A little sprinkle of this stuff goes beyond steak and grilling though. Chicken, ribs, salmon, veggies… even stews, rices and pastas can get a little help to taste OMG’MAZING!! This one of the few “must haves” in the kitchen is extremely easy to blend in your very home, with most of the ingredients already snuggling somewhere in your pantry. All you have to do is search them and take out your mortar and pestle and get pounding. Result: Your very own spice blend minus all the extra store brand sodium content. Easy and economical, your best grilling mate this season! I am a big time steak convert. From no-beef-eater to my now medium rare preference, it took me a few years to enjoy and appreciate some good ribeye. I give my husband the credit for this transformation. And if you ask him, he will give credit to one of his favorite bottles in our spice box, Montreal steak seasoning! There is something so flavorful, colorful and vibrant with this blend that you will give a little rub to anything, and your dinner starts smelling and looking so so good.
What is Montreal Steak Seasoning?
Some people know it as Canadian Steak Spice or seasoning. This blend, as the name suggests, hails from Canada, specifically their French quarter: Montreal. Believed to have originated from a Jewish deli as a popular spice blend, it’s nothing but a combination of pickling spices from Eastern European and Jewish cuisine. This flavor bomb usually has garlic, coriander, black pepper, red pepper flakes, dill, salt and pepper. From this basic version, many others evolved with the additions of other seasonings like paprika, onion powder, mustard seeds and rosemary. The result varies slightly according to the amounts or the addition of seasonings. The beauty of homemade seasoning is that you can customize it according to your taste, what’s available in your pantry and you can make it in many different ways, experimenting till you get to that perfect blend meant just for you 🙂 I personally love a coarser style for this seasoning, which is just some easy pounding in your mortar and pestle (or in its absence, just pound the spices with something heavy in a ziploc bag). Saying that, you can grind it in your coffee or spice grinder if you are looking for a finer blend, or use pre-ground spice powders. But take one look here and I know you are going to opt for pounding.
Ingredients Needed
Now the pounding part
Place peppercorns and coriander seeds in mortar and, using the pestle, pound till your desired coarseness. Mix in remaining ingredients and store your mix at room temperature in an airtight container or bottle. This bottle is going to be the star in your spice cabinet.
What can you do with this dry rub?
Think juicy steaks with a nice crust formed by this rub after a quick sear or grill. Think how boring chicken or pork chops will get so much life with all these spices. Bake it, grill it or even stew it. Some people love their fish, particularly salmon, with this one. Then comes burgers, meatballs and kababs… all get happy makeovers with a good dose of this Montreal steak seasoning. Veggies are not behind. Those baked potatoes, green beans, asparagus… with some olive oil and a good sprinkling of this blend, you will start eating more veggies. I tried it on grilled cauliflower, it was excellent!! Stir it in your regular rice, couscous and pastas… just to try something new and tasty. 🙂 Make this part of your marinade with the usual suspects like olive oil, soy sauce or garlic. Final verdict: Don’t think Montreal steak seasoning is just for beef and steaks. A whole new world of flavors open up for you… Vegetables or meats, it never fails! Let’s take this grilling season up a notch with your new grilling mate. Let’s give a little love to our foods, a little rub-a-dub-dub to our meats and veggies. With the help of your very own homemade seasoning… your soon to be beloved Montreal steak seasoning!
Montreal Steak Seasoning, on my Gypsy Plate… enjoy!
Liven up your food with these other great seasonings!Cuban Mojo MarinadeSmokin’ Hot Chipotle MayoNorth African ChermoulaHomemade Sofrito Store in an airtight container.
