Really good rub for steaks!

Theophan

I usually just use salt and pepper on steaks, but once in a while I want a change, and I'll use a rub, a fresh herb sauce, etc..  I just tried a rub that just has 3 ingredients, and WOW it was good!  It just jumped to the top of my list for rubs for steaks!  The chef said:

It's my only rub, and my favorite rub,” says Andrea Reusing, James Beard Award-winning chef of Lantern restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, of her mildly hot fennel seed rub. It works on just about anything: chicken, mackerel, wild salmon, vegetables, steaks, whatever. “People who don't think they like licorice still like it, because the flavor plays off the peppers in a really nice way,” she says. The subtle anise flavor will come through in the oven or on the stovetop, but cooking it over an open flame creates an irresistible crust.

I only made one steak worth of the rub, but here are the original ingredient quantities in this article:

1/4 cup whole fennel seeds
1/4 cup whole black peppercorns
1/2 cup crushed red chile flakes

Toast fennel seeds and peppercorns in a medium skillet over medium-high until seeds begin to pop, 1–2 minutes; let cool slightly. Working in batches, transfer to a spice grinder and pulse until coarsely ground. Mix with chile flakes in a bowl and then transfer to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

The seeds never popped for me, maybe they weren't fresh enough or something, but they were darkening and clearly (and wonderfully!) smelling toasted, so I stopped and ground them.  (I also toasted the chile flakes and ground them with it, though she didn't say to.)  I put some kosher salt on the steak, then the rub, then grilled it hot and fast with frequent flips (it wasn't thick enough for a reverse sear).

gdenby

A fine recipe, well executed. I suppose the fennel seeds were a little too old. But toasting does improve the flavor any way, in my limited experience.

theyolksonyou

I'm a S&p guy too. Then maybe some compound butter, but this looks great. I'll give it a try!

Cookbook_Chip

Cool idea. Trying that!

Carolina Q

Don't know what it tastes like, but I can see what it LOOKS like!! WOW!! It's stuff like this that keeps me from buying commercial rubs. 

Biggreenpharmacist

Carolina Q said:

Don't know what it tastes like, but I can see what it LOOKS like!! WOW!! It's stuff like this that keeps me from buying commercial rubs. 

You are the first one I thought of when I read the ingedients. No salt. 

GrillSgt

Definitely giving this a try. I like grilling thick top sirloins and they benefit from a good rub. Thanks. 

Carolina Q

Biggreenpharmacist said:

Carolina Q said:

Don't know what it tastes like, but I can see what it LOOKS like!! WOW!! It's stuff like this that keeps me from buying commercial rubs. 

You are the first one I thought of when I read the ingedients. No salt. 

Oh, I use salt, just a lot less of it. When I find a seasoning blend that calls for salt, I just use a small fraction of it! To the point where I suspect I might as well leave it out completely. Once you get used to little or no salt (and it really doesn't take long), the full load is just TOO much.

JohnnyTarheel

Nice change of pace.... 

Biggreenpharmacist

Carolina Q said:

Biggreenpharmacist said:

Carolina Q said:

Don't know what it tastes like, but I can see what it LOOKS like!! WOW!! It's stuff like this that keeps me from buying commercial rubs. 

You are the first one I thought of when I read the ingedients. No salt. 

Oh, I use salt, just a lot less of it. When I find a seasoning blend that calls for salt, I just use a small fraction of it! To the point where I suspect I might as well leave it out completely. Once you get used to little or no salt (and it really doesn't take long), the full load is just TOO much.

I really need to do that myself. I cold turkey totally quit caffeine over two years ago. Salt would be WAY harder to me. 

Carolina Q

Biggreenpharmacist said:

Carolina Q said:

Biggreenpharmacist said:

Carolina Q said:

Don't know what it tastes like, but I can see what it LOOKS like!! WOW!! It's stuff like this that keeps me from buying commercial rubs. 

You are the first one I thought of when I read the ingedients. No salt. 

Oh, I use salt, just a lot less of it. When I find a seasoning blend that calls for salt, I just use a small fraction of it! To the point where I suspect I might as well leave it out completely. Once you get used to little or no salt (and it really doesn't take long), the full load is just TOO much.

I really need to do that myself. I cold turkey totally quit caffeine over two years ago. Salt would be WAY harder to me. 

Yeah, that's what I thought in the beginning when I was eating saltless crap in the hospital. It really didn't take long to get used to it. Don't try cold turkey, just start mixing your own seasonings and cut back or eliminate the salt.

Try this one for chicken (or pork)...

½ teaspoons sea salt (recipe I found called for 1 ½ tsp)

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary (Didn’t have rosemary so I used tarragon. Have since tried it with rosemary, either works.

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules (the no salt stuff from Herb-Ox)

Biggreenpharmacist

Will do. Thanks!

Theophan

Thanks for all of the kind comments!

Regarding salt, I sure wish I agreed that it's easy and fast to get used to low salt.  I went for a few years, I think it was, on a 2g sodium diet, and that's so very low that you can't eat normal food, have to read the label on everything.  Normal bread has too much salt for that diet.  ONE bagel has nearly 1/4 of an entire day's sodium, and that's with NOTHING ON IT!  It was awful, and food tasted lousy.  Sure, it got better pretty quickly, but better wasn't a lot better, just a little.  Food still tasted blah, and that's month after month after month.  It's sort of like the decaf coffee I drink every morning.  OK, I'm used to it, and I don't mind it, really, but it sure ain't real coffee.  It's just not that good...

Over a few years I gradually changed to a no-salt-added diet, which is a lot more than 2g per day, and these days, I try to be reasonable, but I put whatever salt a recipe calls for, most of the time.

Still, I'm glad you folks brought this up.  I probably should try again to cut back, some.

Carolina Q

For me, 2000 mg per day seemed awful too, in the beginning. Basically one lousy teaspoon!!!! Per DAY! And reading labels sucks! But I did get used to it. And still try to stick with it as much as possible. My cardiologist says I no longer need to be so anal about it, but I pretty much am. I can't imagine eating a bowl of canned soup now. Half my max in one little bowl? Tastes WAY too salty to me! I now make my own, always. Same with most prepared foods.

The only thing I don't cut back on is the salt in bread. Oh I tried cutting back, but it just sucked! So, I follow most bread recipes now and just eat less of it.

Eggcelsior

I have some seasoning my sister sent me that I was about to toss, but I'll have to give this a try. It's salt, pepper, and fennel from what I can tell. I've only used it once on some veggies that I sautéed, but thought it was no bueno. I'll add some chili pepper or death dust to it and try it on a steak. Hopefully that will help me get through the 8oz of this stuff.

Terrebandit

This stuff is really good but expensive.

https://www.bigpoppasmokers.com/big-poppa-39s-double-secret-steak-rub-14oz

I normally go with kosher salt and pepper, Montreal steak seasoning, or a combination of both.  I might add some garlic powder or garlic salt if I'm in the mood. 

Teefus

Looks good. Steak rub is a sore subject at casa teefus. SWMBO hates it. She wants her steak to "taste like meat". No salt and pepper either. Just meat and heat. 

Theophan

Teefus said:

Looks good. Steak rub is a sore subject at casa teefus. SWMBO hates it. She wants her steak to "taste like meat". No salt and pepper either. Just meat and heat. 

I guess my favorite flavor is variety.  Most of the time, I prefer just salt and pepper on steaks, but once in a while I like to do something different, and I'll use a rub or a sauce.  My wife isn't crazy about beef in general, but if she has a steak, she wants a filet done WELL.  <shudder>  Yeah, no reason we can't all have it the way we want it.