Everyone like the flavor of lemon pepper! It’s great for a lot more than simply chicken wings. This simple combination is a must-have for your kitchen because it’s citrusy, aromatic, and has the ideal flowery undertones of freshly cracked pepper. It elevates salt and pepper to new heights, and that citrus burst adds a whole new dimension to the flavor. This adaptable blend might even take the place of your daily pinch dish of salt and pepper.
All you need to make Lemon Pepper Seasoning is lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Seasoning for fish, chicken, and steak, as well as salad dressings and marinades. I hope to cook many items in the future, like homemade ketchup and sandwich bread with jam. It’s lemon-pepper today. Everyone like the flavor of lemon pepper! It’s great for a lot more than simply chicken wings. This simple combination is a must-have for your kitchen because it’s citrusy, aromatic, and has the ideal flowery undertones of freshly cracked pepper. See how I create this delectable lemon pepper with fresh lemon zest.
How to Make Lemon Pepper?
This recipe will be sprinkled over chicken, fish, a creamy pasta sauce, or roasted vegetables; it’s a winner. When it comes to spice mixes, the difference between homemade and store-bought is significant. Using real lemon zest instead of the artificial flavor of store-bought lemon pepper goes long.
Ingredients
- Lemon zest – Use a Microplane to get the perfect zest size for this blend.
- Pepper – If you have a pepper mill, twist it to the most coarse setting. Otherwise, buy coarse-ground pepper,
- Salt – Any type you have.
- Garlic powder and Onion powder – You can use as much or little as possible.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 170F or your oven’s lowest heat setting.*
- Mix the ingredients in a bowl. Spread the mixture out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the lemon zest is completely dried out.
- Transfer the lemon pepper to an airtight container and store it in a cool, dry place.
Your lowest heat setting may be greater than mine because every oven is different. If your oven can’t go as low as 170 degrees Fahrenheit, just set it to the lowest temperature.
If your lemon pepper is too coarse when you initially take it out of the oven, move it to a food processor or a spice or coffee grinder and pulse it until you obtain the desired consistency.
How to Store Lemon Pepper?
Keep your lemon pepper in an airtight container or tightly sealed jar. In an excellent, dark, dry location like your pantry or spice cupboard, it will last 3-4 years. To make it easier for me to keep track of my spice mixes, I like to name them with the date I mixed them.
If you’re storing your blend in a freshly washed container, be sure it’s scorched before putting it in. You went to all that work to dry it out in the first place, right? If the jar or container has just been washed, let it lay upside down on a drying rack for 20-30 minutes before storing the lemon pepper.
Does Lemon Pepper Contain Sodium?
The lemon pepper flavor is fantastic on fish, poultry, or chicken wings. Add a sprinkle or two to spice up dinnertime! We’ve used lemon pepper taste in our dishes for a long time. I’d always bought it at the store, and I’d stock up whenever they had a sale. Then I attempted to make it at home and was astounded at how much better it turned out!
I now double the recipe to ensure that we never go hungry. We make Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings for a quick meal and every get-together, so I’d be in big trouble if we didn’t have any! This is a dish that costs you nothing! It’s from my newest cookbook, Weeknight Keto. I created the recipe to ensure that anyone making the Lemon Pepper Wings knew that the seasoning was carbohydrate-free.
What Is Lemon Pepper Made of?
Crushed black peppercorns and granulated lemon zest are combined to make lemon pepper (also known as lemon pepper spice). The lemon zest is crushed with the pepper to allow the citrus oil to seep into the pepper. This mixture is baked and dried and can be used on meats (particularly poultry) and pasta, despite its origins as a seafood seasoning.
Lemon pepper is commonly purchased in small jars at supermarkets, but it can also be made at home. Commercially marketed lemon pepper may contain trace amounts of other ingredients such as salt, sugar, onion, garlic, citric acid, extra lemon flavor, cayenne pepper, and other spices.
What Does Drinking Lemon Water With Cayenne Pepper Do?
Cayenne pepper is an anti-inflammatory and digestive aid that is widely used. It stimulates the digestive tract and intestines, which can help with gas, stomach aches, nausea, ulcers, and other digestive difficulties. It also acts as a natural pain reliever for digestive problems. Add some freshly squeezed lemon juice to your regular cayenne drink to gain the digestive system’s benefits from these two natural stimulants.
Lemon, in particular, helps to lower acidity levels in the body. As a result, regularly drinking a lemon-cayenne pepper cocktail with water will significantly reduce heartburn and acid reflux. The combination of these two health-promoting nutrients has the potential to improve your digestive system’s overall function.
5 Best Lemon Pepper Substitutes
Lemon Thyme
Lemon thyme is a typical herb used by anyone who enjoys a citrus flavor in their dish. The best part is that it is available all year long.
The plant resembles English thyme in appearance, but the two have distinct flavors and aromas. Lemon thyme is high in limonene and thymol, which give it a citrusy flavor, and it belongs to the mint family and has a pleasant scent.
Because it has a citrus flavor, it’s a good substitute for lemon pepper seasoning. It will not, however, have the same level of acidity as lemon zest. Because it still has thyme undertones, it’s best utilized in savory meals. Taste as you go as you add the thyme to your dish, and you won’t add more than you need this way.
Lemon Juice
Lemon juice can be substituted for lemon pepper seasoning, and it works well as a substitute because it has a similar citrus flavor. Utilizing lemon juice in a marinade recipe works nicely as a replacement, and the juice acts as a lubricant while maintaining the lemon pepper seasoning flavor.
The disadvantage is that this alternative can only be used in liquid recipes, and this will not work if there isn’t enough area for the liquid. It can, however, be used as a sauce foundation.
Shichimi Togarashi
This is a Japanese spice blend mixture known as nana-iron togarashi. It’s a rub made from a mixture of roughly seven spices. It contains poppy seeds, ground sansho (Japanese pepper), roasted orange peel, black sesame seeds, white sesame seeds, hemp seeds, nori (seaweed), and other spices such as ground ginger, chilies, nori (seaweed), and poppy seeds.
Because of the heat from the chilies, it’s an excellent substitution for lemon pepper seasoning, and it can be used as a dry rub as well. The mix of spices offers the recipe you use for a nuanced flavor, which is something lemon pepper seasoning excels at.
Noodles, seafood, grilled meat, and soups all benefit from the addition of shichimi togarashi. You can use Shichimi Togarashi in the same way you would lemon pepper.
Lemon Curry Powder
Curry powder is a spice blend used to enhance the flavor and heat. Black pepper is found in almost every combination. Because it has lemon and pepper undertones, it’s a fantastic substitution for lemon pepper seasoning. It also works well as a dry massage because it is powder form. To make it a marinade, you’ll need to add a few more ingredients.
Remember that lemon curry powder contains turmeric, which gives it a bright yellow tint that can alter the color of your food. If the color change is significant to you, keep this in mind. When making the substitution, use equal amounts of lemon pepper seasoning and lemon curry powder.
DIY Lemon Pepper Blend
You can buy lemon pepper blends in stores, but you can also make your own. The benefit of doing so is that you’ll know exactly what’s going into the blend and can tweak and tailor it to your liking. As a result, it’s bursting at the seams with flavor and aroma.
To make your lemon pepper seasoning at home, you’ll need a few critical components like lemon zest, salt, and black pepper. It’s ideal to use freshly zested lemon and freshly cracked black pepper.
Because it is created for your needs, this alternative for lemon pepper spice works wonderfully. You can increase the amount of lemon in your recipe if you want more lemon than pepper. You can use equal amounts of the DIY blend because it is comparable, and a one-to-one ratio should be enough.
Conclusion
Lemon pepper is a condiment prepared from crushed black peppercorns and granulated lemon zest. The lemon zest is mashed with the pepper to allow the citrus oil to seep into the pepper. Although it was initially used primarily for seafood, this mixture is baked and dried and may be used on meats and pasta.
Lemon pepper is usually sold in small jars in stores, but it can also be created at home. Small amounts of other components may be found in commercially marketed lemon pepper, such as salt, sugar, onion, garlic, citric acid, extra lemon flavor, cayenne pepper, and other spices.
