Getting hooked on homemade 'cracker crack'

A few years back some friends introduced my wife and me to a saltine cracker seasoning mix they had made up. The crackers had a bit of an oily feel, but that was overshadowed by the savory/spicy flavor we were tasting. The cracker retained its crispy crunch, but had a bit of a translucent look, and the spices were visible all over the surface. We liked them a lot, and if I recall correctly, I may have hovered over the bowl eating a few more than my fair share. In fact, we jokingly called the seasoning “cracker crack,” because we couldn’t get enough of them.

I found the blend available for sale online and was able to make up a batch for myself. Now I got a chance to see why they were so oily. The seasoning was placed into a large zip-top bag with a quantity of vegetable oil, then the saltine crackers were placed inside and gently tumbled to coat them all over. You were to turn the bag regularly to allow the oil to be absorbed and the seasoning to fully coat the cracker.

Using oil to make spices adhere to crackers is not too unheard-of. Think of some of your favorite corn and potato chips. What makes the seasonings stick is the hot oil left over from the frying process. Could you bake the seasonings into the cracker? Maybe, but the heating process will change the flavor to some degree.

I didn’t want to use all the oil the original recipe called for, so I cut it back by a 1/3 cup. It worked out okay, though I had to be more vigilant about turning the bag frequently. Saltines are a very lean cracker, so what if I used a club-style cracker? They are made with more fat in the cracker, so I made up a batch of seasoning and used only a cup of vegetable oil. That seemed to work just fine. On that tack, I tried them with Triscuits. They soaked up all the oil quickly and didn’t allow the seasoning to spread very far. I tried plain Wheat Thins, and found that one cup of veggie oil was still a bit much. Ritz-style crackers fared about the same as the club crackers.

After all this work, I got to wondering if I could use a seasoning blend like Johnny’s or Lawry’s as a mixture. Yes, it works quite well, and you are likely to have these on hand all the time. I even tried a chicken rub with a name I can’t type in this column as the seasoning blend. It worked well. While I haven’t tried it, you might even use dry onion soup mix as well.

If you use richer crackers in the recipes below, you can use about 3/4 cup of vegetable oil instead of one cup.

CRACKER CRACK 1

1 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

2 teaspoons ground red pepper

2 teaspoons granulated garlic

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 package savory dressing mix

1 pound saltine crackers

In a large bowl with a tight-fitting lid, or a 1- to 2-gallon zip-top bag, pour in the oil. Measure ingredients into oil and mix very well. Place crackers into sealed oil. Tightly close the bowl or zip the top snugly. Carefully turn the vessel a number of times to initially coat the crackers. Set aside. About every half-hour, invert bowl/bag to redistribute the flavored oil. Do this again at least three more times. Allow to sit overnight, with at least another flip before pouring into a paper towel-lined bowl for final service, just in case there is some residual oil.

CRACKER CRACK 2

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

In a large bowl with a tight-fitting lid, or a 1- to 2-gallon zip-top bag, pour in the oil. Measure ingredients into oil and mix very well. Place crackers into sealed oil. Tightly close the bowl or zip the top snugly. Carefully turn the vessel a number of times to initially coat the crackers. Set aside. About every half-hour, invert bowl/bag to redistribute the flavored oil. Do this again at least three more times. Allow to sit overnight, with at least another flip before pouring into a paper towel-lined bowl for final service, just in case there is some residual oil.

CHEESY CRACKERS

1 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons ground red pepper

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

5 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (the green can stuff)

1 package savory dressing mix

1 pound saltine crackers

In a large bowl with a tight-fitting lid, or a 1- to 2-gallon zip-top bag, pour in the oil. Measure ingredients into oil and mix very well. Place crackers into sealed oil. Tightly close the bowl or zip the top snugly. Carefully turn the vessel a number of times to initially coat the crackers. Set aside. About every half-hour, invert bowl/bag to redistribute the flavored oil. Do this again at least three more times. Allow to sit overnight, with at least another flip before pouring into a paper towel lined bowl for final-service, just in case there is some residual oil.

GARLIC CRACKERS

1 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons dried garlic powder

2 tablespoons dried onion powder

2 tablespoons paprika

1 1/2 tablespoons celery salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground white pepper

1/4 cup aged balsamic vinegar

1 pound saltine crackers

In a large bowl with a tight-fitting lid, or a 1- to 2-gallon zip-top bag, pour in the oil. Measure ingredients into oil and mix very well. Place crackers into sealed oil. Tightly close the bowl or zip the top snugly. Carefully turn the vessel a number of times to initially coat the crackers. Set aside. About every half-hour, invert bowl/bag to redistribute the flavored oil. Do this again at least three more times. Allow to sit overnight, with at least another flip before pouring into a paper towel-lined bowl for final service, just in case there is some residual oil.