Saturday, January 3, 2009

The Gift of Spice


This year, D and I made spice rub for a few close friends and family. It was the simplest gift, and it was a lot of fun to make. All you need are some empty spice jars, a spice or coffee grinder, the herbs and spices, and a pen, paper, and tape to make labels. We tried some on roasted chicken, empanada fillings, and a roasted squash, and it was terrific. I picked up everything I needed at Sahadi's and the kitchen store right next door.


Yucatan Dry Spice Rub

Two 2 1/2 to 3 inch cinnamon sticks
1/4 cup of dried oregano
2 teaspoons of whole black peppercorns
2 teaspoons of whole allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons of whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds

Place all of the ingredients in a spice grinder and grind until fine.

All you have to do is rub it into meat, or even just sprinkle it on meat before roasting. It's good on poultry, pork, and seafood. I haven't tried it with beef yet.

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