I’ve mentioned my love of smoked paprika before, so when I realized that this cajun spice mix was mostly smoked paprika, I knew I had to make it. Besides the paprika, there are a lot of different flavors going on here, including basil, oregano, and a good dose of cayenne pepper, and together they’re the perfect combination for any gumbos, jambalayas, or other cajun dishes you might wish to make. I’ll be posting two recipes of my own using this mix on Wednesday and Friday.
When I started looking for a slow cooker pulled pork recipe, I thought at first that I was doomed to heavily douse a pork shoulder in barbecue sauce and call it a day. But then I found this amazing recipe which instead uses a spice rub and only a minimal amount of liquid, with outstandingly flavorful and tender results. There’s even a little smokiness from the smoked paprika (using smoked salt in the rub and/or a dash of liquid smoke in the slow cooker could get you even more). And there’s all the slow cooker beauty here of getting it started in the morning and coming home to a fragrant house and dinner ready to be served. For a few days, I ate this pulled pork with everything – with eggs for breakfast, on top of salad for lunch, with beans for dinner, and plain for a snack.
I’ve found that making fresh spice mixes is surprisingly easy and yields incredible flavor – much more than with store-bought mixes. This recipe for chili powder can be adapted to your tastes; it currently uses equal amounts of three dried chiles: guajillo, ancho, and arbol. Like your chili powder a little smokier? Add more ancho chiles, toss in some dried chipotles, and/or add extra smoked paprika. Like your chili powder on the milder side? Use more ancho and guajillo chiles and less arbol chiles, and discard the seeds before toasting. Or, conversely, like your chili powder extra spicy? Up the number of arbol chiles.
I would highly recommend making a double batch of this recipe; a single batch makes enough for about four regular batches of chili (about 4 servings each) or two extra-large batches of chili (about 8 servings each) – I love making extra-large batches and having lots of delicious hearty leftovers. If you make a single batch of this recipe, you’ll have just enough chili powder for the two amazing extra-large batch chili recipes I’ll be posting on Wednesday and Friday: a delicious vegetarian chili packed with lots of different beans and grains on Wednesday, then a mouth-watering pot of chile con carne with all the special touches on Friday.