Fresh ingredients make fresher tasting dishes, and the same goes for spices! How long have you had that bottle of lemon pepper seasoning hanging out in the back of your cupboard? Mine had been there for 6 years. Yikes! And don’t even ask me how old the spices in my in-laws’ cupboard are. My husband says he remembers some of the same bottles from when he was a kid!
But it got me thinking: the bottles of spices and seasonings from the store are so big, you can’t possibly use them before they start to lose their kick. When I stumbled on Rebecca’s recipe for Homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning, I knew I could adios that ancient bottle I had languishing in the back of the cupboard and never buy a bottle at the store again.
Best of all, it makes just the right amount, so there is no way it will go bad or get stale in your cupboard. Fresh is always best, don’t you agree?
This combination is the perfect blend of sweet, spicy and lemony for all taste buds. Gather up your kosher salt (not to be confused with table salt), sugar, cracked pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, celery seed, and a lemon.
Using a zester or micro-plane, zest your lemon into a bowl. Make sure you only zest the yellow part. The white pith has a bitter taste, and no one wants to add bitter to their lemon pepper.
Into the bowl, add in the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
Lemon pepper is great on just about everything, especially grilled steaks. Give this blend a try, or use other ingredients to come up with your own. The possibilities are endless.
Be sure to check out Rebecca’s TK recipe box and her site, Foodie with Family, for more home cooked comfort food. Next on my must-make list is her Fried Mozzarella and Sun Dried Tomato Burger. Drool!
What are your favorite seasonings and do you make your own seasoning blends?
Leave a comment or link below to inspire your Tasty Kitchen friends!
See post on Rebecca’s site!
Description
Add a punch of flavour to grilled fish, chicken, pork, popcorn, dips, salads and whatever else your heart desires with this perfect blend of salt, lemon zest, cracked black pepper rounded out with hints of onion, garlic and celery seed. You’ll never want to be without it again!
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Lemon Salt (click On The Related Blog Link) Or Substitute Kosher Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Raw Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Cracked Black Pepper
- 1 whole Lemon, Zest Only (Use Only The Yellow Part, Avoid The Bitter White Pith.)
- ½ teaspoons (heaping) Granulated Onion
- ¼ teaspoons Granulated Garlic
- ¼ teaspoons Celery Seed
Preparation Instructions
Stir together all of the ingredients and store in an airtight jar at room temperature. This can be refrigerated if desired. Because there are no funky preservatives or anti-caking chemicals added to the mixture, you may find that it has a tendency to clump slightly. Just break it up with your fingers or a fork before using if this occurs.
Replace using commercial lemon pepper seasoning by substituting an equal measure of homemade lemon pepper seasoning.
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Megan Keno is the writer and photographer of Country Cleaver, a food blog fueled by Nutella and images of June Cleaver—if June wore cowboy boots and flannel, that is. A self-proclaimed country bum, Megan creates from-scratch recipes that range from simple to sublime and how-to’s to build your cooking repertoire. But she couldn’t do it without the help of her trusty—and furry—sous chef, Huckleberry. He’s a world class floor cleaner.
