As in zest of a lemon, some fresh ground pepper and maybe some salt?
In my head this sounds awesome. But I have a feeling I may be disappointed with the results. Mainly because I’ve used the bottle stuff my whole life. I don’t think I’ve ever tried to make it fresh.
Sure but, like you guessed, it won’t be like the commercial seasoning. It will taste like salty lemon zest with pepper.
I have a bottle of citric acid powder that I never really figured out a use for. I bet it would be helpful for this.
Whoops, sloppily posting from work. I meant to add that you’re half way to gremolata, a superior condiment and not suitable for commercial canning or granulation, anyway.
Ooo that sounds divine! I’m gonna have to try this.
Thanks
Not in powder form. But I have a marinade I use for chicken destined for the grill.
Squeeze the lemon, zest some of the peel into the liquid, add some freshly ground black pepper and crushed garlic. Maybe add a few chopped chives and a pinch of salt.
Then seal the chicken in a ziplock bag with the marinade and let it sit in the fridge for a day or two.
Yes, it’s like bright green pop of fresh flavors. Use the good olive oil.
S&P’d lemon zest is a great start for a lot of good food. It (and artichoke hearts) are my secret ingredients for hummus. I’ve picked up the habit of running a lemon over the grater before juicing, just in case I might want some zest later.
The acid in the lemon juice can over-pickle chicken. But know what’s lemony and almost acid free? Zest! Here, I made extra!
There is a bush in front of an apt building near my house that has leaves that taste very lemony. I haven’t taken the time to identify the bush but it does appear to be some kind of decorative citrus. I dried some of the leaves and they did maintain the flavor. I have a hunch if they were dried and ground, they might have some value as a flavoring.
Yep. All the time now.
Except I skip the salt and add a bit of powdered garlic instead. You’ll have to play around a bit with the proportions to get what you like best, but I definitely use mostly the lemon zest.
Do you dry or otherwise do any kind of prep on the zest?
True. You have to be careful how long you marinate it.
I sometimes dilute the lemon juice with a bit of dry white wine for that reason.
But not everyone likes wine in their recipes…
Me personally?
Not really - when I have a lemon I zest as much of it as I can. I use what I want to use at the time, then freeze the rest for later.
I’m sure there are a multitude of ways to go about this.
A lot of marinate recipes do have a little acid and the time:content relationship* is flexible with a lot of room between not enough and ceviche. Similarly, I’ve overbrined pork chops and they also come out hammy.
*And temperature: marinades & brines work faster at higher temps. And low pressure, too, but not even I vacuum marinade.
I have sumac which is pretty lemony, and I blend that with fresh ground black pepper and garlic powder for something that tastes a lot like lemon pepper seasoning. That’s my hack.
I also use ground sumac berry (I picked it up from others on this board, 'natch) for it’s lemony flavor and wonderful color accent on fish and poultry. I normally don’t make my own -blends- because it’s easier to have a lot of different spices and herbs and hand-season to taste rather than shake a jar that may or may not be perfect for a dish. Plus, I love me some black peppercorns, but ground fresh they can overpower a dish, and pre-ground in a blend that’s been sitting for any length of time… it’s really just bulk at that point.
I do keep a bottle of higher-quality lemon juice in the fridge, and just get fresh lemons for most zest-based options, but I admit to having a small jar of both lemon and orange zest (dried) from Penzy’s that I often use in baked goods to bring out just a bit of citrus and flavor without throwing out the acid balance the way juice might. And tightly sealed and kept in tins in the back of the fridge, it keeps well for quite a while.
Some oregano, and you’d have a pretty solid Greek-style marinade. That’s what my friend’s Greek family (her dad is actually a Greek immigrant) uses for their souvlaki. Lemon juice, salt, oregano, garlic, olive oil, and pepper.
Yes. I find that desiccating the zest (make sure it’s only zest and no pith!) and then putting it, peppercorns and large granule kosher salt in the spice grinder gives it a nice zing. I make a lot of my own spice mixes. Started when I found outthat most chili powders you buy at the store contain zero chilies. ZERO!!!
Funny, I also found out about it from this board. I believe it was a discussion about paprika on deviled eggs, and I pointed out that paprika usually doesn’t have much flavor, I just use it for color and because it’s traditional. Someone suggested sumac as an alternative.
I found that I don’t like it on deviled eggs (too gritty) but it is fantastic when I make my own tartar sauce, as I can skip using lemon juice (as I used to do) and I’ve found it to be a good dry spice anytime I want to add a lemony flavor. This board made me a fan and it’s now part of my regular spice arsenal.
I have always liked the Greek potatos that often accompany Kleftiko.
Never managed to really get them authentically right, though??
If I ever develop a super-hot chili pepper, like a Carolina Reaper or Ghost Pepper or something, I will name it the Zero Chili.
I will say it is in honor of my favorite song (“Zero” by The Smashing Pumpkins) but in reality it’s because I am evil and want to see what happens if someone buys sauce they think is mild because it has “Zero Chili Peppers” in it.
