Classic Steak Rub

     I've learned a lot about cooking and food this summer. One consistent lesson, which I have found to be very important, is about salt. People worry about over doing it and having their food taste too salty. In many cases that can happen, if you way over do it, but a liberal amount of salt to a steak rub really brings out the good flavor and it's extremely important.

    Here's the deal though - Use a coarse salt when salting meat. Iodized/table salt is much finer and it dissolves much faster, making it absorb more into the meat and increases your chances of over salting. Also it's good to note that 1 tsp of table salt is actually much more than 1 tsp of kosher salt. (So be aware of that based on what your recipe calls for!) Plus table salt doesn't have as pure of a salt flavor as sea salt or kosher salt, and can be more harsh or bitter. Coarser grains of salt are the way to go!!

  Also, in terms of worrying about over salting, think of the thickness of a steak. It's usually about an inch and a half thick, so if you liberally season the outsides (to an extent) it will not ruin the flavor of the steak because each bite is still mostly composed of the meat from the inside.

   Lastly- freshly cracked black pepper is best for the steak. It's clear that it brings on much better flavor.

So, this post is really about this simple steak rub that is absolutely delicious. If you have a decent spice cabinet, it's likely that you will already have all of these on hand. This wasn't an expensive cut of steak, but broiling it (our grill had a broken piece) with this rub made it insanely good.

     I like to rub the steak and let it sit to get to room temperature for about 20 minutes, then before broiling or grilling drizzle it lightly with some oil. God, was this steak good....

    Cooked to my liking! Tender, juicy and full of flavor.


-    On a side note, I made fish tacos last night - well the plan was fish tacos until the taco shells were stale so I actually made a fish taco salad - and used Stonewall Kitchen Habanero Mango Aioli and it was outstanding. So good! That stuff is absolutely delicious. Good on fish or fries or sandwiches, you name it! I just generously seasoned a haddock filet and baked it, then served it over some romaine lettuce, avocado, chopped cherry tomatoes, red onion, pepperoncini peppers, peach salsa and the Habanero Mango Ailoi, all topped with some crushed tortilla chips. I wish I took a picture to blog about it because it was the perfect dish! Maybe that gives me an excuse to make it again :)

But seriously get some of the aioli...(and speaking of steak it would be a great twist to a philly cheesesteak sandwich!)





Classic Steak Rub
Ingredients:
4 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
3/4 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp coriander
3/4 tsp oregano
cayenne to taste (optional)

Directions:
Mix ingredients together.
Season steak generously and let sit to get to room temperature, 20-30 minutes.
Drizzle lightly with olive oil before grilling or broiling