Homemade Lemon-Pepper Seasoning
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I often find that I don't like most of the commerical lemon-pepper seasoning blends. I found this one on the Internet, and it looked worth trying. (I usually dry our own lemon, lime, and orange zest anyway.) The important part of this recipe is too let the wet lemon zest and fresh cracked black pepper blend flavors before drying.

This make a VERY peppery lemon-pepper. If you want it milder, try 2 tsp black pepper to the zest of 2 lemons.


2 fresh lemon
4 tsp. whole black peppercorns
 

Remove the zest from the lemon carefully, using a zesting tool or a vegetable peeler. Remove only the yellow zest and none of the white pith. Mince the zest and place it in a small bowl.

Place the peppercorns on a cutting board and crack them by pressing on them with the clean bottom of a heavy pot, or whirl very briefly in a spice grinder - you want them in large pieces. Add the cracked pepper to the zest.

Use a wooden spoon or other sturdy tool to mash the cracked pepper and zest together (This helps release the citrus oils in the zest and combine them with the pepper). Let this mixture sit, in the fridge, for several hours.

Spread the zest and pepper on a small baking sheet or piece of foil and place in the oven. If it's a gas oven, leave it in the oven overnight and the pilot light will dry the mixture out. If it's an electric oven, set it to 200 degrees F or so. Or, use a food dehydrator.

Pulverize the mixture the next day in a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder. You can also mince it by hand with a knife. The seasoning is now ready to sprinkle on chicken, fish and other foods before cooking.

NOTES: For a more general purpose seasoning blend (like most commerical lemon-pepper blends) add a little garlic and onion powder to taste. Salt and/or powdered citric acid will also preserve this mixture longer.