Montreal Style Steak Seasoning

Read the bottle sometime. The famous steak seasoning runs 250mg of sodium in a quarter teaspoon. A quarter teaspoon! The tablespoon you'd actually shake over a pound of steak is about 3,000mg — two days of my sodium budget, as a garnish.

My blend runs about 1mg per tablespoon. Same bold, coarse, peppery rub. No salt bomb.

It's the spices doing what they always did — coarse black pepper, paprika, garlic, onion, coriander, crushed mustard seed, dill seed, red pepper flakes, and rosemary if you're feeling it — with potassium chloride (Optional) standing where the salt stood. The whole spices get ground coarse, everything goes in a jar, and it keeps like any other blend. About a tablespoon per pound of meat.

One honest note: potassium chloride isn't for everybody. If you restrict potassium, check with your doctor first. We're cooks, not doctors!

A jar of this lives next to my stove. It goes on steak, it goes on burgers, it goes on anything that used to get the bottle.

Here is the full recipe:

MONTREAL STYLE STEAK SEASONING

Makes about 2/3 cup, serves 32.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp coarsely ground black pepper

2 Tbsp paprika smoked or regular

1 Tbsp potassium chloride Optional

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp onion powder

2 tsp coriander seed, ground or whole, ground fresh

2 tsp mustard seed, crushed

2 tsp dill seed

2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp dried rosemary optional

Directions:

1. If using whole spices, coarsely grind the black pepper (and the coriander and mustard seed if whole) in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Keep it coarse and gritty - do not powder it.

2. Combine all ingredients and mix until evenly blended.

3. Store in an airtight jar away from light and heat. Best flavor within 3 to 6 months.

4. Use about 1 tablespoon per pound of steak or meat.

About 1mg sodium per tablespoon, versus about 3,000mg per tablespoon for McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning. This is my salt-free take on the classic steak blend; it already ran on my Facebook Page.

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