Faking It

Homemade Steak Spice

Faking it is an important skill.

No joke. You need to know how to do this sort of thing when to have a bunch of friends over for a quick BBQ, and you open your spice cupboard, and BAM! You're out of steak spice.

This is common occurance. Especially here in Bali where my spices seem to harden up and go moldy on a weekly or monthly basis. Or, if like me, you go through Steak spice like I go through Fisherman's Friends. Daily. And trying to make a cheap cut of beef into a masterpiece takes a modicum of skill, but mostly it comes down to a few key elements: (1) marinades are a must (2) get it to room temp (3) sear it and serve it, and last but not least (4) have some quality rubs to spice that sucker.

For a more detailed explanation, please read up on some Steak Basics.

So here is a basic "STEAK SPICE" recipe that you should always have in the back of your head. It's basic. It's easy to remember. And when you make stuff up in front of a crowd, they are bound to be impressed.

The more coarse, the better!

HOMEMADE STEAK SPICE

Onion Salt
Garlic Salt
Paprika
Oregano
Thyme
Basil
Chili and/or Cayenne (just a touch!)
Coarse salt
Coarse pepper

The real trick to most fancy steak spices is the coarse salt and coarse pepper. You know those fancy salts you see for sale? This is where you wanna use that kind of thing. If you can find a "salt grinder" (yes, they sell these things) even better, because then you can control the size of the pieces. Same goes for the pepper - finding a good grinder that makes chunks the size you want takes ages, but when you find it, hold onto that tool like gold!

The garlic salt, the onion powder and the paprika are the backbone of most rubs - and so adding a little Herbs de Provence (i.e. the Oregano, Basil, Thyme trifecta) can't hurt either. Use caution when adding the chili or the cayenne, as these can alter the overall experience greatly.

PRO BBQ TIP

Salt naturally pulls the moisture out of just about anything, including your steak - therefore you never never never want to apply your steak spice and/or rub until just before you slap it on the grill. If you salt it up and let it sit, the salt will start to toughen up your meat, through osmosis (i.e. pulling the water out of the steak). My favourite technique is to dry the meat using a paper towel to take off any excess marinade or whatever else, then apply some quality olive oil, and last but not least: rub in your spice. All of this should be done by hand - no fancy brushes or containers necessary. Get in there and get dirty.

The WILSONINJA