to perk up your grocery store rotisserie chicken. Adding a layer of something moist is also a great way to amp up the flavor and prevent your chicken from drying out in the reheating process — and will help any additional spices stick to your chicken. Mix up a bit of Greek yogurt with lemon zest and dill and spread it over your chicken before reheating, or whip up a honey mustard glaze.

You can also skip the oven altogether, and instead bloom your spices in hot oil or ghee by heating them over medium-low heat until the oil sputters. This will help toast the spices and release their flavors (you can also add garlic, thinly sliced lemon, or other aromatics). Then, you can pop your rotisserie chicken into the pan with the spiced oil for a quick infusion that will also help warm it up. Just make sure your chicken gets to the safest temperature: 165 degrees Fahrenheit (per the USDA).