For me this Blackened Steak Salad is the perfect way to eat steak. I get to enjoy a big salad and the juicy slices of meat make it feel like a special treat. Of course it’s just a salad so you can adjust the amounts of every ingredient to your liking but some combinations are worth repeating. For me this is one of them.

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Food Rules: Pay More, Eat Less

American journalist and food advocate Michael Pollan, published a collection of 64 food rules in his book, Food Rules. He has promoted them for many years and rule #1 is Eat Food. The Food Rules are to increase awareness of the food we eat, specifically what is real food and what are food-like substances. I like the idea, I read labels and I try to avoid foods with long ingredient lists made in factories. I’ll be working on this one forever.

When I decided to post this recipe my husband wanted to cook the best steak, a rib eye. I immediately thought of food rule #44 – Pay More, Eat Less. Many people believe that in Alberta we have some of the best beef in the world and we think that too. For this salad we cooked a two-inch thick rib eye steak and it was worth every penny but cooking a perfect steak is a skill to be mastered. You need to take the time, pay attention to the details and probably use a thermometer. To eat less simply slice up the meat, people always eat a smaller portion when it’s served like that. Plus, you can cook a single steak and serve several people.

Spices on a Gluten Free Diet

Much has been written about the safety of spices on a gluten free diet and in your kitchen you must decide what is best for you. I think these are two important points to consider:

1. Spice combinations are recipes so have an ingredient list. Some examples are steak spice, pizza spice or pumpkin pie spice. Wheat or wheat containing ingredients are sometimes used in commercial preparations. I highly recommend keeping a good supply of pure spices in your kitchen and combining these spices when you need them. Using your spices regularly helps keep them fresh and then you know they are safe.
2. The amount of spice consumed in a recipe by percentage is extremely small, often less than one teaspoon for the entire meal. Here are two informative articles on this topic:
   • Are Spices Safe For A Gluten-Free Diet? by Allergic Living
   • Gluten Free Watchdog Special Report: Gluten Contamination of Spices 

Kitchen Tip – Keep extra spice bottles in your kitchen to store any spice combinations you make. Be sure to label them in the moment.

Get The Tools

The correct tools make cooking more enjoyable and over time you can’t help but collect them. These are the tools you could use to make this Blackened Steak Salad:

• A barbecue is mandatory for many people so I say buy the nicest one you can afford (Weber and Broil King are popular brands)
• A reusable grilling sheet to avoid cross contamination
• An instant read thermometer
• Those spice bottles I mentioned or 4-oz Mason jars
• A spice funnel is very useful for refilling jars
• More Mason jars (1/2 cup, 1 cup or 2-cup sizes) to make and store homemade salad dressings
• A beautiful salad bowl that will last you decades

Now get out there and grill up a gorgeous steak, with this blackening spice mix or your own favourite spice combination. Let me know in the comments below how your salad turned out.

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More Salad Recipes

Check out my BLOG post that is a Round Up of Summer Salads.