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.
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