Homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning

 Learn how to make your very own zesty homemade lemon pepper seasoning blend for all of your culinary needs and kiss goodbye to the store bought kind.

If you like citrus flavours I'm talking about lemon, oranges and grapefruits with a combination of coarse cracked black pepper then this lemon pepper seasoning is definitely a recipe for you.

It is a fairly simple recipe to make, you just need to grab a bunch of lemons along with some black pepper, garlic granules, onion granules, parsley and thyme

What is lemon pepper seasoning?

In short it is a seasoning primarily made from the peel of lemons. The peel is usually dried and then ground into a coarse to fine consistency.

Additional ingredients such as black pepper, garlic, onion powder and salt are included.

This seasoning is used to add the taste of lemon to whatever you are making.

Making your own seasoning

In my neck of the woods, lemon pepper seasoning isn't very easy to find, especially in the supermarkets, I often have to search multiple supermarkets which can be frustrating.

Most of the time I used to purchase it online, but there was always that additional waiting time for it to be delivered which can be annoying when I need it ASAP.

As a consequence of this, I decided to make my own homemade version adding a few of my favourite herbs and spices to enhance the flavour.

In my humble opinion, nothing beats homemade seasoning, you don't have to worry about any unwanted fillers i.e additives or preservatives.

Nor do you have any other unwanted ingredients i.e citric acid, colouring etc.. and you can also control the amount of salt (if any) that you may want to include.

Ways to use this seasoning

You can use this condiment for a wide range of things, such as;

• Poultry
• Seafood i.e shrimp/prawns, fish fillets, crab, salmon etc..
• Vegetables
• Garnish
• Marinade

My favourite recipe that I use this seasoning for has to be my lemon pepper chicken that was when I first showcased this recipe and haven't looked back since.

Recipe preparation

This recipe is incredibly easy and very simple to make. The majority of the preparation will go into grating the peel of the lemons.

You will want to use a box grater, the medium sized holes to be precise is what you should be using.

For this seasoning, I used a total of 10 lemons, it sounds like a lot and very time consuming but the peel should come away quite quickly.

Once you have grated all the lemon, transfer it onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

The peel will dehydrate much quicker if it is grated as opposed to being left in strips.

Some recipes call for the peel to be in strips and while it works, it takes at least 2 hours to dry out.

It is imperative that the grated peel is spread out in a thin layer as it will dehydrate quite quickly.

Once the lemon peel has dried out, I typically pulse it, pressing my spice grinder about 2 times mixed with the additional ad in ingredients to create a coarse texture spice blend.

I personally don't add any pink salt to my seasoning blend, you can if you wish to do so, but I like to add the amount of salt according to what recipe I'm using it for.

The steps

• Preheat the oven to 65C/150F
• Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
• Use the medium sized holes of a box grater or microplane to grate the lemon peel, being careful not to grate any of the pith (the white part which is bitter).
• Lay out the grated lemon peel on the parchment paper in a thin layer, spread it out as this will enable the peel to dehydrate much quicker.

• Dehydrate in the oven until the peel feels dry, it should take anything from 35-45 minutes, keep an eye on the drying process and inspect its readiness by rubbing a few bits in between your fingertips.
• Once dried, transfer into a spice grinder along with the rest of the ingredients.
• Mill into the texture that you desire (I wanted a coarse texture).
• Use or store accordingly.

Notes and tips

• Use a food processor, the back of a spoon or a pestle and mortar if you don't own a spice grinder.
• You can make this seasoning using dried lemon peel instead, you would simply mix all of the ingredients together and omit the dehydrating process.
• Shichimi togarashi and lemon with white pepper are the closest substitute to lemon pepper (with black pepper).
• I don't add pink salt to my seasoning blend but feel free to add pink salt to your seasoning if you want to.
• I highly recommend using a box grater with medium holes to grate the peel of your lemon.
• Store the spice blend in an glass spice jar, in a cool, dark area.
• The spice mix should last for up to a year. Spices don't go bad or make you ill, they just loose their flavour as times goes time.
• Double or triple the batch if you need more seasoning
• Only grate the skin of the lemon and not white part (that's the bitter pith, we don't want that)
• Add additional herbs/spices i.e basil, oregano, dill and cayenne if you want to.
  

Recipes to use this lemon pepper seasoning in

• Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings.
• Lemon Pepper Air Fried Asparagus  
• Lemon Pepper Chicken Breast
• Lemon Rosemary Roasted Chicken

Other seasoning blends you may like

• Jamaican Curry powder
• Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
• Caribbean Green Seasoning
• Poudre De colombo (Colombo Powder)
• Beef Stew Seasoning Mix 
• Sazon Reasoning 
• Seafood Seasoning Recipe
• Creole Cajun Seasoning

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