One of the keys to a mouthwatering, tender, and juicy steak is the right seasoning. But what can you do if you’re a little heavy-handed and accidentally over-season your steak, making it too salty or overpowering with spices? Gabriel Laredo from Meat N’ Bone shared some tips with Food Republic on how to handle an over-seasoned steak.
Laredo told us, “If you’ve overdone it, the best fix is pairing the steak with something neutral — plain rice, potatoes, or a simple salad — to balance out the seasoning.” Sides with prominent flavors, when combined with an over-seasoned steak, can create a jumble of competing tastes. He also advised, “If it’s too salty, a drizzle of olive oil or a squeeze of fresh lime can help tone it down.” You could also use another fat, like a pat of unsalted butter, to help add moisture if over-salting has made the steak a little dry. Another option is to tame the seasoning with a cream-based steak topping, like mushroom sauce, béarnaise, or Cognac-boosted Diane sauce, while avoiding the common mistakes people make with homemade steak sauces.
If you’re preparing steak and realize you’ve over-seasoned before cooking, you can also simply wipe some of the seasoning off. Even if you’ve already put the steak in the pan or on the grill, you can remove it, give it a quick rinse with hot water, then briefly return it to the heat.
How to approach seasoning steak
Gabriel Laredo also explained that having the right mindset can help prevent over-seasoning in the first place. “Honestly, the best fix is starting with the right approach — letting the quality of the steak shine rather than covering it up,” he said. Following his advice can be as simple as seasoning with just salt and pepper, but that doesn’t mean you should be stingy with the salt. In fact, you may think you’ve over-seasoned when you haven’t.
Salt only coats the meat’s surface, so you need enough to season the interior you’ll be eating, especially with thicker steaks. Additionally, some seasoning will come off during cooking. For proper seasoning, apply a layer of salt and pepper to both sides of the steak, using about 1 to 1½ teaspoons of salt per pound and ½ teaspoon of pepper, then pat it down to help it adhere. Kosher salt, with its larger crystals, absorbs best into the meat and does so more slowly, reducing the risk of an overly salty steak.
Other spices can also be used for seasoning, such as garlic powder, rosemary for an herby flavor infusion, chili powder, brown sugar, and dry rubs — while keeping in mind Laredo’s advice not to overpower the steak. The same caution applies when choosing ingredients for a marinade. Be careful not to marinate the meat for more than 24 hours, as it can become mushy.
