I know we always have a bottle of Montreal Steak Seasoning on hand for homemade steaks.
In fact, people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on premade steaks rubs. The funny part is, you probably have all the ingredients to make your own custom steak dry rub at home- one that goes well beyond salt and pepper.
Best Steak Seasoning
Saying anything is “the best” is a bold statement, but I will say this is the perfect blends of seasonings and.. our secret ingredient, which I will divulge in a few paragraphs down. I know, cliffhanger!
This steak rub recipe is directly from a friend at a 5-star steakhouse. The real deal, foodie friends. And the proof is in the ratings, this spice blend has been made by hundreds of people and still maintains a rating of over 4.5 stars.
How to Make Steakhouse Steaks at Home
There are a couple of things that set high-end steakhouses above the rest: prime cuts of beef, a broiler that can reach up to 1800 degrees, maitre d’hotel butter and a spice rub.
And yes, most steakhouses use a broiler, not a grill, so throw that the notion that all delicious steaks need a flame right out the window.
While most of us won’t ever have an oven that reaches 1800 degrees, we can purchase a perfectly marbled steak and prepare maitre d’hotel butter and steak rub, both being relatively simple.
And the last trick is a juicy steak and to make that happen you need to LET IT REST!
Steak Seasoning Recipe
The seasoning blend will be the easiest out of the three. In fact, you probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry.
- Kosher salt
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Black pepper
- Paprika
- Celery salt
- Sugar (yes… sugar helps it caramelize and stick to the meat!)
- Nutmeg
Simply combine all ingredients in a small bowl and and BINGO- you are ready to go!
Can I use table salt instead of coarse Kosher? I shy away from using table salt, also known as iodized salt, in general. I don’t even buy it due to having a metallic taste, but that isn’t the only reason.
The trouble with using the same amount of a smaller granule of salt is that you’ll actually get a much saltier flavor. If you use a smaller grain of salt, then I also advise cutting the amount in half or more.
Can I use brown sugar instead of white sugar? You sure can. Brown sugar has a hint of molasses and while I don’t prefer that on my steaks, you can certianly add it to yours. The best steak seasoning uses sugar, who knew?
What if I want a little heat on my steak? Looking for spice and not flame? Add 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes or chili powder. Sure to make your brow sweat a little.
Beef or Chicken or Pork
What cuts of beef can I use it on? Whatever you prefer! Filet mignon, ribeye, porterhouse, NY strip steak or even skirt or flank steak.
But wait… that isn’t all! This steak seasoning recipe can also be used on chicken or fish and I’ve even sprinkled this concoction on salads using a vinegar based dressing like Fresh Herb Vinaigrette or Garlic Balsamic Vinaigrette.
And once… I even used it on bread for a smoky steakhouse garlic bread. It was divine and people raved about the unexpected flavors.
How to Make the Steak
This rub can be used for grilling, broiling or pan frying.
For best results regardless of how you prepare it, dry your steak well using a dry paper towel. People tend to want to rub it with olive oil to get the rub to stick, but it will just fall off. You really want a dry steak to get a good sear and let the sugar caramelize and stick.
Massage steakhouse steak rub into your meat on both sides and wrap it in plastic wrap for at least 30 minutes, but up to 24 hours. This allows the salt to tenderize, flavors to marry and seasoning to stick.
Don’t let it sit much longer, as the salt will get to a point where the beef will start to harden and just be plain salty instead of tenderized. In fact, you can even reduce the amount of salt, if desired.
I once accidentally left a nice beef tenderloin wrapped too long and the meat was basically ruined, totally over salted. I was embarrassed and also disappointed. Learn from my mistakes.
Storage & Leftovers
You might have a little leftover, that is fine. Just discard it or store it in an airtight container at room temperature until the next time you want to prepare a delicious steak.
Since it has salt, a natural preservative, as a base, it will stay good for up to a year. At that point, it isn’t dangerous, but the flavors will start to degrade. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.
Steak Rub makes an excellent gift. It is naturally preserved, has a long shelf life and can be made in large batches!
More homemade spices mixes:
Steakhouse Steak Seasoning
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons coarse kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon celery salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the salt, onion and garlic powder, celery salt, pepper, sugar, paprika and nutmeg.
- Massage into your favorite cuts of beef, about 1/2 tablespoon for a good sized NY strip steak. Store the leftovers in an airtight container.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or ratings.
This was very good! Personally, I would use just a bit less rub per steak the next time (about 1 tsp per). Marinated in fridge for 2 hours then unwrapped for 1 hour on the counter before cooking. Topped with homemade garlic butter when done. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for the feedback!
This came out great when I put it on my hamburgers. What a great flavor. Thanks for sharing.
Fabulous! Glad to hear that!
Really, Really good! Best tasting steak that I’ve had in a very long time. Will definitely be making again.
Fabulous! Thanks for coming back to let us know!
I saw this recipe at the perfect time. I’m trying to find dinner ideas for tonight and think I may try this.
I bet that rub is amazing. I could really go for some steaks right about now. I’ve been wanting to have steak for some time now. Looks like I’ll need to give this recipe a try so I can have it on the steaks.
This rub will make the difference for sure. I will try it next time!
My son is a big fan of steak. Looking forward to trying this recipe.
This steak rub was such a yummy addition to our steak. It added so much great flavor.
Perfect combo of seasonsings! I would love to try this rub on our next steak night and serve it over a giant salad.
Now this sounds like a rub that my other half would LOVE. He is such a fan of steaks and I never manage to get it quite right so trying this next!
I have never really like mushrooms, but in the past few years I’ve been trying them more and more. My aunt made sauteed mushrooms in wine to pair with the steaks and it was soo yummy.
Yum! This sounds like an amazing rub. I will have to try it out for sure. We grill a lot in the summer.
We have all of these things except celery salt! I love a good steak, so we will have to try this.
You can totally make it without celery salt. If you have ground celery that works too.
I would ditch the sugar and then use this rub to my heart’s content!
Totally!
That looks like a great prep for a steak. I know now that it is grilling season everyone will try this or a variation to make their meat taste the best.
Oh, yeah! This was SO good on our grilled steaks. I’m making more of your steak rub to package up and give to my sons.
I don’t think I will ever be able to eat steak again without this rub! So delicious!
Thank you so much for revealing this lovely recipe to us. I tried this out last Sunday for dinner and my family loved it heaps. I made a slight modification of adding some cayenne peppers to make the steak meal more spicy!
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’m always looking for new rubs to try with my steak. Its hard for me to find rubs I like but I’m going to give this one a try.