Montreal steak seasoning, also known as Montreal steak spice, Canadian steak seasoning or Canadian steak spice is a spice mix used to flavor steak and grilled meats that was based on the pickling dry-rub

Spice rub

Spice rub is any mixture of ground spices that is made for the purpose of being rubbed on raw food before the food is cooked. The spice rub forms a coat on the food. The food can be marinated in the spice rub for some time for the flavors to incorporate into the food or it can be cooked...

 mix used in preparing Montreal smoked meat

Montreal-style smoked meat

Montreal-style smoked meat, Montreal smoked meat or simply smoked meat in Montreal , is a type of kosher-style deli meat product made by salting and curing beef brisket with spices...

. The smoked meat seasoning itself was descended from pickling mixes used in Eastern Europe or Romanian Jewish cuisine

Jewish cuisine

Jewish Cuisine is a collection of the different cooking traditions of the Jewish people worldwide. It is a diverse cuisine that has evolved over many centuries, shaped by Jewish dietary laws and Jewish Festival and Sabbath traditions...

. The primary constituents of Montreal steak seasoning including garlic

Garlic

Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...

, coriander

Coriander

Coriander is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Coriander is native to southern Europe and North Africa to southwestern Asia. It is a soft, hairless plant growing to tall. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the...

, black pepper

Black pepper

Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...

, red pepper

Red pepper

Red pepper may refer to:* Capsicum, whose fruit is used as a vegetable or spice** Specifically, the cayenne pepper, especially in its dried and powdered form* The ripe form of black peppercorns* Red Pepper , in Uganda...

 flakes, dill

Dill

Dill is a perennial herb. It is the sole species of the genus Anethum, though classified by some botanists in a related genus as Peucedanum graveolens C.B.Clarke.-Growth:...

 seed, and salt. The spice mix recipe varies slightly between each restaurant or manufacturer.

History

The Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

 deli Schwartz's

Schwartz's

Schwartz's, also known as the Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen is a delicatessen established in 1928 by Reuben Schwartz, a Jewish immigrant from Romania. It is a landmark at 3895 Saint-Laurent Boulevard and the most famous Montreal-style smoked meat restaurant. Schwartz's often has a line extending...

is credited with the creation of Montreal steak seasoning. The story of its creation is that a Schwartz's broilerman by the name of Morris "The Shadow" Sherman, during the 1940s and 1950s began adding the deli's smoked meat pickling spices to his own rib and liver steaks. Soon the customers began asking for the same. Due to its popularity, it eventually became a norm in Montreal delis and steakhouses to spice their steaks similarly.