Gordon Ramsay’s Simple Lemon Salt Recipe

Lemon salt is a mixture of lemon zest and sea salt. Chef Gordon Ramsey prefers to use Meyer lemons and flaky Maldon salt, which he crushes together with a mortar and pestle.

Lemon salt is an extremely simple seasoning, so focus on choosing high-quality ingredients.

1. 1. Use Meyer lemons: Meyer lemons are a Chinese citrus hybrid of a lemon and a mandarin orange, so they are sweeter than a regular lemon with a floral aroma. If you can’t find them, regular lemons are an equal substitute.
2. 2. Try other citrus fruits: You can play around with the lemon salt formula to create other citrus salts, such as grapefruit salt or lime salt. Just substitute the lemon zest in this recipe for the same amount of another citrus zest.
3. 3. Stick with coarse salt: If you don't have Maldon salt, use the highest quality sea salt or coarse kosher salt you can find.

Chef Gordon Ramsey to infuse savory dishes with a floral, citrus scent. He often applies the salt both before cooking and as a finishing salt. Try lemon salt in:

1. 1. On Gordon Ramsey’s red wine-poached egg, asparagus, and mushrooms: In this recipe, Gordon seasons the asparagus spears liberally with black pepper and lemon salt before sautéing. When he plates the sautéed asparagus with the mushrooms, asparagus purée, and poached egg, he lightly seasons the whole dish with more lemon salt. Learn how to make the dish here.
2. 2. On Gordon Ramsey’s Szechuan pepper roasted whole chicken: This flavor-packed roasted chicken starts with seasoning the cavity of the chicken with 1 to 2 tablespoons of lemon salt. Later, Gordon whisks egg yolks together to make an egg wash, which he brushes the chicken liberally with. The egg wash acts as a glue for the seasoning—a Szechuan pepper mix plus 4 tablespoons of lemon salt. Find the recipe for Szechuan pepper chicken here.
3. 3. To rim a Margarita: Use your Meyer lemon salt to line the rim of a cocktail, such as a Margarita or Rosemary-Lemon Sour.
4. 4. On roasted or seared veggies: Sprinkle lemon salt on broccoli, potatoes, or your favorite veggies.