Knuckle Donny's Super Seasoning Mix

Yours to copy, distribute, and use but I'd
appreciate it if you gave me credit for it.
Don Crowder - don-guitar.com - 2010

Updated 7-5-2010:   I've experimented with my general
purpose seasoning for about three decades now and have
kept my recipe's latest incarnation a closely guarded
secret for the last few years thinking we'd eventually
package and sell it but I'm going to be 62 years old
in a few months and I plan to 'officially' retire and
live on my Social Security.   I know that would be a
hardship for most folks but I'm a semi-professional
(beer-joint, Weekend-warrior) musician.   In case the
significance of that escapes you, it means I'm really
looking forward to the large increase in my income.
I'm also deeply indebted to the internet in more ways
than I can begin to itemize so I've decided it's time
to pay my dues.   Consequently, I'm releasing my
current (really awesome) seasoning mix recipe as my
gift to the web:

Ingredients:

Black pepper, quarter-cut	16 oz.
Celery seeds			16 oz.
Coriander seeds (ground)	16 oz.
Mustard seeds, yellow		16 oz.
Onion, chopped, dehydrated	16 oz.
Dill seeds			16 oz.
Onion granules			16 oz.
Sea salt			8 oz.
Garlic granules			8 oz.
Comino seeds			8 oz.
Mustard seeds, brown		8 oz.
Parsley flakes, dehydrated	4 oz.

I use this mix as-is on beef, pork or poultry which
we're going to cook on the grill, roast in the oven
or simmer in a stewpot. For soups, sauces, casseroles
or seafood we reduce this mix to a fine powder on an
as-needed basis using an electric spice grinder
(very reasonable from Amazon.com).

I usually get my spices from San Francisco Herb Co
(sfherb.com) or Monterey Bay Spice Company (herbco.com)
are currently the best places I've found to purchase
ingredients.   Their minimum sized package of most
spices, is one pound (16 ounces) which is why my
recipe uses mostly one pound increments. It wouldn't
be difficult to scale the recipe down however smaller
packages of the various ingredients are far more costly
if purchased in a supermarket. For example, a one pound
package of celery seeds from San Francisco Herb Co. or
Monterey Bay Spice Company costs about the same as a one
ounce container of celery seeds in the supermarket and,
generally speaking, spices purchased from either company
are far fresher than those offered in supermarkets.


How To Use This Mix:

Steaks (beef or pork), pork chops, hamburgers (in other
words, things that will be cooked directly on the grill):
Apply generously to both sides and grill as usual.

Chicken (whole): Skin the bird and generously apply
seasoning mix. Tear off 18 to 24 inches of heavy duty
aluminum foil, fold in half (shiny side out) and make
a snug basket to fit under the chicken (breast up) that
comes up just to, but not past, the drumsticks. Use a
separate piece of foil, shiny side down, to cover the
bird completely from the top. Cook on a covered grill
for 30 to 45 minutes until nearly done (You'll have to
experiment, but you'll get the hang of knowing when to
proceed after a couple of tries). Remove the top piece
of foil, and allow the bird to finish cooking. When it
looks nearly ready, before I take it off the grill, I
like to poke a couple of holes in the bottom of the
foil basket and let some of the chicken fat run out.
To remove the bird from the grill I quickly slide a
piece of cardboard under it, foil and all, and lift
it off the grill to carry it into the house. I normally
remove the foil before carving the bird for serving.

Brisket: Begin with a 14 to 17 pound brisket. Rub in,
or sprinkle on, a generous amount of seasoning, place
the brisket in a covered roasting pan and cook overnight
(six to eight hours) in a 275 degree oven. A lot of
liquid will cook out of the meat so use a nice large
pot. Allow to cool to room temperature and, without
removing the brisket from the roasting pan,
refrigerate overnight.

Once the brisket has cooled overnight, remove it from
the pan and cover the lower half of the brisket (fat
side down) with aluminum foil (shiny side up), add
additional spice mix if desired, and heat to serving
temperature on the grill. This allows the brisket to
remain very tender while picking up a nice smoke flavor
and, if needed, finish cooking.

When I remove the roasting pan from the refrigerator,
after I've carefully lifted out the brisket, I skim off
the hardened white fat then package and freeze the
congealed broth for later use in soup, stew, or gravy.

This mix is pretty good on fish or seafood too.

My friend Steve Scott, along with my nephew Jeff Hood,
insisted that the mix needed a "cool" name. I remembered
that my neice, Genie Robinson, has always called me
"Knuckle Donny", thus a "cool" name was born.

I keep my "main stash" of seasoning mix stored in our
chest freezer, in gallon sized zip lock freezer bags
with a smaller bag stored in the freezer compartment
of our refrigerator for regular use.


Comments?  Suggestions?  More recipes?

Feel free to visit my website.

www.don-guitar.com	2010