Homemade Tajin

When you run out and the stores are closed

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Tajin is a magical seasoning salt that I was introduced to while attending Cal State Long Beach. 

Imagine you’ve grown up bouncing between the country where you raised bucket calves and the hoity-toity white suburbs of Kansas City. You know, good home-style cooking, fresh foods from a garden, and eating beef that you grew from a calf (go 4-H!) The Mexican food you know is Tex Mex, and tacos consist of ground beef, iceberg lettuce, and sour cream. Do you get the picture? 

Moving to Long Beach at 18 was not earth-shattering. It was more like the impending slow movement of a glacial river. It’s moving slowly and steadily; before you know it, you’ve gone 2 miles. You’re a different person. And you have a different expectation for tacos (we’ll get into this in another post.) The good ol’ midwest special is still good, but you know what else exists. 

We were hanging out in our suite in the H building. My suite-mates who grew up in south-central LA & San Diego were all chowing down on fruit. One, in particular, was eating fresh mango, watermelon, and pineapple spears. She took the little Tajin shaker and liberally doused her fruit. 

Now listen. 

I’m no stranger to putting salt on my fruit, especially watermelon. My mom, my grandparents, and, I bet, great-great grandpappy Lucius also did it. 

But this stuff was different. 

She handed me a Tajin-covered mango spear. Without hesitation, I ate it, and my world exploded. It was salty (like I liked) but also sweet and spicy and had a little bite!  

From that moment forward, I was a convert.  

Driving through LA, you’ll often see fruit carts on the corners. They chop up the fruit, serve it in a little bag with a small wood toothpick, and douse it with Tajin. You should stop. Stop and get some fruit. You won’t regret it. 

This brings me to how I ended up making my own Tajin. I love very trashy- know it’s trashy- reality TV dating shows. The most recent one that stole my heart was Netflix’s “The Perfect Match.” 

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For the finale, I created a ‘perfect match’ board full of delicious and iconic food pairings. We had cookies and milk, peaches and cream, PB&J, etc. I insisted on mangoes and tajin. My wife, from northwest Missouri, thought it was a strange combo until she tried it.

I had the mango chopped up, and the rest of the board was ready to go, but I had no Tajin. I didn’t have time to head to the store. So instead, I threw it together.

@cookingwithsageLets make some tajin! Home-made Tajin   1-1.5 cups dried peppers (ancho, guajillo) with seeds removed  1-2 limes zested  2-3 tsp kosher salt or sea salt  Let’s make it Carefully remove seeds from peppers.  To deseed dried peppers, cut off the top of the pepper. Insert a small spoon in the pepper and twist the spoon around. Over the trash, turn the pepper upside down to empty it of its seeds. Chop the peppers into large chunks. Zest the limes  Blend until its a fine powder #tajin #cookingwithsage

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Home-made Tajin  

• 1-1.5 cups dried peppers (ancho, guajillo) with seeds removed 

• 1-2 limes zested 

• 2-3 tsp kosher salt or sea salt 

Let’s make it

1. Carefully remove seeds from peppers. 

   1. To deseed dried peppers, cut off the top of the pepper. Insert a small spoon in the pepper and twist the spoon around. Over the trash, turn the pepper upside down to empty it of its seeds.

2. Chop the peppers into large chunks.

3. Zest the limes 

4. Put everything in a food processor or blender. Blend until it’s a fine powder. 

5. Sprinkle on fruit, corn, and whatever you may enjoy! 

6. Store in a small airtight container.

FAQ

How long is this good for?  

It can be stored in the fridge for 5 days. You can also freeze it. You can also dehydrate it, and it will last for 3-6 months. 

The limiting factor is the lime zest.