Okay, so the other day I was in the mood for some serious flavor, and I remembered this Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning I’d heard so much about. I’d never tried it, so I thought, why not give it a shot?
First, I looked up what’s even in this stuff. Seems like everyone’s got their own version, but the main idea is salt, some kind of pepper (black pepper, cayenne, you name it), garlic, and a bunch of other herbs and spices. Some recipes mentioned cornstarch, chili powder, celery salt, mustard, basil, the list goes on. It’s like a whole party in a jar.
I started by grabbing a resealable container. One recipe called for fine sea salt, but all I had was regular table salt, the free-flowing kind, like Morton’s. I figured, close enough. I dumped in a good amount of salt—like, imagine a whole shaker, but it was maybe about 26 ounces.
Next up, black pepper. I love black pepper, so I wasn’t shy. The recipe said about 1 1/2 ounces. That seemed like a lot, so I just eyeballed it. Then came the cayenne pepper, about 5 teaspoons. I added some garlic salt too, around the same amount.
Now, things got interesting. I saw some recipes that used chili powder, so I tossed in a tablespoon of that. Some mentioned celery salt, but I didn’t have any. No biggie, I thought. I did have some ground mustard and dried basil, though, so I sprinkled in a couple of teaspoons of each.
- Dumping in a bunch of salt, like 26 ounces.
- Adding a good amount of black pepper, maybe 1 1/2 ounces.
- Tossing in some cayenne pepper, about 5 teaspoons.
- Adding some garlic salt, similar to the amount of cayenne.
- Throwing in a tablespoon of chili powder.
- Adding about 2 teaspoons of ground mustard and dried basil.
I closed the container and gave it a good shake. It smelled pretty good! I decided to use it on some chicken I was grilling. I rubbed it all over the chicken and let it sit for a bit to soak in the flavor.
The Result
Man, let me tell you, that chicken was something else! It had this amazing kick to it, but it wasn’t just heat. It was like a whole bunch of flavors dancing around in my mouth. I think I might be hooked on this Tony Chachere’s stuff. I also found out that there is an injectable version of it sold on Amazon but I didn’t get to try that one, maybe next time. It’s supposed to make meals more delicious. I’ll definitely be experimenting with it some more. Maybe I’ll try it on fish next, or some veggies. The possibilities are endless!
I learned that Tony Chachere’s has a Creole Brown Gravy Mix, which can make 20 cups of gravy. It contains enriched flour among other ingredients. Maybe I’ll try that out sometime too. Apparently, this seasoning is MSG Free and you can store it in a cool, dry place for up to 24 months. Oh, and I also found out that it is a specific brand of Cajun seasoning. Who knew?
