Here’s my delicious homemade seasoning: a nod and a wink to KFC style flavours, to enjoy with chicken, fish and roast veggies.
One of the biggest misconceptions about homesteading is that you have to make absolutely everything yourself. In fact, one of the best skills a homesteader can develop is knowing what’s worth making and what’s worth buying. It’s not about proving you can do everything from scratch. It’s about making smart, practical choices that save time, reduce waste and make the most of what you already have.
For me, smoked paprika is one of those ingredients I happily buy. After all, I have better uses for capsicums!
When I do have a bumper crop of red capsicums, my first thought isn’t, “Let’s make paprika.” Instead, I preserve them. Roasted capsicums bottled in brine are one of my favourite pantry staples… perfect for salads and antipasto platters. Turning those same capsicums into paprika would produce only a relatively small amount of spice, while sacrificing all of those other wonderful uses.
Buying Bulk Paprika
Smoked paprika is one of those ingredients that’s surprisingly inexpensive when you buy it in bulk. A typical supermarket packet contains around 30 grams and usually costs between $2.50 and $3.50. That’s roughly 20–27 cents per teaspoon.Now compare that with buying a 500 gram bag from a bulk food supplier for around $5.00. That works out at only about 2 cents per teaspoon. For roughly the price of two supermarket packets, you can buy enough smoked paprika to last a very long time.
If, like me, you use smoked paprika almost every day, buying in bulk simply makes sense. I still love dehydrating food. I make leafy green powders, tomato powder, citrus zest powders, herb blends and vegetable powders because they allow me to preserve produce that would otherwise go to waste. Many of those products are expensive or impossible to buy. Those homemade ingredients become the building blocks for seasonings, dressings and pantry mixes. But I don’t feel the need to make every single ingredient myself. There’s no prize for spending hours producing something that’s already affordable and readily available.
KFC-esque Seasoning
One of the reasons I always keep bulk smoked paprika on hand is for my homemade KFC-style chicken seasoning. It goes on chicken, fish, roast vegetables, wedges and even popcorn. One thing to note: while the chicken stock (and celery to some degree) has salt content, it doesn’t replace the regular salt you’d usually use when cooking fish and chicken. Think of the seasoning as the icing on top! I choose not to add extra salt into the KFC-esque Seasoning itself so I can keep a check on, and be able to adapt the salt content of any dish.
If you are using the KFC-esque seasoning as a baste or marinade, dilute 1 Tbsp of seasoning with 1 Tbsp of oil. This works with approx. 500g of chicken for a start. For more flavour, you can always add extra dry seasoning concentrate directly to the chicken when in the pan. Don’t be shy! You can be quite liberal with this seasoning.
Makes: approx. 1 cup
Ingredients:
- 4 Tbps chicken stock powder
- 3 Tbps paprika
- 2 Tbps white pepper
- 2 Tbps garlic powder
- 2 Tbps onion powder
- 2 Tbps mixed herbs
- 2 Tbps dried chives
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tps mustard powder
- 1 tsp ground celery
Method:
- Combine all dry ingredients well.
- Store in an air-tight container.
Sometimes the smartest homesteading decision isn’t making another ingredient from scratch. Sometimes it’s recognising incredible value when you see it. And for me, smoked paprika is one ingredient that’s earned a permanent place on the shopping list.
