Homemade Sazn Recipe

A staple ingredient in latin american cooking, sazn is known for its distinctive savory taste and the red-brown hue that it adds to food. This popular garlicky spice blend is traditionally of achiote (annatto), salt, cumin, coriander, garlic, oregano, and pepper. It adds color and flavor to your meats, fish, poultry, soups, and stews without spiciness. This homemade version is made sans chemicals, preservatives, artificial coloring, or additives such as monosodium glutamate (msg), unlike many mass-produced, premade sazn blends from big brands. Sweet and peppery achiote gives the spice blend its deep pigment. Cumin, onion, and garlic powders create savory umami. Coriander brings forward a light and mellow citrusy note and oregano adds depth, pungency, and mild astringency. It's a seemingly complex spice blend that's in fact very versatile for flavoring all kinds of dishes and simple to make at home. Sazn, which means seasoning in spanish, is commonly rubbed on steaks, pork, chicken, and fish as a marinade before grilling, frying, or baking, sprinkled in soups and stews, added to beans and rice, or used as a taco seasoning. It's also the prime flavor in popular latin american dishes such as ropa vieja, arroz con pollo, and arroz amarillo.