The Short Answer
Thin cuts need 15 to 30 minutes. Bone-in pieces need 30 minutes to 2 hours. Large roasts and whole animals need 4 hours to overnight. The thicker the cut, the more time the salt needs to penetrate.
What Actually Happens While the Rub Sits
When you apply a dry rub to meat, the salt gets to work immediately. It draws moisture to the surface through osmosis. That moisture dissolves the salt and other water-soluble spices, forming a concentrated brine on the surface. Over time, that brine gets reabsorbed into the meat, carrying the salt flavor deeper.
Here's the key: salt penetrates, but the other spices don't. Paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, and brown sugar stay on the surface no matter how long you wait. They form the bark. So the resting time is really about giving salt enough time to season the interior of the meat. Everything else is doing its job on the outside.
This is why you can get away with 15 minutes on a thin fish fillet (the salt reaches the center almost immediately) but need overnight for a pork shoulder (it takes hours for salt to penetrate several inches of dense muscle).
Timing by Cut
Fish and Seafood — 10 to 20 Minutes
Seafood is thin, delicate, and absorbs salt quickly. Fifteen minutes is plenty for fillets. Anything longer than 30 minutes and the salt starts to cure the fish. The texture goes from tender to firm and dense. Shrimp need even less — 10 minutes max.
Apply the rub, let it sit while you heat the grill or skillet, and cook. Don't overthink this one. Our Lemon Pepper Seafood Rub and Cajun Blackening Rub both work well with this quick application.
Chicken Breasts, Thighs, and Wings — 30 Minutes to 2 Hours
Bone-in, skin-on pieces benefit from at least 30 minutes. The salt needs time to get past the skin and into the meat. If you have 2 hours, even better. The skin dries out slightly in the fridge, which means crispier results on the grill.
For boneless breasts, 20 to 30 minutes is enough. They're thinner and the salt reaches the center faster.
Whole chicken is a different story (see the "large cuts" section below).
The Smoky Poultry Rub works well in this timing range. Apply it and let the chicken sit uncovered in the fridge for the best skin.
Steaks — 30 Minutes to 1 Hour
A good rule for steaks: apply the rub and let the steak come to room temperature before grilling. That is usually 30 to 45 minutes for a standard cut, up to an hour for a thick ribeye or tomahawk.
Some people dry-brine steaks overnight with salt alone and then add the rub before cooking. That works too, but you need to reduce or eliminate the salt in your rub to avoid over-seasoning. Most of the rubs on this site already include salt, so if you dry-brine first, use the rub more sparingly.
The Coffee and Ancho Chile Rub benefits from a full hour on beef. The coffee oils need time to bond with the surface fat, and the flavor integrates noticeably between the 30-minute and 60-minute marks.
Ribs — 1 to 4 Hours (or Overnight)
Ribs have bones, connective tissue, and a membrane that slow salt penetration. One hour is the minimum for noticeable seasoning. Two to four hours is the sweet spot for most home cooks.
Overnight is the competition standard. Apply the rub, wrap the rack in plastic, and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours. The bark will be deeper and the seasoning more uniform. But honestly, a 2-hour rest gets you 80 percent of the way there.
Both the Memphis-Style Dry Rub and Kansas City Sweet Heat Rub work great in this range.
Pork Shoulder, Brisket, and Large Roasts — 4 Hours to Overnight
Big cuts need big time. A full packer brisket is 12 to 15 pounds of dense beef. A bone-in pork shoulder is 8 to 10 pounds. Salt can't reach the center of these cuts in an hour. It needs at least 4 hours, and overnight is better.
Apply the rub generously, working it into every fold and crevice. Place the meat uncovered on a rack in the fridge. The dry air of the refrigerator pulls moisture from the surface, which helps form a better bark when the meat hits the smoke.
For these cuts, the rub isn't just seasoning. It's part of the cooking process. The sugar in the rub starts caramelizing the moment the meat goes on the smoker. The longer it has been sitting on the surface, the more uniform that bark will be.
Vegetables — 15 to 30 Minutes
Vegetables don't need long resting times because there's no deep tissue for salt to penetrate. Toss with oil and rub, let them sit for 15 to 30 minutes, and cook. The rub clings to the oil rather than absorbing into the vegetable.
One exception: dense root vegetables like potatoes and beets benefit from a longer rest (up to an hour) because the starch absorbs seasoning slowly.
The Smoky Sweet Grilled Vegetable Rub and Herb Garden Vegetable Rub both work well with this quick application.
Quick Reference
- Fish and shrimp: 10 to 20 minutes
- Boneless chicken: 20 to 30 minutes
- Bone-in chicken: 30 minutes to 2 hours
- Steaks: 30 minutes to 1 hour
- Ribs: 1 to 4 hours or overnight
- Pork shoulder and brisket: 4 hours to overnight
- Vegetables: 15 to 30 minutes
Can You Leave a Rub on Too Long?
For most cuts, overnight is the practical limit. Beyond 24 hours, high-salt rubs start to cure the meat rather than season it. The texture changes. The surface gets firmer and the color darkens.
The exception is pork shoulder and brisket, which can handle up to 24 hours without issues because of their size and fat content. But even for these cuts, 8 to 12 hours is the sweet spot.
If you're not sure, err on the shorter side. A rub that sat for 30 minutes still tastes great. A rub that sat for 48 hours might not.