Still Gifting

I had never heard of Bajan (rhymes with Cajun) seasoning before our friends Dave and Annette brought us a packet of it as a hostess gift. Intrigued, but unsure how to use it, I visited the Savory Spice Shop website for ideas and came away with the notion of adding a little oil and lemon juice to the dry spice mix to make a paste with which to marinate a steak. 

I smeared on the paste in the morning, then returned the steak in a plastic bag to the fridge. It steeped all day in the spice blend before grilling with charcoal outdoors. It didn't take long as the steak was fairly thin. Before we knew it, the thin end was done to my order and the thick end was still super rare for My Beloved.  Sliced across the grain, it was a very juicy steak even though it was quite lean.

The Bajan seasoning was not strong - I got hints of curry and a tad of heat as well as a pronounced parsley flavor. When I read the list on ingredients, I could see where the little bit of heat and curry came from: salt, onion, thyme, garlic, coriander, turmeric, black pepper, parsley, marjoram, ginger, fenugreek, cumin, anise, allspice, habañero, Kaffir lime, cinnamon, mustard, mace, and cardamom. I have to admit that I couldn't detect all those flavors (not even sure I know what all those flavors are!) but I suppose it's like a symphony - you don't necessarily concentrate on each instrument, rather you just enjoy the music.

My takeaway is that it's grassy character would be even better on grilled chicken, so that's what I plan to try next. In the meantime, we have leftover steak to use in our lunch salad or, almost inevitably, wrapped in a tortilla. Their gift is still giving two weeks after they returned to Florida.