What makes Montreal steak spice stand out is the absence of these floral notes. Our spice mixture originated with eastern Europeans, primarily immigrants from Russia, Poland, and Rumania. The spices they were used to flavoured tough cuts of meat and helped preserve them. Cinnamon, mace, nutmeg and similar fragrant scents were rare . A good Montreal steak spice captures the flavours of the deli-counter.
Many combinations are available.
Most of those sold locally seem to be made by E.D. Foods Ltd. in Pointe Claire. This company has packed spices for 50 years. It claims to have over 500 recipes for Montreal style steak spice blends and to make most of the private label versions in supermarkets. Their house brand, ED Inspiration, uses plenty of barely cracked fresh peppercorns. Although this blend does have a little sugar, which can make slow cooking meats, like ribs, char on the barbecue, the flavour overall is quite good.