PrintWhat is your favorite steak seasoning?
I have decided to grill a couple of NY strips for dinner tonight. I always marinate my strips with bourbon, garlic and seasoned pepper and a bit of kosher salt. It is time for this "spice" girl to try something new and exciting. You guys are amazing, Help me out!
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23 Comments:
McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning - 25% less sodium, from their Grill Mates line. I keep it with the s&p and wish I could get a larger bottle. It has a strong pepper and garlic presence, but I don't have to worry about garlic burning at high searing temps. I just love the stuff. I'm going to buy bourbon for Jerzee's ham glaze. Never used it to marinate. How does it add to the flavor? Love NY strips. Also love porterhouse, but too pricey.
I know there are other steak seasonings out there. Curious to see what's recommended, as this is the first I tried and I stuck with it. My mother used oregano on her steaks, along with garlic, s&p and I didn't care for the flavor of the oregano..
I also tried McC's chicken seasoning and it did nothing for me.
PerkyMac at 11:57AM on 03/15/08
@Perky.....I am not a fan of dried oregano myself. The bourbon adds a delightful flavor to the meat and it is the most requested dish by my peeps. (That and my caesar salad. I am making that tonight as well.) I usually buy Jack Daniels. But, I am planning on picking up some Maker's Mark. ( I have a neighbor who likes her bourbon :). My mother used to use Montreal Steak seasoning on her grilled salmon. Most excellent! Have you seen McC's worcestershire pepper? Remember Dallas? JR always drank bourbon when he dined at the Cattlemen's Club. So, I figured.
crazyspice at 12:13PM on 03/15/08
crazyspice, what you do sounds so good, I'm inclined to say 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. If I marinate, I generally simply lightly coat my steaks with olive oil, and salt and pepper; I sometimes include a bay leaf, or some rosemary. Now that I've read what you do, I'm planning on trying bourbon myself (or whiskey, if I can't get my hands on bourbon, here).
mongoose at 12:19PM on 03/15/08
I found a copycat recipe all over the web for what is supposed to be the Outback steakhouse seasoning/rub. I really don't like Outback, but the mix of ingredients looked good so I tried it and it was great, that's all I use now on steaks.
jonfoxx at 12:20PM on 03/15/08
@mongoose. When they have marinated, for at least 3-4 hours, I do drizzle olive oil on before putting them on the grill. Gotta get my sear on!
crazyspice at 12:26PM on 03/15/08
Forgot - I also marinate in ev olive oil (just couldn't do it.....you know?). So bourbon brings even more to the party - the one in your mouth, that is. I'm assuming Maker's Mark is considered by some to be better than JD? My sister's MIL is from NC and that lady does love her bourbon. The instant she walks in the door and rarely does that glass leave her hand. She is a hoot. And, even in her 80's, makes the best fried chicken I've ever tasted. It's an all day project for her and so worth it. She uses a special flour, buttermilk and I'm not sure what else. I think the coating has to dry for awhile? Whatever, bourbon led me to fried chicken. I must be a southerner at heart. ;D
Enjoy your steaks. Caesar salad is my favorite. Care to share your secrets to making it special?
Headed out, but I'll definitely check in later!
PerkyMac at 12:27PM on 03/15/08
just sea salt and cracked pepper and topped with a thin sliver of bleu cheese
Markbb at 12:41PM on 03/15/08
I marinate my steaks in Dale's. It enhances the juicy steakiness, and people rave about them.
lo82070 at 1:13PM on 03/15/08
I usually just use salt, pepper, and garlic.
wunami at 1:16PM on 03/15/08
Bleu cheese........That has me thinking!
crazyspice at 1:23PM on 03/15/08
Add another fan of the Montreal Steak Seasoning.
Otherwise it's just evoo, s&p.
wookie at 1:52PM on 03/15/08
A wonderfully simple quick rub for steak is just to grind 2 T coffee beans and 2 T peppercorns. Rub both sides and refrigerate for a few hours (not required, however). Be sure to take the steaks out about 30 min before you grill (to take the chill off). Season w/ kosher salt. A compound butter is great on top or for ease, just slap a pat of good butter on them to melt. They are just succulent.
frederika at 3:22PM on 03/15/08
I can't wait for dinner tonight!!
crazyspice at 3:31PM on 03/15/08
Sea salt, pepper, and garlic is the usual, and at times I'll dribble Worchester sauce into the splash of canola oil or butter in the cast iron skillet. Alternatively, I've enjoyed Spike sprinkled lightly over the steak and a nice variation is the slightest sprinkle of Old Bay.
More and more - for steaks and chops both - I'm starting to use the method I heard from Alton Brown of searing and oven-finishing.
Nursie at 3:46PM on 03/15/08
Two different ways:
Sharon's way (my mother)
Pierce meat. Sprinkle a good amount on both sides with Accent Seasonings and Pepper. Let sit for about an hour at room temp. Juicy.
Shannon's way (me)
Pierce meat. Sprinkle garlic salt and pepper to both sides. Marinate in soy sauce for about 20 minutes. Grill and use remaining sauce as a baste.
Hunnyoil at 4:09PM on 03/15/08
@frederika..........coffee beans & pepper sounds amazing. I can almost feel it on my tongue.
@Nursie.........I use Alton's method if I'm pan searing really thick steaks. If cooking thick steaks on a grill, I sear them, then lower heat and move to indirect heat.
@crazyspice.......what time is dinner? I'll bring the sipping bourbon......haha!
PerkyMac at 4:28PM on 03/15/08
I'm also a huge fan of the Montreal steak seasoning, though I usually splash on a little Worchestershire before seasoning the steak. A friend of mine told me that a little brown sugar rubbed on with the Montreal is great, and it really is. Try it! All three ingredients make for one great steak, excellent with a little Peter Luger sauce.
kmnola at 6:14PM on 03/15/08
Here we go!
The strips were seasoned with McC's worcestershire pepper (bought it and really needed to give it a try), garlic powder and salt. Back in the fridge for 3 hours. Out of the fridge and poured on some Lea & Perrins. Let them rest, flipped and put on a bit more L&P. Smelling fine!!! Hickory in the smoker, Grill at Max temp! A little EV (@Perky) olive oil. Most excellent grill marks tonight!! Perfecto reviews from the Hubs!!!! He said, "What? No bourbon?" I said "Eat your veggies and don't forget to wash behind your ears". We had an awesome Caesar, string beans with pancetta, shallots and toasted pine nuts, sliced crimini mushrooms, sauteed in 50-50 butter and olive oil with a little white wine, pepper and a bit of salt added later. The wine (for spice girl) 2006 KJ Grand Reserve.
I did do the grilled sweets with the glaze and I LOVED them, but I think they could have used a couple of minutes more. (@Perky) Will report on it to the other thread.
crazyspice at 7:23PM on 03/15/08
Count me among the kosher salt, coarse black pepper and (sometimes) garlic crowd.
@frederika... i'm intrigued. Do you leave the coffee bean rub on the meat, or scrape it off before grilling? If you leave it on, does it burn? Is it overly crunchy? What does the coffee do exactly? Just flavor or something else?
Ju got sum 'splainin t'do...
LoCo at 1:27PM on 03/16/08
@LoCo - I can't take credit for the rub; it's in Weber's Art of the Grill. Since I discovered this rub, it's my favorite. Don't scrape it off! It doesn't burn ( well, maybe it would if you grill them to well done, but we like ours med rare) and it isn't overly crunchy either. The coffee just adds a deeper level of flavor and the peppercorns add a little tang on the tongue. There isn't any flavor that you can really detect. You would never taste a bite and say, wow, is that coffee? I've even thought about patting some on each side of a burger. In fact, I'm going to do it! See how easy I am!!!
Hubby made a "Java Rub" for big ol' thick rib eyes I got from Costco last week. It, too, was incredible. Credit to Steve Raichlen from How to Grill.
6 T ground coffee (we used a dark French roast)
2 T coarse salt
2 T br sugar
2 T sweet paprika
2 t black pepper
2 t garlic powder
2 t onion powder
1 t ground cumin (we omitted this)
1 t ground coriander
1 t unsweetened cocoa powder
It obviously makes quite a bit. We only used 1/2 of it for the two of us, on 1 1/2 " thick steaks. For your family, you'd probably use it all. And here again, no "one" spice jumped out at you. Now, if we had used the cumin, I think it would have been noticeable; it's so potent. All we did, after grilling, was to put a large pat of butter on to melt in. The juices on the plate were the best dipping sauce ever - EVER...
Nuff said, Ricky? (are we showing our vintage?)
frederika at 2:19PM on 03/16/08
Ah, yes... vintage... I'm thinking I've a lot in common with certain fine vintage ports or some of the top vintage bordeaux... being about the same age... of course, I'm pretty sure I'm leaning toward being corked, but hey!
Thanks for the recipe... I'm gonna try out that java rub. Can't wait!
LoCo at 2:36PM on 03/16/08
@LoCo - speaking of port, Tawny or Ruby for you?
crazyspice at 5:44PM on 03/16/08
I'm in the "just salt and pepper" camp, myself. I like to use the coarse sea salt and a few grinds of pepper, preferably on something fatty like a rib eye! It makes an excellent crust, seriously.
Amandarama at 2:57PM on 03/17/08