Seasoned Salt

I smoke salt. Put it in a tray and spray it every hour with water (the water help it absorb flavor). Smoked salt is really nice.

I make quite a few rubs that I use, in addition to what i buy.

Cajun Seasoned Salt:

- 1c each salt, celery powder, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, paprika, chili powder and ground jalapeno powder. Mix well. I seal them in 32 oz canning jars

Fried Rice Seasoning:

- 1c each ginger, onion powder, and garlic powder
- 1/4c MSG
- 1/2c sugar


Taco seasoning:

- 1c each onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder
- 3/4c each cumin and salt
- 1/2c oregano

1 Tbsp - Salt
1 Tbsp - Celery Salt
1-1/2 Tsp - Cane Sugar
1 Tsp - Paprika (Hungarian)
1/4 Tsp - Garlic Powder
1/4+ Tsp - Onion Powder
1/4 Tsp - Turmeric
1/4 Tsp - Cornstarch

so basically just get all the crap from the back of you cupboard and hey presto.
no ty.

a reply to: Rikku

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I smoke salt. Put it in a tray and spray it every hour with water (the water help it absorb flavor). Smoked salt is really nice.

Love me some smoked salt but you have to go REAL easy handed on it. I like just a hint, mmmmmmmMMMMM. If you add too much you'll ruin everything!

a reply to: JAGStorm

The worst part of it all....that "too much" could be 2 hours, or may need 6 or 7 hours. it really depends on the salt you start with. I like the flakier stuff...it seems to dissolve a little easier to absorb the smoke.

another thing i've done is kept the water i use as a heat sink for cheese smoking, and just sprayed that onto salt. Then popped it into the oven and dried it back out before throwing it into the ninja to granulate. It works about as well as spending a couple hours smoking it. I've been thinking about doing lime juice with the water so i have a smokey lime salt for stuff like fajitas when i cook indoors.

a reply to: Lysergic

Make your own blend all with Lawry's and McCormick

Better than store bought!

The recipe in the OP was specifically intended to be an alternative to Lawry's seasoned salt and Morton's Season All. So there should be no mystery there. I've never tried a McCormick seasoned salt, if one even exists. Both of these products have some pros and cons. One is too salty (Lawry's) and winds up over salting things to bring out the other spices. The the other (Morton's) tastes too much like Old Bay. The recipe provided, IMHO, provides a good balance and solution to both of these problems. On the internet, people can find hundreds of copycat or 'hack' recipes for both of these products. So, again, the fact that there may be similarities to other internet recipes should come as no surprise.

The quantities used in the OP are the quantities which will yield approximately 1/2 of a common 3.5oz spice jar. By using these quantities you can then adjust the spices to your liking and still mix the same jar by shaking. Further, if a person doesn't like the recipe, they're not throwing away a whole jar of spices.

The fact that I even had to write this clarification is pretty comical, but hey, it's the interwebz. If you like it, use it. If you don't, then just ignore it.

Have a great day!

a reply to: Rikku

I do a lot of BBQ. I also do a lot of cooking. The recipe that FCD gave in the OP would make a fantastic flavored seasoned salt. its not just throwing stuff together....those spices work together. The ratios he gave...work together. I have a cabinet full of purchased rubs and blends. Some pretty high end. I also have several 32oz jars for stuff that I make. I make my own seasoned salt, and my recipe is not too far from what FCD provided.

If you were to double his batch size, and use only that on a brisket...you'd get a tasty brisket with a good color.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Hmmm...maybe I'll try that on a smoked brisket. My quest for the perfect brisket and the best technique still continues. It's one area I'd really like to improve. It seems so intuitive, but brisket is (IMO) one of the most difficult cuts to get just right.

Low and slow, I know. But temperature control is so critically important. I really struggle with that. Virtually any outside temperature influence (especially wind) seems to play such a big factor because I always seem to be chasing the 'temperature-tiger' (i.e. temp drops then correct and too high...back and forth).

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Ill share the best tips for brisket i have. Maybe some of it will help:

- all smoked meat stops absorbing smoke flavor around 165. So you want really low and slow to start. I usually run 200 for the first 8 hours before i get to that 165 mark. From there.....
-....once it hits 165, does the bark look nice and dark? If not, let it ride but bump the heat up to 275. If it looks like you want, wrap it in butcher paper and bump it to 300 to finish. Once its wrapped, all you are doing is putting heat to it to finish it off.
- Once it hits 195ish, start probing it every 30 mins or so. When the probe goes in like butter, its done.
- when a brisket is "done", it ain't done. Wrap it in some towels and stick it in a cooler to rest for 2 hours. This allows the meat to tighten a bit, and the steam to reabsorb
- When prepping a brisket, use a binder for your rub. Rub = bark. Aaron Franklin uses beef tallow, and its great. I use a beef bone broth reduction (i buy it already reduced at HEB). Rub it all around, then cake on the rub. More rub = more bark....don't be shy
- a good smoke ring forms on smooth meat. So trim it to look like a UFO...smooth meat for the smoke to float over the surface of. The ring is made by stuff in the wood burning interacting with nitrogen in the meat....so more smoke should give a deeper ring
- use decent brisket as a cheat. If you get wagyu or heavily marbled prime, it will cook faster. Check for doneness starting at 185. It could finish as early as 195 with that much fat. That said, i only buy select or choice. BBQ is a poor mans hobby....cheap crappy meat turned into deliciousness

The best brisket rub i have found is either SPG from Kosmo, or Meat Church Holy Cow (the latter is what i use on all briskets).

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

- when a brisket is "done", it ain't done. ...

This is where I fall prey, right there! (That's what I think anyway). Tenderness and juiciness suffers as a result. I get an excellent and deep smoke ring, but my bark is lacking (again, IMO). I think I wind up being too light in the rub department. The binder thing is something I'm definitely going to work on. That looks like a great suggestion; you can only get so much to stick so a binder is a great way to solve that.

I love the..."smooth like a UFO"...analogy! I'm gonna' remember that!

Thanks!