01 Aug 2016
by linettefm
in All Natural, BBQ, Cooking, Food, Fruits and Veggies, Grilling, Home, Living, Natural, Nutrition, Organic, Product Samples, Product testing, Review, Samples, Seasonings
Tags: Alderwood smoked sea salt, Amazon, Amazon Fresh, and organic allspice.{PEPPERED HABANERO}: organic smoked black peppercorn, and organic crushed red pepper.{CITRUS PEPPER}: organic orange peel, and organic lemon, and organic resemary.{SMOKEY SOUTHWEST}: organic chili powder, and organic white peppercorn.{FRESH BAY}: organic celery salt, ASIN: B00XCY3FJY, Celtic sea salt, cooking, FreshJax, FreshJax Review, grilling, Grocery & Gourmet Food > Herbs, Herbs, organic bay leaves, organic bird's eye chili, organic black peppercorn, organic cardamom, ORGANIC CELERY SEED, organic cinnamon, organic coriander, ORGANIC CORN, organic cumin, organic dill, organic fennel, ORGANIC GARLIC, organic green peppercorn, organic habanero pepper, organic lemon peel, organic lime peel, organic mace, organic mustard seed, organic onion, organic oregano, ORGANIC PAPRIKA, organic parsley, organic pink peppercorn, organic red pepper, organic smoked black peppercorn, organic smoked paprika, organic thyme, organic yellow mustard seed, peppers, Set of 5 FreshJax Gourmet Handcrafted Spices (Grilling Spices), Smoked Salts, spice blends, Spices, Spices & Seasonings, Summer Grilling, Summer Meals, UPC: 721762813942, {GRILL MASTER}: organic smoked black peppercorn
One of the delights of Summer, is the grilling weather. Being in California, this means that we grill most parts of the year and even during Winter. If it’s raining we can easily bring the grill under the tall awning from the patio, so again no limitations. Finding spices and especially blends is something I must admit I do not usually purchase. I have a large array of individual spices, dried herbs, chilies, in powdered to granulated, and even whole form. I just avoid blends because I found early on, they were just mostly blended products with 75% being salts or sugars. Not my kind of thing, so when FreshJax reached out and I looked into the company…..well, I gave them a try.
FreshJax is a family owned company and they started their company in 2011. They advertised something I use commonly, being “clean” about what you make. This is not just limited to sanitary conditions, but to using real products, no fillers and having pride in what you make. You got to love cooking to a certain degree to make things work and one thing FreshJax loves, is their spice mixes!
I selected the Grilling Spices because the selection looked like one I can actually use. Like all 5 bottles sounded like great mixes and close to ingredients we use on a weekly basis, but I am always looking how people add their own twist to ingredients I use. The grilling mix comes with:
- GRILL MASTER: Think about an all purpose blend and this mix is it. It goes well with any protein to vegetables and seafood. Serves all well with herbs like organic fennel, garlic, rosemary and smoked black peppercorns. I use smoked salts on almost a daily basis but the smoked peppercorns really made this mix unique and addicting.
- SMOKEY SOUTHWEST: Not just spice but flavor! This one was great to add to beans and even inside a quesadilla. It made every cheesy quesadilla amazing with just one sprinkle of this blend. You have smoked salts and pepper, to cumin to give it that recognizable Tex-Mex kick.
- CITRUS PEPPER: I have a lemon pepper blend I use and it’s also made with organic herbs and spices. FreshJax, laughed at my lemon pepper blend! This bottle is a citrus bonanza when it comes to flavor. You have a blend here of lemon, orange, lime with a zest you get from white peppercorns. They also use a pepper medley blend, which means you get the red and even the green that tend to be milder in flavor. A great combination and perfect for vegetables and I made a Citrus Pepper compound butter for salmon that was grilled on planks and oh my, just delicious!
- FRESH BAY: There is a reason the other is called “Old” Bay. This mix revamps the old by using organic mace, cardamon, mustard seeds to your familiar celery seed and bay leaves. I found even cinnamon in this blend but I could not taste it. Like not one ingredient fought with each other, so it’s a peaceful bay 🙂 that will play well with shrimps to even chicken.
- PEPPERED HABANERO: I was afraid this one would just mimic the Smokey Southwest but thankfully this one was totally different. You get heat and I find habanero peppers not only provide heat but more flavor than a jalapeno. I don’t find the pepper to be crazy hot. This blend is peppery and you get a zing but again FreshJax delivers taste. They also blended in Bird’s Eye Chili, which is an Asian variety. I love that this one plays well with braised beef because you don’t have to always taco everything! When I braised the beef, it was ready in 1 hour and the tortillas were on the side to help scoop up the peppery sauce this blend created!
Final Verdict:
I recall now what ease it is to pick-up a bottle and go! I kind of forgot that when I am so use to getting out the items I need to grind peppercorns, seeds, and pods, to then mixing in dry herbs, spices and salts. FreshJax, made this a positive experience just from one simple bottle with no clean-up needed. Easy and I was not cheating the dishes I made either. Flavor was present and I still had to salt some a little bit because these seasonings add taste, not just pickle the meats and vegetables you add them to. The herbs and spices are fresh and you not only see them on the meats you rubbed them on, marinated with but even the vegetables I used the spices on were well received.
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I received the above product(s) free of charge from FreshJax. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. I received no other compensation in exchange for my review. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.
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24 Jun 2014
by linettefm
in Food, Product testing, Recipe, Review, Uncategorized
Tags: 2-in-1 recipe, All-Purpose Flour, Batter Fish, black pepper, Black salt, Black Sea Salt, Breaded Fish, breadings, Buttermilk, Buttermilk batter, Buttermilk battered fish, Cayenne Pepper, Coated Fish, Corn Flour, crab cakes, Cracked Black Pepper, Crispy and Light Battered Fish, Crunchy Batter, Deer Fried Fish, Devil Fish Bites, Dill weed, Dried Herbs, dry herbs, Easy Cooking, Easy Dinners, Finishing Salts, Fish and Chips, Fish Bites, Fish Dinners, Fish Fry, Fish Meals, Fish Tacos, French Fries, Fried Shrimps, Fries, frying, Garlic Powder, Gourmet Nut's Himalayan Pink Salt, Gourmet Nut's Hiwa Kai Hawaiian Sea Salt, Halibut Bites, Hawaiian Salt, Himalayan crystal salt, Himalayan Pink Salt, Himalayan Salt, Hiwa Kai Hawaiian Sea Salt, Lightly coated Shrimps, Marjoram, Oils, Onion Powder, Oregano, Parsley, Peanut Oil, Pink Salt, Po' Boys, Prawns, Quick Dinners, Quick Meals, Rice Flour, Salts, salts with benefits, Sea Salt with Charcoal, Sea Salts, Seafood, Seafood Batter, Shrimps, Spicy Fish Coating, Sr, sriracha, sriracha batter for fish, sriracha fish recipe, sriracha sauce, Summer Cooking, Summer Foods, Summer Meals, table salts, Tartar Sauce, The Gourmet Nut, The Gourmet Nut Salts, Thyme, Tilapia, Tlapia Bites
With fish prices rising and myself still craving fish, I have pretty much made every fish readily available in a manner of ways. Nothing satisfies a dual craving of seafood and fried food like the recipe below. The combination of salts brings a unique flavor to the dish as do the flours, which create a perfect thin crust that is super crunchy but remains light. You can make the dish using pretty much any fish (that is not ultra oily)or even use shrimps….po’ boys style or just bites to enjoy. You can also make “Devil Fish” bites by adding Sriracha to the buttermilk soak. Great for fish tacos too because the batter is crunchy but not heavy!
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Himalayan Pink Salt
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Salt Crystals are a nice size!
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Hiwa Kai Hawaiian Sea Salt
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Nothing in the salts I have tasted is like this one. Unique and delicious!
The combination of salts is what makes the impact because the salinity in the Himalayan Pink Salt is great in the buttermilk soak but does not “pickle” the meat. The Hiwa Kai Hawaiian Salt brings those earthy notes that is almost like a truffle but so unique that is difficult to pin point. In the end, you just end up with a flavor combination that is perfect and better than anything you can buy. It’s also quick to make!
Let’s get started……
I start the night before to allow the fish soak up all the flavors and I like making meals that allow me to prep the evening before, so I get less mess but the benefit of capturing every flavor note without doing a thing.
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I purchased Frozen this time and just defrosted the fillets.
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I use 3 Tilapia Fillets.
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You cut the fish into bite sizes
- Start with 3 Tilapia Fish Fillets and cut them into finger size pieces and I usually try to make bites in size that take one to two bites each to eat.
Buttermilk Soak:
- 1/8 of teaspoon of each (Dried Herbs)- Thyme, Oregano, Parsley, Dill Weed, Marjoram, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Black Pepper, and the Gourmet Nut’s Himalayan Pink Salt.
- Optional- You may add 1/8 of a teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper or more to suit your taste. I have added Sriracha in the past to create “Devil Bites” but again this is to your own discretion. You can also make 1/2 normal and 1/2 deviled to get different bites out of one dish.
- 1/2 cup of Buttermilk
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Combine the dry ingredients
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Then add fish and coat evenly
You add the dry ingredients and the fish to a bowl and mix to combine and cover everything evenly.
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Allow the fish to soak at least 4 hours but best overnight.
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You will see the buttermilk level just lower to the point very little is left.
Then add the buttermilk and allow the fish to soak over night. I like to give it at least 4 hours but the more you give it, the more the fish absorbs and the better the flavor.
The following day, take the fish out and allow it to lower in temperature for about 20 minutes and then begin making the coating/batter.
Batter/Coating:
- 1/4 cup of Corn Flour
- 1/4 cup of Rice Flour
- 1/2 cup of All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon of Gourmet Nut’s Hiwa Kai Hawaiian Sea Salt
- Cracked Black Pepper to taste
- Optional- Cayenne Pepper to taste
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Add all flours
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Then ingredients and combine
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Batter fish until evenly coated and usually set mine on a plate as I go
Combine the batter and no egg needed bath is needed as the buttermilk serves as a great “glue” to make the coating stick. You simply drop each bite and coat evenly, repeat until finished.
Frying:
I use Peanut Oil to produce a nice crisp outside and a clean taste when frying but you may use any oil you desire. I heat up the oil between 370 and 395 degrees because I find this heat point perfect for less spatter and spitting, even though my chicken tends to cause more than the fish does. Simply drop the bites and because this is a light batter, the fish coating will remain light in color and you will achieve a light golden tone. The fish literally stops making noise when they are done. You will see within the oil the bubbling starts to subside and it takes only a few minutes to fry in small batches. It’s quick and self telling when it’s done, so that works for me.
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Heat oil and I use Peanut
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Fry in small batches to not over crowd
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Color is a light golden just like the batter’s texture. It only takes a few minutes to fry.
Serving:
You can make fish tacos or serve the fish as-is with a side of tartar sauce. I made shrimps and crab cakes that evening, plus fries because I wanted to nip my fried food craving. I also like to grind a little finishing salt of the Hiwa Kai Hawaiian Sea Salt when serving because it gives it touch of extra flavor and the color against the white meat of the fish is just gorgeous! Enjoy!
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I received the above product(s) free of charge from The Gourmet Nut. Â I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. Â My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.
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