The year we got married, Nick and I went on our first cruise with our families during Christmas break. Besides losing a wedding ring while snorkeling (true story), the biggest things about that trip were 1) no one got seasick, and 2) we fell in love with some local foods in the Bahamas.

I know some people go on cruises just to eat – which, honestly, doesn’t sounds like a bad vacation. But if you go on a cruise somewhere and only eat on the ship, you’re really missing out!

After a day and a half of buffets, we wanted some food from the islands. And not from a chain restaurant on the mainland, but food that the locals ate away from all the tourists.

When we were at Nassau, we headed to the beach, away from most of the tourists, and we turned around the corner and found a truck in the parking lot serving lunch to all the workers in the area. Maybe that doesn’t sound like the best idea, now that I think about it – food off the back of someone’s truck? But it was the best meal we had on the trip!

The ladies serving lunch had everything – curried goat, oxtail, jerk chicken and pork, spicy mac’n’cheese, fried plantains, peas and rice. You name it, they had it. And we all stuffed ourselves. Ever since that trip, Nick and I make big Caribbean feasts at home. Sometimes we just whip up some grilled jerk chicken or pork and sometimes we go all out with the spicy mac’n’cheese, peas and rice, coconut shrimp, and coconut cake.

When DailyBuzz Food put out a call for people to try McCormick’s Recipe Inspirations and they listed a Caribbean Grilled Steak option, I knew I had to get in on this. Nick and I have perfected the jerk marinade we normally use on chicken and pork, but I was really excited to be part of this Tastemaker Program and get to try the Caribbean Grilled Steak spice pack and recipe.

I love the fact that their Recipe Inspirations come with the spices you need already measured out, but it did seem like a lot of packaging. Since you’re going to mix everything together anyway, they could all be combined in one packet instead of being separate, but other than that, I loved having everything in one place and measured for me.

I didn’t add much to their spice mixture for our steaks, but I did throw in some orange juice to the marinade for a punch of citrus flavor. The orange with the red pepper, cumin, and onion was a great idea.

And since Nick is the grill master, I got the steak spiced and ready and he threw it on the grill for me. This was a little different than our marinade that we normally make, but I liked it! And it was easier than ours, which will be nice to have when we’re rushed or want to skip some steps from our regular recipe.

Now if I just whipped up some peas and rice….next time, for sure. I think there will be another Caribbean feast happening soon.

Caribbean Jerk Steak

Makes: 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 pound ribeye steak
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp orange juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 package McCormick® Recipe Inspirations Caribbean Grilled Steak  which includes the following Spices:
• 2 teaspoons McCormick® Garlic, Minced
• 1 teaspoon McCormick® Cumin, Ground
• 1 teaspoon McCormick® Onions, Minced
• 1 teaspoon McCormick® Oregano Leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Red Pepper, Crushed

Directions:

1. Place the steak in a baking dish or ziploc bag.
2. Pour the olive oil and orange juice in with the steak, then add the salt, pepper, and caribbean grilled steak spice mix (or the spices listed above). Rub the oil, juice, and spices into the steak and let it sit for at least 30 minutes before grilling.
3. Grill steak over medium-high heat 6 to 7 minutes per side or until it’s cooked how you like. Let the steak rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing to serve.

This post is part of the DailyBuzz Food Tastemaker program with McCormick. I received the spices to try and a stipend to make my recipe – all opinions are my own.

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