Disclaimer: Some links are Amazon affiliate links. Purchases made through them help support the recipe testing, photos, and content I share — thank you!
Summary
The spice blend that makes everything it touches taste like it came from a Michelin-starred kitchen.
Inspired by the duck spice blend from Eleven Madison Park, this is a coarse, fragrant mix of cracked Szechuan peppercorn, coriander, cumin, and whole dried lavender. The Szechuan peppercorn brings a numbing, citrusy tingle. The lavender keeps it floral without going full soap bar. Together they’re unlike anything from a grocery store spice aisle — and once you have a jar of this, you’ll find yourself reaching for it constantly. Duck, pork tenderloin, lamb, you name it— this blend earns its place.
0.25
Cup5
minutes8
kcal5
minutesThe spice blend that makes everything it touches taste like it came from a Michelin-starred kitchen.
Ingredients
10 g 3 Tbsp Szechuan peppercorns, whole
16 g 2 Tbsp 2 tsp coriander seeds, whole
10 g 1 Tbsp 1 tsp cumin seeds, whole
7.5 g 1/4 cup dried lavender, whole
Equipment
Directions
Before We Start
Szechuan peppercorns: They create a numbing, tingly sensation on the palate (called málà in Chinese cuisine). That’s the magic of this blend. Find them at Asian grocery stores or on Amazon. Don’t sub regular black peppercorns — the flavor is completely different.
Lavender: Culinary grade only, not decorative. Decorative lavender is often treated and not food safe. Find it at Whole Foods, specialty spice shops, or Amazon.
Mortar and pestle vs spice grinder: A mortar and pestle gives you better control over the coarse crack you’re after. A spice grinder is not what you want. You want cracked spices, not powder. Running a spice grinder turns this into dust and defeats the purpose.Crack the Whole Spices
For the spice blend
10 g | 3 Tbsp Szechuan peppercorns, whole
16 g | 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp coriander seeds, whole
10 g | 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp cumin seeds, whole
7.5 g | 1/4 cup dried lavender, whole
Add the Szechuan peppercorns, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds to a mortar and pestle. The goal is a coarse just cracked spice to release the aromatics, not a coarse powder. Once you get the seeds cracked open and fragrant, that is enough. About 15–25 seconds of grinding is usually enough.
Sift That Bad Boy!
Set a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and sift the ground spices through it. Let the fine dust fall through and discard it. What stays in the strainer is what you want: coarse, cracked spice with texture.
Why we sift: The fine dust that comes off during grinding burns easily in a hot pan and turns bitter. Sifting it out leaves you with coarse, crackly spice that caramelizes beautifully instead of scorching.Add the Lavender and Combine
Add the lavender to the bowl with the cracked spices and stir to combine. The lavender stays whole — grinding it releases too much of the floral oils and tips the blend from “interesting” into “potpourri.”
Use and Store
Use or transfer to a sealed spice jar. Store at room temperature away from heat and light. Good for 2–3 months.
You May Like These Recipes Too
Additional Details About This Recipe
What do I use this on?
Duck breast and pork tenderloin are the natural fits — this blend was born for those two. It’s also excellent on lamb chops, venison, roasted cauliflower, and sweet potatoes. Basically anything that can handle a bold, aromatic crust.
Can I scale this up?
Absolutely. Double or quadruple this 1/4 batch to fill a larger jar.
Why coarse and not ground?
Coarse cracked spices caramelize on a hot pan or grill without burning — they create texture and visible flavor in the crust. Finely ground spices at high heat go from fragrant to bitter fast. The sifting step reinforces this by removing the fine particles most likely to scorch.
Can I grind the lavender too?
You can, but we don’t recommend it. Ground lavender releases intense floral oils that can overpower the other spices. Keeping it whole gives you fragrance and subtle flavor without turning the blend soapy.
How do I know if it’s still good?
Give it a sniff. If it has no smell, then it’s lost its soul. Whole spices hold longer than ground — this blend should be vivid for 2–3 months if sealed properly.
Nutritional Facts (per 1 tsp serving, ~3g)
(Values are estimates based on USDA data for Szechuan peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and dried lavender.)
- Calories: ~8 kcal
- Protein: ~0.3 g
- Fat: ~0.4 g
- Saturated Fat: ~0 g
- Carbohydrates: ~1.2 g
- Sugars: ~0 g
- Fiber: ~0.5 g
- Cholesterol: ~0 mg
- Sodium: ~2 mg