Seasoning Salt for Meat, Fish, Lamb & Poultry

3 Herbed Seasoning Salts for Meat, Fish, Lamb & Poultry

Making your own seasoning salt allows you to control the ingredients, and create the spice flavours that you like best. Most store-bought seasoning salt and spice mixes have unlabeled MSG, gluten, and GMO sugars. This is an awesome way to use your extra fresh herbs and they make great gifts.

Sel Gris or grey sea salt comes from the salt flats in France. It is traditionally harvested by natural evaporation and has a higher moisture content and mineral profile than other salts. This is the salt I prefer to use for fermented pickles, beets, sauerkraut, and kimchi. I buy the coarse salt and use it for seasoning, and as table salt. Because of its high moisture content, you’ll need a special ceramic grinder for table use. This is the one I settled on, after buying and tossing a few salt grinders that couldn’t do the job. This one really works.

 

Make herbed seasoning salt and dry rubs to avoid MSG and GMOs

Most store-bought seasoning salt and spice mixes have unlabeled MSG, gluten, and GMO sugars in them that you can avoid by making your own. Sea salt and Himalayan salt have a higher beneficial mineral content than the chemical salt from the store, so choose natural salt for this recipe. Making your own healthier seasoning salt allows you to control the ingredients, and create the spice flavours that you like best.

Preserve fresh herbs in salt

Many garden herbs are best used fresh. Drying decreases the flavour and potency. Herbs like basil, parsley, and chives are bland and unrecognizable dried. These herbs should be preserved fresh. Pesto is a common way to preserve these herbs for winter. Freezing in ice cubes is another way. Both of these methods require a freezer to keep the herbs flavourful for the off-season.

Preserving fresh herbs in salt, on the other hand, keeps the flavour and potency of these fresh herbs and allows you to enjoy them over a longer season.

Seasoning salt for fish and poultry

Lighter meats like fish and poultry can be overpowered by strong spices. Fresh herbs like basil, thyme, and rosemary enhance the flavour without drowning it. A little lemon zest brightens the flavour immensely.

Yield: 1 cup

Ingredients:

1 cup of French grey salt

¼ cup fresh lemon zest (zest from 3 lemons)

1 tbsp. black pepper, whole

1 tbsp. red pepper, whole

¼ cup fresh thyme leaves

½ cup fresh basil leaves

½ cup fresh oregano leaves

2 tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves

Directions:

Grind spices and herb leaves in a small food processor. I use the food processor jar with my stick blender attachment. If you don’t have one you can use a mortar and pestle. Whirl the salt and herbs in the food processor briefly. Process until all the herbs are pulverized and well blended with the salt. Stop processing before the mixture has changed to a paste consistency. You are aiming for the coarse salt to be finer but still recognizable as salt. Put it all in a 2 cup, wide-mouth jar. Cap tightly. You can use this right away or allow it to sit for 4 weeks, stirring when you think of it. Store it in a cool, dark place or in your refrigerator.

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Seasoning salt for beef or venison

Beef and venison are enhanced with the spicy flavour of hot peppers, garlic, and thyme. Add a little prepared horseradish at the table to bring out the best in your homegrown beef or venison.

Yield: 1 cup

Ingredients:

1 cup French grey salt, coarse

1 tbsp. black pepper, whole

1 tbsp. red pepper, whole

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves

1 cup fresh parsley

½ cup fresh basil leaves

Directions:

Grind spices and herb leaves in a small food processor. I use the food processor jar with my stick blender attachment. If you don’t have one you can use a mortar and pestle. Whirl it in the food processor with the herbs and spices briefly, until salt and herbs are fully mixed. You don’t want the herbs to be like pesto, just fully incorporated into the salt. Put it all in a 2 cup, wide-mouth jar. Cap tightly. You can use this right away or allow it to sit for 4 weeks, stirring when you think of it.

 

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Seasoning salt for lamb or goat

Lamb begs for aromatic herbs like mint and fennel. That’s natural because highly scented herbs aid digestion as well as enhance the flavour of moist, succulent meat. Goat has less fat than lamb, so add a little water to the pan to keep the meat moist while it cooks.

Yield: 1 cup

Ingredients:

1 cup of French grey salt

1 tsp. black pepper, whole

1 tsp. red pepper, whole

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 cup fresh mint leaves

½ cup fresh lemon balm leaves

½ cup fennel leaves

1 tsp. fennel seed

Directions:

Grind spices and herb leaves in a small food processor. I use the food processor jar with my stick blender attachment. If you don’t have one you can use a mortar and pestle. Whirl coarse salt in the food processor with the herbs and spices briefly. Put it all in a 2 cup, wide-mouth jar. Cap tightly. You can use this right away or allow it to sit for 4 weeks, stirring when you think of it.

 

Herbed seasoning salt or sel gris for culinary gifts

To give any of these culinary rubs or spice mixes as a gift, make it when the herbs are at their peak and allow the flavours to meld for 4 to 6 weeks. Don’t be afraid to use fresh herbs. The salt will draw any unwanted moisture out of the mixture and prevent spoilage.

Package it in a pretty jar. Add a pretty label.

Add the recipe to the jar so that your recipient can make more when they run out.

How to use fresh herbed seasoning salt or sel gris

• Use this salt with a 3:1 ratio with sugar for a dry rub on fish, chicken, rabbit, or pork. Coat the meat with it and grill it or sear it in a pan.
• Add 2 tbsp. of this to some white wine and marinate any meat for an hour in the fridge, before grilling.
• Add 2 tbsp. of this herbed salt to ¼ cup of olive oil. Using a silicone pastry brush, brush it on French bread or vegetables before grilling, broiling, or baking.
• Put this seasoned salt in a shaker, with wide holes, and use it to season everything from salad dressing to sauces. Try it in scrambled eggs, soups, sauces, or salad dressing, in place of table salt.
• Mix it into rice or quinoa after you’ve cooked it, in the place of table salt.
• Mix it at a 2:1:1 ratio with maple syrup and olive oil. Use it as a glaze for meat, poultry, or fish.

This is just the beginning to whet your creative edge. You’ll look at those fresh garden herbs differently after you try these herbed sel gris recipes.

 

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