Most spice mixes that you buy contain starch fillers or brown sugar (including, unfortunately, curry powders - but that's for another spice experiment). Braais (BBQ) are a big deal in South Africa and "Braai spice" is totally a thing every South African has in their spice rack. Except when it's full of carbs. So I created my own variation of a meat spice - a combination of paprika, garlic, beef stock and other spices that I love. This stuff is great as a meat rub, in stews or on roast chicken. There are a million different ways to use it.
Ingredients:
- 3 1/2 Tbsp. paprika
- 5 beef stock/bouillon cubes (50g) (other flavours would work too)
- 1 1/2 tsp. coriander seeds
- 2 tsp. dried rosemary
- 1 tsp. dry thyme
- 1 Tbsp. garlic salt
- 1 Tbsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp. clove powder
- 1 Tbsp. crushed chillies
- 1 tsp. cumin
Crush the coriander seeds, dried thyme and dried rosemary in a pestle and mortar, and mix it with the powdered spices. Using the pestle and mortar again, crush your stock cubes. They will still be oily and lumpy. Scrape the crushed cubes out of the mortar and mix with the rest of the spice. Put the spice in an oven safe dish and place it in a low oven (100C / 212F) for 4 hours.
After 4 hours, grind the spice mixture in small batches in a coffee grinder. Once it's all finely ground, place it back in the oven dish and in the oven for another hour.
I usually do this in the evenings and then I leave the spice in the oven overnight (after turning it off, of course). The longer you leave it to dry out, the better. The stock needs to dry out properly or the spice mixture will be clumpy. Store it in an airtight container out of direct sunlight.
