Why It Pays To Put Cinnamon On Red Meat

While cinnamon is often thought of as a spice specific to sweet drinks and baked goods, it's definitely time to break out of that mindset and start using the sultry spice in a variety of dishes. Specifically, cinnamon deserves a chance to show you just what it can do as a seasoning for red meat — beef and lamb in particular.

Since cinnamon generally accompanies sugar and other sweeteners in the U.S., it sometimes gets confused for a sweet spice. But on its own, it's actually not sweet like sugar — though it does conjure sweetness in the same way that nutmeg or allspice does. A better way to describe cinnamon would be earthy and even smokey. It has a strong, pungent aroma and, similar to pepper, its robustness makes it ideal for red meat.

In small amounts, cinnamon will tease your palate and no doubt leave you wondering what amazing spice is hiding in your steak rub. In larger amounts, it's easily identifiable but also surprising in an almost but not quite red-hot sort of way. Adding it to baked goods with sugar tones down this element, but on the other hand, it will be enhanced when used liberally in a meat dish that a variety of other spices like cumin and ginger. Needless to say, you'll never have to worry about bland lamb kebabs, grilled steak strips, or anything else when there's cinnamon in the mix.

Cinnamon is a common seasoning for meats in many cultures, including Indian, North African, Persian, and many more. If you've ever ordered Morrocan-style beef in a restaurant then you probably noticed a powerful hit of cinnamon that left you craving more long after the last bite. Cinnamon is fundamental to beef tagine found in North African countries like Tunisia and Algeria. It's also an ingredient in Indian garam masala which is excellent with lamb, is essential in lahmacun — sometimes dubbed Turkish pizza, and also in pastitsio, a beef or lamb-based pasta dish which is basically a Greek-style lasagna.

Cinnamon can also make or break kebabs and it's integral to Middle Eastern beef kafta and beef shawarma. Lamb meat is often sprinkled with cinnamon and other spices to make gyros in the Western hemisphere – an excellent example of when just enough of the seasoning is used to impact the flavor of the meat and tease the palate without giving it that full-on cinnamon kick.

Learning to use cinnamon in your red meat recipes is easier than it sounds. Both ground cinnamon and cinnamon sticks can be used. One thing to remember is whichever one you choose, it should always be paired with other spices, such as ginger, cumin, cardamon, and the like. You won't get the depth of flavor that you're looking for from cinnamon alone (or even with just salt and pepper). Other spices are needed to round out cinnamon's unique profile.

One of the easiest ways to start using cinnamon to flavor red meat is to make an extra spicy steak rub or include cinnamon sticks together with ginger root and fresh garlic the next time you braise a roast. While it might seem intimidating at first, it's pretty easy to make the switch from just using cinnamon in baked goods to including it in your meat dishes as well. Let beef and lamb recipes from other cultures inspire and guide you and you'll be a pro in no time.