Making Your Own Spice Blends and Oven Baked Rib Recipe

When you spend extra money and time gathering fresh and organic ingredients to cook with, don't forget the spices and herbs. Looking at the ingredients on the labels of many pre-made spice blends I was concerned with some of the ingredients. Tony's Cajun Spice blend may contain milk, soy or wheat as their label says.

Many of the garlic salt blends have sugar as one of their ingredients. And most important, I noticed that buying bulk organic spices and growing my own provided me with an array of flavors not found in the store. My favorite place to get my dried herbs is from my own garden and the other spices are bought from Mountain Rose Herbs

Smoky Seasoning
1/4 cup smoked paprika
4 teaspoons of orange peel powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of ground cloves
1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed well
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

In a small bowl combine the above ingredients and mix well. Store in an airtight container (I use labeled canning jars) at room temperature. This will keep for 6 months. Double the recipe if you like, I do!

Oven Baked St. Louis Style Ribs
One of my favorite ways to use this spice blend is to rub it generously on St. Louis Style pork ribs. Using a knife, cut rib portions in half to fit into a deep dish 9x13 inch pan. Cover pan with foil and let sit for one hour. Bake for about 3 hours at 300°F or until rib meat pulls away from bones easily. During the last hour of cooking drizzle honey over the top of the ribs, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and continue baking uncovered.

Cajun Spice Blend
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons dried thyme, crushed
2 teaspoons white pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

In a small bowl  combine the above ingredients and mix well. Store in an airtight container (I use labeled canning jars) at room temperature. This will keep for 6 months. I will double the recipe and keep in these cute plastic spice containers so my son, who loves this spice on eggs, can sprinkle it easily.  Note: Notice that this spice blend or others does not include salt. Personally, I like to salt my foods separately. Salting foods is a personal taste, some like their foods salty, some do not. This allows you more control over the spiciness of a food, which is different from the saltiness of a food.

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon dried thyme, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
 1/2 teaspoon cloves
 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

In a small bowl combine the above ingredients and mix well. Store in an airtight container (I use labeled canning jars) at room temperature. This will keep for 6 months. Double the recipe if you like, I do!