Any good homemade seasoning and spice mix recipes?

[panda]

DELETED

[davef]

Its not spices per say but I have the best chicken marande you will ever find. mix equal parts sesame oil and garlic oil (I usualy do 1/4 cup of each) and 1 tbsp liquid smoke. Add salt and peper garlic powder and your favorite seasoning (I have costco poultry blend I use). Let it marinate 6-24 hours. 

[swick]

Yeah the 1000+% mark-up on fancy spice and herb blends are nutters. I occasionally go into fancy supermarkets to see what is being sold and how it is packaged. A fancy packet of "burger seasoning" which was primarily onion powder with a bit of parsley and black pepper costed $8.99 and that was only enough to season 1 lb of ground beef.

making your own blends is a great way to be sure of the quality of ingredients and make them customized to you. They also make great gifts for pennies, again it is all about the packaging.

What kind of blends do you buy? Finding good alternatives for those would be a great first step, then start with figuring out what types/ethnic food you like to cook most and going from there. 

For Taco seasoning I really like this recipe:http://www.perrysplate.com/2008/11/perrys-plate-taco-seasoning.html

[birder]

My fiance and I garden, and the one aspect that pays HUGE rewards financially is the herb garden. Fresh herbs are expensive, and dried ones aren't exactly cheap. But they make food taste so much better. We grow thyme, basil, oregano, dill, parsley, rosemary, sage, mint, and cilantro, and they're all easy to care for. We use them fresh, but also dry them for use year-round. Some seasoning mixes for you:

"Italian seasonings" is primarily oregano, basil, and a little bit of thyme and sage, sometimes with dried onion and garlic added. Make your own with the exact ratios you prefer.

Seasoning to mix with olive oil for bread-dipping: oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, garlic, salt, black pepper.

Soup seasoning base: onion, garlic, sage, thyme, basil, parsley, oregano, rosemary, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper (lots of onion & garlic; light on the rosemary & cayenne). Adjust ratios for different styles: for bean soup, more cayenne and add cilantro and cumin; for Italian minestrone, more oregano and basil.

[davef]

In the asian markets you can usually buy chineese 5 spice seasoning by the 5 pond bag at a few dollars a pound. If you like it, $20 and you are good for life!

[crazy jane]

Alton Brown's taco potion number 19.

[Rezdent]

We stock basics and make all of our own mixes.
Once you decide what spices you like and use (from the ingredients on what you used to buy), stock those and start from there.
Our basics are salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, oregano, dill, cumin and paprika.  You would be astonished at what you can make with different combos of these.
Then we added dry mustard powder, coriander, thyme, cinnamon and ginger as recipes called for them.
That got us started - we've tweaked our stock more over the years, adding and deleting as we went.

Haven't bought a fancy mix in at least 15 years now.

Spices do go stale - some more so than others so don't buy pounds and pounds until you get a good idea of how much of something  you're actually using.  Cinnamon lasts a long time and we use a lot so we buy it by the pound.  Turmeric tends to get stale faster and we dont use that much of it so I buy small amounts of that.

My favorite Chai tea recipe: http://www.yogayoga.com/about-us/yogi-tea

[boarder42]

not a seasoning per say but a condiment

IPA Mustard

Soak 1/2 cup yellow mustard seed and 1 cup brown mustard seed in a bowl with one bottle IPA with a splash of apple cider vinegar and a tsp of cayenne overnight

pour soaked mixture into blender along with 1/4 cup vinegar, tbsp apple cider vinegar,  1 tbspn crushed garlic 2 tbspn honey and cayenne to taste.  blend till you like the consistency. 

pour into mason jar and store in fridge for 2 says to let it come together. 

bomb beer mustard

[DollarBill]

bomb beer mustard...sounds good

Always browse the Asian markets...one of my favorites is S&B Nanami Togarashi. It comes in a small clear jar, red top. Ingredients: Chili Peppers, orange peel, black/white sesame seed, Japanese pepper, ginger and seaweed.

I lived in Guam for 18 months and they always had the best BBQ. They would marinade chicken, pork and beef in Finadene Sauce. It's also great over sticky rice or dip for egg rolls.
- 2/3 cup of soy
- 1/3 cup white vinegar
- Half squeezed lime
- a clove of minced garlic and equal amount of minced ginger
- Half of small white onion or 2-3 green onion chopped
- TBS of honey
- 2-5 hot peppers chopped

Road side Mexican Chicken:
- 1/4 cup of olive oil or some times I use sesame seed oil
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/2 ts of cumin
- 1/2 ts of Mexican oregano
- 1 ts of salt
- 1/2 ts of black pepper
- 1 lime juiced
- handful of cilantro
- 1/4 ts of cinnamon
- 1/2 ts ancho chile
- Sometimes they use some orange juice but I don't
Marinate and slow cook on some coal or hickory is fantastic.

For cooking Turkey or ham (Oven, grill or smoking): A lot of recipes call for oil or mustard to coat the meat so the rub sticks but I found that mayonnaise or olive oil mayonnaise works better. It melts off while it cooks and browns nicely.

Make my own cocktail sauce: just Ketchup and wasabi paste
Make bang bang shrimp: Deep fried shrimp with Sriracha and mayonnaise sauce. Served in a glass of shredded lettuce...it's killer!

I was turned onto instant coffee when I was in Japan. My neighbors (Japanese) made the best scallops ever. I asked what he did and he said instant coffee. It added a charred taste like it was on the grill. I will grind them in a coffee grinder. Ever since then I've searched recipes that use coffee or instant coffee. Red eye gravy...ummm. It works well with beef and pork.

I'm also experimenting with salad dressings. They are awesome if you make fresh. Balsamic vinegar, brown mustard and some maple syrup is tasty.
Lemon Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Blueberry Pecan Balsamic Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or thawed)
2 tablespoons pecan halves1 tablespoon roasted walnut oil (sub with olive oil if needed)
1 tablespoon red apple balsamic vinegar (or other fruit flavored balsamic vinegar)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 cup water1 ounce feta cheese
Juice of one lemon

[Tierney12]

I would like to share one best homemade seasoning and spice mix recipe.
Artichoke Veggie Pizza

Serves: 2

About this Recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup skim ricotta cheese 1/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese 1/4 cup sliced green onions 1/4 teaspoon Minced Garlic 1/4 teaspoon Naturesmith Oregano 1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained 1 (16 ounce) pre-baked pizza crust 1 can (8 ounce

Directions:


Preheat oven to 450ºF.
Combine ricotta and feta cheeses, green onion, garlic, oregano and black pepper in a medium bowl; mix well. Stir in spinach; spread over pizza crust. Top with artichokes, mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until cheese melts.

For finding more recipe and spices, you can visit here..

http://www.foodmax.in

[NextTime]

Yeah the 1000+% mark-up on fancy spice and herb blends are nutters. I occasionally go into fancy supermarkets to see what is being sold and how it is packaged. A fancy packet of "burger seasoning" which was primarily onion powder with a bit of parsley and black pepper costed $8.99 and that was only enough to season 1 lb of ground beef.

making your own blends is a great way to be sure of the quality of ingredients and make them customized to you. They also make great gifts for pennies, again it is all about the packaging.

What kind of blends do you buy? Finding good alternatives for those would be a great first step, then start with figuring out what types/ethnic food you like to cook most and going from there. 

For Taco seasoning I really like this recipe:http://www.perrysplate.com/2008/11/perrys-plate-taco-seasoning.html

This sounds good. But if you make the larger batch, how much seasoning do you use for 1 lb of meat?

Also, do you use the flour? If so, how much do you use for 1 lb of meat since it's more concentrated?

Sorry, I like to have exact measurements. I really don't like experimenting when cooking.

Thanks for the link.

[ketchup]

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/205547/staceys-hamburger-seasoning/

1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Super easy burger seasoning to make super-easy burgers (just make sure to add an egg or two per lb of meat to your burgers to help them stay together).

[canadian bacon]

equal parts salt and pepper.
Throw in some paprika for color if you wish.   Add in some garlic powder also if you want.  Not required.

I am kind of joking here but also quite serious.   A person can overcomplicate their seasonings if they wish but unless you are making a curry, a shaker of salt and pepper gets you pretty far.

[wotan]

Magic dust.  http://bbq.about.com/od/rubrecipes/r/bl50617d.htm
great on just about anything

[Dezrah]

I love doing this.  I used to get the McCormick’s white chicken chili seasoning all the time until I figured out I basically had all the ingredients on my shelf.  I now keep a mason jar of chili seasoning in my cupboard so it’s just as convenient as the package.  When it gets low, I make a 5x batch to fill up the jar again.  If you Google “_________ copycat recipe” you can basically find an identical replacement for whatever you’re looking for.  Here’s my recipe for that and my own blend for taco seasoning:

Chili:
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp cornstarch
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp cayenne pepper (less if you have a very spicy blend)
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp cilantro

Chili Directions: Cube 1-2 lbs. raw chicken breast. Cook over medium heat in sauce pan until no longer pink. Add 1 can each, undrained: whole corn kernels, diced tomatoes, navy beans. Bring to boil, add spices. Simmer on low, covered for 10 minutes. Enjoy with jack cheese.


Tacos:
4 tsp chili powder
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp crushed red pepper
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cayenne pepper

Directions: Sweat 1 small or half a large yellow onion in oil on medium heat in large pan.  Move onions to edge of pan and brown 1 lb of ground beef or turkey in center.  Once thoroughly cooked, combine onions, meat, and spices.  Enjoy as a soft or crunchy taco with your favorite toppings.  This also works for tofu; freeze and then thaw extra firm tofu (this gives a texture similar to ground meat), thoroughly wash the tofu until it runs clear (removes the super soy taste), allow it to thoroughly dry, and just fry it in a pan as if it were ground meat, add extra oil if needed.

I’m actually giving out single servings of these spices as Christmas gifts in my office.  I found these gorgeous 1.5oz hexagonal jars with gold lids online that perfectly hold a single batch.  The jars, shipping, and spices will come out to about $1 per gift which is perfect for working with a large group.

[The_path_less_taken]

From the island of Crete:

Peel a (preferably organic) orange into one long spiral, hang to dry (takes a day or so).

Can use any meat but my friend's mom used the thick pork ribs. She'd take chili powder, cinnamon powder, and cayenne, and garlic powder and sprinkle it over all sides of the meat, then lay pieces of the dried orange peel around the meat.

Insanely good. You can adjust the spice level by adding less chili powder/cayenne. Come to think of it, she didn't use garlic powder but I always like a little bit of it for depth of flavor.


This works on the taste buds the way adding sweet (orange) to anything hot: I overdid the curry once on a Thai dish, and it was inedible before adding a little honey to it.

[canadian bacon]

Salt

[canadian bacon]

Pepper

[Anje]

One of the very nice things about homemade is the "custome-made for each individual and ocation" opportunity.

But I do have a few that are aprox the same every time:

Southern European herbs: (put a heaped tablespoon of this into your soup/meatballs/hamburgers/pastasause etc and your house suddenly seems transplanted to the Mediterranean)
-Rosemary - 2 parts
-Thyme - 1 part
-sage - 2 parts (I love sage, put in 1 part if you don't)
-oregano - 1 part
-estragon - 1 part
No emergency if you don't have all of these. Still tastes good.

Curry mix (for aprox a 4 portion dinner)
-2 stalks of lemon grass, finely minced
-3-4 cloves of garlic
-tablespoon of tomato paste
-2 tablespoons of fish sauce
-1 shallot, grated
-tablespoon of grated galangal (or ginger, if you can't find galangal)
-1 teaspoon each of coriander and cumin
-1-4 dried chilies (chilies are not made equal, so I taste before I add. I prefer them dried in this, not fresh - don't know why)
(somethimes I add 1 tablespoon of Worshestershire - it's good)

Makes fresh paste, obviously, but if you make a big batch of this and freeze future curry-loving you will be happy (that's a lot of ingredients that one can't find with ease).

[NinetyFour]

Following...I need more spice in my life.

[ponyespresso]

These are two spice mixtures/rubs I really like for steak, and funnily enough, they both have coffee grounds in them. (You can always use decaf if concerned about the caffeine but it's pretty minimal amount). I think these could work for other meats as well.

Bobby Flay's Coffee Rub for strip steaks:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/bobby-flays-coffee-spice-rub-for-strip-steaks-1244226

Tri Tip with Coffee-Fennel Crust:
https://food52.com/recipes/11289-tri-tip-with-coffee-fennel-crust

[spiralingsnails]

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/8690/spicy-rapid-roast-chicken/ 
I try to always keep some on hand because it tastes fantastic and it just uses basic ingredients.

[AlwaysBeenASaver]

When a recipe calls for canned broth, I just use that amount of water with a little oil, onion powder, salt, and pepper. I've done this hundreds of times and never had a flavor problem with the end result.