Beef of Champions

This man does two things well; coach football and serve up

kick-ass steak. And he's retired from football.

On a recent trip to Miami, I had the pleasure of eating at Shula's Steakhouse, one of a chain of high end restaurants owned by Miami Dolphins' legendary coach Don Shula, who is best known for coaching the 1972 Dolphins to their undefeated and still unequaled (thank you, Eli Manning) championship season.

It is possible my stomach was biased, having eaten nothing that day save for a powdered eggs airport breakfast and a half a can of Pringles in flight, but if the food at Shula's was not the best meal I have ever eaten, it was at least good enough to fill out the other four spots in the top five collectively.

Realizing that most are not blessed with in-laws as remarkably generous as mine, who paid for the trip to Miami as well as the hefty check at the restaurant (Shula's will set you back about 50-60 dollars a plate) there is a way which one can attempt to recreate the experience of eating at Shula's in their own backyard, though the recreation will likely not include the 15 minute presentation of various cuts of beef by a Cuban waiter with perfectly coifed hair and a slight lisp. But I digress.

To achieve "Coach Shula's Favorite Steak" you will need the following:

1 charcoal grill (apparently Coach Shula favors the flavor from coals)
1-2 Angus porterhouse steaks (pricey cuts of meat; substitute a lesser cut at your pleasure, but it probably won't fly with the coach)
2 tablespoons melted butter
and the coach's seasoning salt made from a combination of:
3 tbsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp sweet paprika
3/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp dried thyme

The coach recommends letting the steak sit at room temp for 15 minutes prior to coating with the seasoning and then grilling to your desired temperature. Remove from the grill, brush with butter, and garnish with watercress. Congratulate yourself on achieving a championship quality meal.