Introducing our original grill seasoning L.A. Asada and michelada salt Salty Angeleno

I can’t get enough of my California Heat.
Not the weather in recent weeks, but the original L.A. Times Food dry chili crisp that was developed in our Test Kitchen with single-origin ingredients from Burlap & Barrel. My shaker of California Heat, a pan-ethnic blend in the most West Coast way, has become such a staple in my spice cabinet that I leave it on the counter most of the time, dashing it over meats, pastas, salads and fresh fruit. It makes things taste a little Asian, a little Latin, a little Middle Eastern and a little soulful.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, still inspired by the success of California Heat, the Food team is delighted to be back this year with more brand-new spice mixes that will surely thrill the most exacting and heat-loving of Angeleno cooks.
Please say hello to L.A. Asada Backyard Grill Seasoning, an original smokey mix to marinate carne asada or for grilling veggies; and Salty Angeleno Michelada Seasoning Salt, our original L.A. Times Food salt and spice blend, perfect for one of our city’s favorite unofficial cocktails — an ice-cold michelada.
Once again, Betty Hallock, deputy Food editor and cookbook author, spent months meticulously selecting ingredients from Burlap & Barrel’s single-source spice producers from around the world, seeking input from members of our staff every step of the way, to bring us these two new mixes.
Together or apart, they make a great gift for your local cooking whizzes, just in time for experimenting in the home kitchen as the fall and winter holidays approach. And hell, since we are in “local summer” in Southern California from September to October, L.A. Asada arrives in time for an outdoor grilling session or two while the weather stays warm.
L.A. Asada gets its heat from Kashmiri chile, smoked pimentón paprika and Cobanero chile flakes, and its smokiness from wild mesquite and black lime. Salty Angeleno also contains black lime, paprika, hibiscus, sun-dried tomato powder and panela to hit all the necessary flavor notes of a michelada salt.
“With L.A. Asada, we were looking for a sort of nostalgic flavor profile with cumin and chili powder and a little smoked paprika and oregano and onion and garlic,” Hallock says. “But we wanted it to be a little more versatile than, say, a taco seasoning blend.”
As soon as I could get my hands on samples of the mixes, I got to cooking.
Last weekend, I had a friend over for an impromptu carne asada. I got a couple pounds of espadilla meat from my neighborhood carnicería, cut it up, marinated it in a bowl with a hefty dashing of L.A. Asada as well as sliced onion, sliced chile serrano, the juice of an orange and a pour of Famosa, the Guatemalan lager.
I also had some elote on hand, and these were a warm comfort to finish the meal, each grilled and slathered in a tiny bit of butter plus equal dashes of L.A. Asada and Salty Angeleno.
Hallock noted that for Salty Angeleno, “We also added some black lime that’s also in California Heat and is such an interesting, essentially Middle Eastern ingredient, which sort of reflects how we approach California Heat, to showcase flavors that we know in Los Angeles.”
All this week, I kept going, putting the mixes on fruit paletas and as a final layer of flavor over guacamole. I also experimented with grilling nopales seasoned with L.A. Asada, and in the process, I believe I may have stumbled upon a solid vegan taco for the masses — but more on that later.
Here are a few other cool ways to use L.A. Asada or Salty Angeleno. The first two recipes below are brand new, recently created by our team in the L.A. Times Test Kitchen. The remaining recipes are good starting-off points to help you explore L.A. Asada and Salty Angeleno’s possibilities from our archives and the recipes you love.
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Squash, bell peppers, corn, cherry tomatoes and L.A. Asada seasoning come together in this hearty calabacitas dish to accompany any late summer or early fall meal outdoors. Keep it to veggies alone or add ground beef for that this-is-how-my-mom-made-it feel. Get the recipe. Cook time: 30 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.
There’s nothing like a michelada to cool down after a long summer’s day — or, actually, to start off the day if it’s a holiday. Our new michelada salt has the right smoke and just a touch of sweetness to make a casual michelada turn into a memorable one. Rim your glasses with Salty Angeleno. Clamato and Worcestershire sauce are, of course, essential. Garnish with lime or orange, or, what the hell, a pickle or a stick of tamarind candy.Get the recipe. Prep time: 20 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.
Carne asada is a ritual of Los Angeles and West Coast life, and we take our carne very seriously at Food: Our archives contain multiple carne asada recipes with marinade variations that span generations and flavor profiles. But sometimes someone just pops over or the day takes a turn and next thing you know you’re cracking open a beer and grilling meat. I found that L.A. Asada works like a dream as a base rub for skirt steak and any handy lager, plus an orange, onion and maybe a few sprigs of cilantro. And you’re good to go. Get the recipe. Cook time: 1 hour 10 minutes. Serves 16.
What a privilege it is to be summoned to the sidewalk by a twinkly tune of an ice cream truck and the promise of shamelessly sugary ice treats, paletas made with fruit or even a savory snack of ballpark-style chili and cheese nachos (trust me, ice cream trucks in L.A. have great nachos). This week, I flagged down a truck, guessing that Salty Angeleno might be great on a spur-of-the-moment coconut paleta. Indeed, the paprika and black lime of the seasoning contrasted wonderfully with the cool sweetness of the coconut paleta. If you have molders, and these should basically be as common in your freezer as ice-cube trays, you can make your own coconut paletas such as these, which feature a layer of cacao nibs. Get the recipe. Cook time: 1 hour 5 minutes. Makes 1 dozen paletas.
Nopales, or cactus paddles, is a ubiquitous side dish and garnish in most of central Mexico and is enjoyed in traditional breakfasts, comidas and dinners in many regional cuisines. Nopales have a fleshiness that makes them a suitable vegan or vegetarian alternative to traditional guisados or grilled meats. So this weekend, I grilled nopalitos in a traditional blend of onion, garlic and de-seeded chile ancho, along with a heavy marinade of L.A. Asada. This Barbara Hansen recipe calls for boiling the cactus paddle with onion, tomatoes and chicken broth, or you can adjust to grilling by using a grilling skillet. Get the recipe. Cook time: 50 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.
Grill or boil it, use skewers or not, just walk faithfully knowing that both L.A. Asada and Salty Angeleno are excellent to season an ear of corn. Ultimately, though, I’d lean on L.A. Asada to complement your mesquite-grilled elotes — the only way I eat them. The flavor notes bridge the carne asada meat or grilled nopales you’ve just enjoyed, along with the mesquite and oregano buds. What I love most about a grilled elote is that it tastes like a side dish and a dessert. Basically, just drizzle this seasoning salt over any corn dish and your taste buds will be ebullient. Get the recipe. Cook time: 15 minutes. Serves 4.