Cajun Seasoning Recipe

Paul,

You need to write a book. Your comments are enlightening, your comparisons are entertaining and I'm betting, your food is good.

Thanks for sharing your zen, your seasoning knowledge and your heart. Very good! Wonderful pointers, all.

Kate from Sedona

This what I was looking for since I moved out USA. It is great!
over my chicken breasts.

must have lost my original comment. that's good because this makes it shorter. A RECIPIE IS LIKE ZEN, IT POINTS TO TRUTH BUT IT IS NOT TRUTH!

Which kind of paprika is like asking how long should I mix it until I know it's mixed enough -- should I put it in a glass jar and shake it? or should I put it in a bowl and stir it? DOES IT REALLY MATTER?

Ask yourSelf: where is this recipe from, and what is it' purpose -- and what would they use -- remember 'white man' recipes are not always 'right' nor are 'authentic' recipes always to the liking of Western Europeans. I was raised in a regional Italian Kitchen where ANY thing south of Naples (the FARTHEST SOUTH ANYONE WOULD EVER WANT TO GO) was "cooked by pigs for the dogs".

So follow your heart, know that smoking involves heat, that will take away some of the paprika flavor and leave behind a flavor of smoke -- what kind of smoke? I don' t know. would they use hickory -- or another southern favorite oak? -- for Western palates, probably hickory, but form many southern palates, oak. Can you really tell the difference of praprika from Hungry from that from Spain or Greece? Me either. Have you dated your herbs and spices and made sure that you have cleared your cupboard (since light takes the flavor away -- I read or heard reciently, maybe even in these pages, that a study showed that even 24 hours of exposure to light changed the flavor of olive oil -- generally for the worst, what color is your olive oil container? -- rosemary olive oil or hop pepper olive oil is often used on second rate olive oil to hide the imperfections or bits of rancidity in the oil -- so make your own in dark glass bottles.).

Why not try a little of both - say 1/2 each, and see if the 'sweet' offsets the cayanne, or if you think it needs more smoke -- or less? Why not add a drop or two of Chipotle flavored hot sauce -- or a bit of ground up Serrano -- just a tiny bit you finally get to your your mortal and pestal on - warm it up, that's the Cajun direction -- and remember I used the word 'direction' on purpose, it it's an end, but an ever evolving set of flavors which each family has developed.

I told of putting raw onions on the bottom of a bowl of hot bean soup and letting the soup cook the onions -- and I had a people complain that it was 'too raw onion flavored' so out of sight I heated up a fry pan, splattered it with a little water and brought back a 'new' bowl of soup -- took 3-4 minutes total -- they thought it was WONDERFUL -- so from then on I served their soup with a heated pan of some kind that gave off a 'frying' sound, and they loved it.

A lot of what we taste is in our heads -- and a recipe just helps point us toward that flavor that we want -- One cook book I have has in the very back 'squares' that list spices that give the flavor of a culture. You don't find cloves in the "Italian' and you don't find 'Basil' in the "Scott' box -- but we live in a brave new world.

Go with your heart -- cook from your heart -- it will tell you -- and if in doubt follow a recipie and if it says "Hot, sweet, smoked or whole" Hungarian - go wild! get some paprika from Spain or Greece, or Albania, or, heck, 'Elbonia' -- and see what happens. Mix them up -- maybe you'll want more smoke, so add some more smoked prapria -- ask yourself what the home chef would do - after all, that's all that a recipie is, it's a quantification of what they do in a family. And you could never follow how I make minestrone in my house -- because its all scratch all the time, and the recipie is: water or chicken stock, and veggies with hot sauces added cooked to a slight simmer, turned down to 'a warm-hot' and let be until serving time. What veggies? that' s up to you. want it thick, add lentils -- don't ask what color -- just add some -- sometimes a pinch of sugar is needed more than a pinch of salt, but only the veggies used and time of cooking can tell you that because generally you are tasting something long before it is served and the flavor will go through many incarnations before it's 'time'. and herbs added just before serving will be FAR strongr than herbs added in the beginning -- and sometimes they have to be added twice for the different flavors -- who knows? -- YOU DO.

A RECIPIE IS LIKE ZEN, IT POINTS THE WAY TO TRUTH BUT IS NOT TRUTH.

Oh, do throw out all your spices and start again at least once a year -- because its' expensive, date them and replace them that month no more than a year later -- every six months is a good idea for clear glass herbs that are kept near the stove where it gets warm -- oils go rancid --- so adding rancid praprikia you bought last year and have kept tightly sealed only partly covers the rancid flavors that have begun to develop.

When my mother went to north Africa with MSF as a public health physician, she came home with 4 kilos -- KILOS of pure saffron. She make presents for her friends and sent it out all over the world - and after her death -- I found a frost bitten kilo of saffron in the basement freezer -- because she was one who said: only for the most special occasions, so once while we both watched a crown of lamb go bad in front of us, we told ourselves it was aging for that right moment -- she bought it on sale -- and when it began to turn to liquid in the basement refrigerator, we had to admit, it probably would not be redeemable. even with lots of garlic! (smile) -- so USE YOUR SPICES, USE YOUR HERBS, BUY FRESH IF YOU CAN - GROW YOUR OWN IF YOU CAN -- BUT USE THEM -- Trust me, Hungarian (or Greek or Spanish -- even Paprika grown south of Naploli is GREAT in minestrone -- it really is, though I don't think I've ever seen a recipie that calls for it in minestrone -- even minestrones from where 'pigs cook for dogs'.

It's only ah herb, it's only a part, and you'll be able to correct for it -- after all, flavors do want to marry, and that changes everything -- if you buy a bum starter for your vehilce, you can take it back and get another one, you can always go and get more regular paprika if you don't like the flavor -- and maybe think - what else might be a regional family ingredient is this kind of sauce and pick that up too! You follow your heart in so many things, why not let cooking be one? It was only after a stint in a Thai refugee camp for those fleeing Burma, that my mother was able to break free from her 'chemistry book' cooking and fly with the birds, and that is when her always good food became, a times transcendental, and perhaps some of the best I've ever eaten. and it was never any worse than from she used to follow a recipie to the letter.

-- paul --
THE MORE YOU LEARN, THE MORE YOU WANT TO SCREAM!

pgalioni Jun 4, 2008 08:15 AM

"Could you please identify the type of paprika used?
Hot, sweet, smoked, etc.?" I think you need to find out for yourself, each person has their own 'taste' for things -- We have all learned this when everyone but one or two people LOVE something and of the two, 1 gags it down and the other leaves a bit of it partly eaten on the side of the plate. **I** think smoked sounds interesting, but remember heat evaporates some of the flavor and substitutes another, often 'smoked' items are second quality (as in olive oil, olive oil that is 'off' a bit can be brought back to use as 'rosemary' or 'hot pepper' olive oil where the small amount of rancid or 'off' flavor is hidden in the spice, ) and I imagine the same is true of other 'ingredients' as well. Think about the NAME and REGION of the use -- so, if southern, maybe HOT over mild, then again, they may be balancing the cayanne with the sweet. And if you are this concerned, please, EVERYONE, throw out your old bottled spices with spring cleaning, and buy new ones -- I read somewhere or heard somewhere (on these pages?) that olive oil in a clear bottle can be told apart from the same olive oil in a dark bottle after only 24 hours of exposure to light. This is true of many 'medicinal herbs, Aloe Vera must come in oxygen proof containers and dark containers -- because the active parts deteriorate on exposure to oxygen and light, the same is true, I'd imagine of herbs and spices as well since they ARE considered micro-ingredients in many herbal remedies -- so should be 'fresh' -- herbs I'd imagine.

Use what your heart tells you to use -- recipes are not truth, they, like Zen, just point the way to truth. I'll chop onions fine put them raw in the bottom of a soup bowl and serve bean soup over the top, letting the heat of the bean soup cook the onions -- giving a fresher tastes, but far less 'bite' to the fresh chopped onions -- some people complain the onions are raw and not cooked enough, but If I do it in the kitchen out of sight, buy heating a fry pan and tossing in a little water so make it sound like I'm cooking the onions a bit -- they LOVE what I've done to the soup! -- so -- just go with your heart -- and heck, maybe it needs half smoked, half sweet, and one full 'regular' paprika -- and honestly -- can YOU tell paprika from Hungry from paprika from Spain or Greece? Neither can I -- so in matters like this, I listen to my heart and take he recipe as a sign post that says: "Cajun Seasoning, THIS WAY -->" maybe a SINGLE drop (or two) of chipotle pepper(Tabasco has one out now as a new product that's not too strong -- without the 'maple' smoke, but the real mesquite thing) sauce once the rest of your sauce is mixed and then mix it in well so you get that slow-fire burn around your toungue, but not down your throat -- that won't ever overwhelm your palate -- because hot is a flavor and never a contest, unless it's meant to be -- then go straight for the clear liquid and pour yourself a shot and 'shoot' it. Recipies are meant to be played with - so heck why not try part of each, and you'll tell if you need more 'smoke' or more 'sweet' or more just plain 'flavor' from the herb or spice. This only points to truth, it is not truth.

hope this helps -- paul

pgalioni Jun 4, 2008 07:21 AM

Creole Seasoning
Yield: ¼ cup

This type of seasoning base is used in many New Orleans restaurants, from Emeril's to Commander's Palace to K-Paul's. It's not a universal seasoning, but it's a base upon which to build the seasoning of a dish, and is very versatile. This is particularly good on grilled chicken, duck or pork.


Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1½ teaspoons Hungarian paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon crushed dried basil leaves
• ½ teaspoon crushed dried oregano leaves
• ½ teaspoon crushed dried thyme leaves
• ½ teaspoon crushed dried parsley leaves

Note: This version of Creole seasoning contains salt -- If you like to control salt content separately, omit the salt from the blend.

Method:

1. In a medium bowl or food processor combine salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, white pepper, ground black pepper, granulated onion, granulated garlic, crushed basil, crushed oregano, crushed thyme and parsley. Mix thoroughly.
2. Use like salt. When it's salty enough, it's seasoned to perfection.
3. Store in an airtight container for up to three months.

Note: The amounts in this recipe are given by volume. So a "teaspoon" can be a cup or a Tablespoon depending on how much seasoning you wish to make. Double or triple the recipe as you wish.

speyerer Feb 19, 2008 08:08 AM