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If you’ve been in a grocery store and looked over the spices, you might have seen plastic shakers advertising “Chicago style” steak seasoning. The truth is that there is no uniform idea of what constitutes Chicago style, although it’s safe to say that there are usually certain staple ingredients such as salt, pepper, and garlic, along with possible additions like onions and red pepper. One of the most common and popular grocery store versions, Weber Chicago Steak Seasoning, contains salt, garlic, spices, red bell pepper, and red pepper.
Over the summer, I discovered Aldi was selling its own version of Chicago seasoning. I decided to sprinkle some on a steak to see what I thought.
Stonemill Chicago Style Steak Grill Seasoning is a dry good and can be found near other spices. I don’t know if it is an everyday Regular Buy or if it is a summer Seasonal Item that gets restocked during the warm months. At the time I bought it, in August, it was being clearanced out, which makes me think it might be seasonal. If you can’t find it on shelves outside of the summer, you might have to wait for grill season to get it again.
Mine cost $1.99 for a 5.75-ounce plastic container, which comes out to 35 cents an ounce. Weber Chicago Steak Seasoning currently retails for closer to 72 cents an ounce on Amazon.
Like most seasonings, you can uncap it and shake it through small holes on top, or remove the cap entirely and pour.
The ingredients are similar to Weber seasoning: garlic, spices (including black and red pepper), salt, red bell pepper, and extractives of paprika. The only nutritional item of note in this seasoning is the 105mg of sodium in each 1/4 teaspoon serving.
Nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
I tried the seasoning atop an Aldi top sirloin, which I cooked on the grill. I brushed on olive oil and then applied the seasoning to the steak before grilling.
It’s a decent mix. I prefer my steak with a little more salt than this mix has, but it is easy enough for me to season it to taste. The other seasonings in this mix were fine, and all of the carnivores in the family thought it added some depth of flavor to the steak.
The Verdict:
Aldi’s Stonemill Chicago Style Steak Seasoning is a decent, if not spectacular, steak additive. It has the major components that you would expect from a steak seasoning, and while I might have asked for a larger salt component, I was able to compensate for that easily enough, and not everyone will want their steak that way. If you’re an Aldi shopper who likes to season your steak, this is an inexpensive pick.
