Montreal Steak Seasoning is obviously a common spice for enhancing your steak. While it’s known for flavoring hearty red meat, it’s actually incredibly good on roasted vegetables, all sorts of burgers, chili, and hearty vegetable soups and stews. In fact, it’s even tasty on hearty fish like salmon. The ingredients are very simple and likely found in your pantry. Forget the store-bought version! Take a few minutes and make this recipe yourself.
My Montreal Steak Seasoning Inspiration
As I’ve said before, my household primarily eats vegetarian with the occasional fish. We don’t call ourselves vegetarians, but we don’t routinely buy or eat meat. Having said that, our diet consists mostly of vegetables, mainly fresh, raw, or roasted in the summer and cooked down into soups and stews in the winter. I love homemade spice blends and use them to vary up the flavors in roasted vegetables, beans, grains, salads, soups, and stews. Montreal Steak Seasoning does the trick on many other foods outside of meat.
A couple of years ago, I made a meatless dish that called for Montreal Steak seasoning. I knew I didn’t want to buy a bottle from the store for one dish, so I researched the ingredients in a commercial bottle and then made it myself in smaller quantities. The dish turned out great and I decided the homemade spice was a keeper for lots of dishes. So, I decided to share it with you in this post.
What is Montreal Steak Seasoning Anyway?
Thanks to its origins, Montreal Steak Seasoning (Spice) is also called Canadian Steak Seasoning (Spice). Canada, is clearly its country of origin (well, based on the name). This famous spice blend (referred to as pastrami spice) likely made its way to Canada from Romania with roots in the Ottoman Empire centuries ago. It is thought that meat, camel meat to be exact, was preserved using mixed spices similar to what we call the Montreal Steak Seasoning today.
A man named Reuben Schwartz from Romania owned a deli in Montreal and used this spice rub on briskets prior to smoking them. Once customers got wind (or smell rather) of this spice, they requested it for their steaks. Thus, the name was born. Now it is popular all over North America and one of the top three selling spices in the United States.
My Simple Take on Spice Blends
To be honest, if you want a really good spice blend, you should start with individual whole seed spices. With those whole seeds, you should toast them until they are fragrant in a dry skillet. Then, place them in a spice grinder or mill and break them down into powder form. Finally, combine all spices for the blended recipe and you have a great tasting mix.
Well, I rarely have whole spices in my pantry, so I take the easy route. I use what I have and that is typically ground spices. In addition, I don’t have a spice grinder to break them down; I don’t need more appliances in my kitchen or pantry. So, my take on blended spices is to keep it easy and simple. While ground isn’t necessarily the most pungent or aromatic, you’ll still create some tasty flavor blends. The herb and spice blends I share with you on my site are all about as easy and simple as you can get. You don’t require any skills or special equipment to make them.
Homemade Montreal Spice Seasoning Ingredients
This seasoning blend truly is simple and easy. It calls for 8 ingredients to be measured out and mixed. That’s it! The ingredients consist of salt, onion and garlic powders, paprika, black pepper, coriander, dill weed, and red pepper flakes.
Combine the Ingredients
In a small bowl, add all the ingredients. You’ll need 1½ teaspoons (9 grams) of salt, 1½ teaspoons (6 grams) of onion powder, 1½ teaspoons (6 grams) of garlic powder, 1½ teaspoons (6 grams) of paprika, 1½ teaspoons (3 grams) of ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon (3 grams) of ground coriander, 1 teaspoon (1.5 grams) of dried dill weed, and 1 teaspoon (2 grams) of crushed red pepper flakes. Rub dill weed and red pepper flakes between your fingers to crush prior to adding them to the bowl. Give the mix a good stir until well combined. Be sure to use the back of a spoon to break up any powder lumps that might be present. Taste the mixture and increase slightly any preferred spice or herb. This recipe makes ¼ cup which is enough fill a small spice jar.
Montreal Steak Seasoning Final Product!
Can you pick out any of the individual seasonings? The dill and red pepper flakes are easier to recognize since they are not in powder form. The garlic and onion powders lighten the red color of the paprika.
Storing Montreal Steak Seasoning
Store the Montreal Steak Seasoning mix in an airtight container at room temperature for up to year. Keep in mind that the seasoning mix should keep as long as the expiration dates on the individual seasoning bottles. Thus, the newer and fresher the individual seasonings, the longer the mix will keep.
TIP: Stir the mixture well before adding it to a dish, particularly after the mixture has settled.
Montreal Steak Seasoning Usage Suggestions
Rub Montreal Steak Seasoning on steak, roast, pork chops, or chicken. Try it on hearty fish like salmon before cooking. You can add it to any kind of burger like regular ground beef, bean, or veggie burgers. It’s also great dusted on French fries or sweet potato fries before roasting. Don’t forget about seasoning roasted or grilled vegetables. Rule of thumb, use about 1 tablespoon of the mixture for every 1 pound of meat or vegetables. You can also turn this into marinade with soy sauce or other marinade sauce. Sprinkle some over popcorn just before eating. There are lots of ways to use this seasoning.
Montreal Steak Seasoning Final Thoughts
The individual components of this seasoning blend are commonly found in most pantries (at least in North America and if you cook). Why not put those ingredients to use and make a blend of your favorite flavors and use them for most any meat and veggie dish you like? This is a great way to keep stock in that favorite seasoning blend and add lots of flavor to your daily, simple dishes. We enjoy it as a seasoning on roasted veggies and creamy winter mixed vegetable soups.
Check out my short YouTube video on the visuals of making this seasoning blend. “Montreal Steak Seasoning: Flavor any Meat, Veggies, Soups, or Stews”
Montreal Steak Seasoning: Flavor Your Favorite Meat, Veggies, Soups, or Stews
Ingredients
- 1½ tsp (9 g) salt
- 1½ tsp (6 g) onion powder
- 1½ tsp (6 g) garlic powder
- 1½ tsp (6 g) paprika
- 1½ tsp (3 g) ground black pepper
- 1 tsp (3 g) ground coriander
- 1 tsp (1.5 g) dried dill weed
- 1 tsp (2 g) crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add all the ingredients. Rub dill weed and red pepper flakes between your fingers to crush prior to adding them to the bowl. Give the mix a good stir until well combined. Use the back of a spoon to break up any lumps. Taste the mixture and increase slightly any preferred spice or herb. TIP: Stir the mixture well before adding it a dish particularly after the mixture has settled.
Video
Notes
Usage Suggestions: Rub it on steak, roast, pork chops, or chicken. Try it on hearty fish like salmon. You can add it to any kind of burger like regular ground beef, bean, or veggie burgers. It’s also great dusted on French fries or sweet potato fries. Don’t forget about seasoning roasted or grilled vegetables. Rule of thumb, use about 1 tablespoon of the mixture for every 1 pound of meat or vegetables.
Check out some of these other recipes that use seasonings.
Everything Bagel Seasoning (Trader Joe’s Copycat)
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