Making your own spice mix is economical, as well as a great way to control salt intake, make adjustments for taste and is very economical. Much cheaper to make your own than to buy the pre-mixed. Finally, it is so much easier to control quality. Spices are best if used within 6 months. Just how old is that jar of Cumin in your cabinet???
No, these pork chops are not burnt... They are blackened. Sadly, many restaurants have confused blackening seasonings with blackened. Blackened is a cooking process, made popular by Paul Prudhomme! It is a way to infuse and caramelize spices with butter and cook meat. The collection of spices used would be more accurately called Cajun spiced if you do not use a flash frying method followed by gentle baking... But I digress...
Soon, I will blog the recipe and technique for making these blackened chops, but today... just the rub.
A Cajun rub is very versatile. Not as hot as it's reputation would suggest, but certainly enough to know you are eating something special. I prefer to make my own, especially without salt. There is plenty of salt in our everyday food. Highly overrated (in my opinion), and more often than not, not needed. And especially if you are trying to cut back on dangerous quantities of salt.
You can use this rub to spice up just about any cut of meat, and sprinkling some on grilled fruit and veggies makes a special dish really pop.
here's what I did...
1/4 cups Sweet Paprika
1 TBS Garlic Flakes
1 TBS Onion Flakes
1 TBS Dried Thyme Leaves
1 TBS Dired Oregano
1 TBS Black Pepper
2 TBS White Pepper
2 tsp (TEAspoons) Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Ground Bay Leaves
Go ahead, mix by hand...
Did you pay attention to the quantities? Biggest quantity was Sweet Paprika (yes, paprika is a pepper, but not a hot hot pepper). There is a bite to this, it is Cajun after all, but not the killer quantities that people expect.
Isn't this pretty??? I tripled the recipe, as I use this mix a lot. From eggs in the morning, to grilled pineapple to (of course) meat... Cajun spice is very versatile.
The spices stay fresh for about 6 months. I store in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator (cool dark place, assuming that little light bulb does indeed go out when the door is closed... Who really knows for sure???). Mark the bag and date it.
And stay tuned to see more blackening pork chops and fish... It really is impressive!
Making your own spice mix is DEFINITELY the way to go. I always find it so frustrating when I order something blackened at a restaurant and all they've done is blackened it. No delicious spice blend! Blech.
ReplyDeleteI always mix up my own spice blends, you're right, it is definitely the way to go.
ReplyDeleteHey, I've started looking into going for my own domain too, have you done any more research??
What great timing, my father in law wants blackened salmon for fathers day!
ReplyDeleteGreat recipe! You are the king of blackening! :)
ReplyDeleteRub a dub-dub, great Cajun rub! Fabulous, cher!
ReplyDeleteThanks for kind sharing this lovely spices mix!
ReplyDeleteI do like making my own rubs but still haven't blackened anything. I have got to try that, perhaps tomorrow night.
ReplyDeleteI had found the PERFECT Blackening Rub....and they stopped making it! I have wasted waaay too much money buying others only to find...too much salt! So I made my own, too! I used "chili pepper" instead of cayenne and I use a little salt, but no bay leaves, which I will now add. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYou have got a really useful blog I have been here reading for about an hour.
ReplyDelete