Chicago Style Steak Rub

Sauces, Rubs, and Accompaniments

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This Chicago steak seasoning comes together quickly with a few ingredients. This well-balanced steak rub consists of Maldon sea salt, coarse black pepper, garlic and onion, with hint of spiciness from crushed red pepper, smoky undertones from hickory seasoning, and some herbal notes from the addition of thyme.

Making the Chicago Style Steak Rub

To make the steak seasoning, combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well to combine. If you do not have hickory seasoning it can be omitted or you can substitute a little smoked BBQ rub. You can also substitute smoked black pepper for the regular black pepper for additional smoky flavor. Hickory seasoning is available on Amazon for a reasonable price as well.

Place the steak rub in a sealable jar or seasoning shaker. Depending on the size of the steaks you are cooking, this recipe should be enough Chicago Style steak rub to season 4-8 steaks.

Unused steak rub should keep for up to a year in a sealed spice jar. As with any spices, the rub tends to lose its potency over time, so fresh is always better, but the rub is very unlikely to spoil.

Cooking a Chicago Style Steak

Pat your steak dry then season your steak liberally on both sides with the Chicago Style Steak Rub. This Chicago style steak seasonings works well on all types of steaks, but our favorites are a nice thick ribeye or KC strip steak.

Be sure to check out more of our favorite steak rubs, sauces, and enhancements:

• Ancho Espresso Steak Rub
• Bone Marrow Compound Butter
• Easy Chimichurri Recipe
• Malbec Sauce For Steak
• Stout Sauce for Steak

Prepare your grill or smoker to cook the steaks. Use your favorite method for grilling steaks, whether it be hot and fast over high heat, reverse seared, or even sous vide the steak and finish on a hot grill or cast-iron pan. This Chicago Style Steak Rub does not contain sugar so it is not prone to burning like some other rubs, but you can still get a nice char on the steak.

We cooked this Chicago style ribeye on our Big Green Egg, but any grill will work. Be sure to check out more of our favorite recipes for the Big Green Egg or Ceramic Smokers.

Don't forget to check out our ever-growing collection of some of the best steak recipes from around the world.

• Belgian Steak Frites With Sous Vide Bavette Steak
• Reverse Seared Argentinian Ribeye With Chimichurri Sauce
• Sous Vide Florentine Style Porterhouse
• Filet Mignon with Goat Cheese Sauce and Grand Marnier Sautéed Peppers
• A5 Japanese Wagyu With Yakiniku Sauce
• Garlic Basted Rotisserie Picanha

Finishing and serving your Chicago Style Steak

Cook the steak to your desired doneness. Allow the steak to rest for about 5 minutes before serving, then serve it up with your favorite sides for steaks like Smoked Jalapeno Twice Baked Potatoes, Fried Lump Crab Cakes with Sriracha Mayonnaise, or Fried Mashed Potato Cakes with Herbes de Provence Butter.

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