Homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning

Have you ever eaten steak at one of your friend's barbecues and wondered how it turned out so tasty and succulent? At a steak house have you wanted to figure out how to cook your steaks to such juicy and tender perfection? Montreal steak seasoning effectively blends hot spiciness and savory flavors to produce such culinary excellence.

Preparing a tasty steak is actually not that difficult. Beef is naturally flavorful and barely needs to be cooked to make it enjoyable. The art behind delicious steak can be attributed to how you season it, how you utilize the instruments at your disposal and the cut of meat. Once you master the balance of seasoning and grilling, smoking, or barbecuing, dishes like Montreal Steak melt in your mouth.

What is Steak?

Two important traits of steak are its cut and how it is seasoned.

Different Cuts

A steak is the result of your butcher slicing a roast in cross-section. Various cuts of steak dictate how you cook them and what kinds of seasoning best bring out their flavors. Montreal seasoning is so versatile you can use it on any steak.

1. Tenderloin (Filet Mignon) – The most tender cut of beef, Filet Mignon does not have the intense flavor of some other steaks. You can pan-broil or grill it.
2. Short loin (New York Strip & Porterhouse) – The New York strip is both less tender and flavorful than the rib-eye. However, it is also less fatty and more economical. It is a versatile steak that can be fried stovetop or smoked. A T-bone should be grilled.
3. Rib (Rib Eye) – This cut is valued by most beef lovers for good reason. Its classic marbling makes it both juicy and flavorful. It can be fried, roasted, or barbecued.
4. Chuck, flank, and round – These are tougher cuts and require more attention to prepping and cooking. You can use a marinade or other seasonings to create more tenderness.
5. Top Sirloin (Sirloin and Top Sirloin) – While not as tender as your rib-eye steaks or even a strip steak, these cuts are quite flavorful. They fare well with many seasonings.

Homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning

Why Homemade Seasonings?

While marinating has its place in cooking beef, many of the tender-cut steaks do not require it. Although rubs and seasonings do not tenderize meat, you can accomplish a great combination of different flavors with them. Grocery stores usually dedicate entire sections to steak seasoning.

Homemade seasonings, like anything else crafted in your own kitchen, are often superior to what you will find at the grocer. Made with fresh spices, they lend pizazz to steaks as well as pork, fish, and chicken. Even if you marinade a chuck steak, you can coat a homemade seasoning on top to create an herbal crust or simply add dimension to the taste.

There are several advantages to making your own steak seasoning.

• Amount of ingredients - You can vary amounts of certain spices based on taste and health concerns, for example, you can lower the amount of salt.
• What is in it? - You can substitute spices.
• Awareness - If you make your own seasoning, you know exactly what you are consuming. You know there are no MSGs, artificial ingredients, or preservatives.
• Tastes are more potent - You have control over freshness and knowledge of how long a seasoning has been on your shelf.

History of Montreal Steak Seasoning

Popularly nicknamed Canadian steak spice or seasoning, Montreal steak seasoning is widely used on steaks, potatoes, vegetables, salmon, and poultry.

Did you ever wonder where one of the most popular steak seasonings originated? Montreal steak seasoning is actually the same blend used in Pastrami, and originated in Romania. Reuben Schwartz brought his Pastrami along with the seasonings to Canada when he immigrated. He used the spice blend to cure beef brisket before smoking it in his deli. On a whim, he sprinkled it on his liver steak lunch one day, and the fashion caught fire in all of North America.

Homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning - Step-By-Step 

Whether you feel adventurous and use red pepper or cayenne flakes, or you want to explore the wood tones of rosemary, you can find and create plenty of variations for Monterey seasoning. At its heart, however, are salt and pepper, coriander, dill, onion, and garlic.

Step One: Kitchen Items You Need

• Food processor or spice blender
• Small bowl
• Air-tight jar with a lid

Step Two: Ingredients You Need

• 2 Tablspns coarse sea salt
• 2 Tblspns paprika
• 2 Tblspns whole peppercorns
• 1 Tblspn garlic powder
• 1 Tblspn onion powder
• 2 tspns whole coriander seeds
• 2 tspns whole mustard seeds
• 2 tspns dried rosemary
• 2 tspns dried dill
• 2 tspns red pepper flakes

Pro Tip:

You can try to replace heavier spices like rosemary and dill for thyme and parsley when using on chicken.

Step Three: Combine

1. Blend the peppercorns, sea salt, and paprika in a spice blender or grind with mortar and pestle until the peppercorns have almost completely broken.
2. Blend in remaining ingredients until well-mixed and uniform.
3. Instant use provides the freshest experience, but you can store the seasoning for several months in your air-tight jar. Keep at room temperature.

Do not panic if you do not have a spice blender. You can use a regular blender on the pulse setting. Or you can put the mixture into a plastic bag and crush the whole spices with a rolling pin. Another option is to utilize powdered forms or coarsely pre-ground ingredients in place of seeds or peppercorns.