Shula's steak seasoning

The legendary Don Shula runs a chain of steakhouses around the country that are pretty damn good.

 

Actually, his son David runs the business, but Don Shula's image is the one on the marquee. After all, Dad won a few more games than David (328 to 19 for those of you keeping score at home).

 

The Chief Troll had the pleasure of meeting Don and Dave in 2007, when they opened their steakhouse in Providence, Rhode Island. Great guys. Great restaurant. That's a picture of Kerry and Don together. Yes, Kerry is twice the width of Shula. But fret not: he's fairly certain the elderly (and still well-built) Shula would kick his chubby man boobs six ways to Sunday, much like he kicked ass on the coaching fraternity for 33 seasons. (Don't forget, Shula played DB in the NFL for seven seasons. Kerry played one season of varsity high school football. So they have that in common.)

 

Fortunately, our Chief Troll's ass was not kicked. In fact, the Shulas showed quite a bit of mercy on this lard-soaked soul: they were  kind enough to share a bunch of recipes with us. Here's a basic one for their house seasoning salt.

 

REMEMBER: Thou shalt never grill steak without first rubbing a little seasoning on it. It helps give the steak a nice charred outer edge that locks in flavor. A lot of chefs swear by good old kosher salt and pepper. And you can't go wrong with S&P (or S&M, but that's another column). But virtually any combination of salt and other spices will work.

 

This is how it's done, Shula style:

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Rub on room-temperature steaks just before grilling. Store unused portion in airtight container. Makes about 2 cups

By Kerry Byrne