Meat Steak Sauce
Steak sauce is the perfect addition to many meats on your menus for your succulent back yard barbecue. With its rich, zesty flavor, and thick texture, this sauce has been a favorite of American families for many years. Some generic brands are runny, while other well-known brands have a home-cooked flavor that can not be matched. Added to a juicy and tender steak, this sauce can be used on many more foods than its name suggests.
Steak sauce made its delicious debut in the 1800’s, in Victorian times. At the time, there was no refrigeration, and meat spoiled quickly. Meat then naturally developed an unattractive appearance, taste and a foul smell to match. Spices were already being used to mask these faults, but the meat became such an assault on the taste buds that better and even stronger means of preservation became necessary. This is when the “steak sauce” was invented. Along with Worcestershire sauce, it was a revolutionary concoction in preserving meat and hiding undesirable tastes and odors. Made with vinegar and a large assortment of spices, steak sauce was making diners happy as clams at high tide.
Not only did it preserve the meat, but the sauce also added a delicious flavor and aroma when cooked with the meats. Even when refrigeration came along, the sauce did not lose its popularity. A favorite of American families, steak sauce was no longer a masking agent, but a sumptuous, gourmet add-on that could be enjoyed without wondering if the meat was good or not.
The early steak sauces often demonstrated problems with the recipe. With too many spices, the sauce became too intense to be used as a condiment. No one wanted a sour bite every time they tried to savor their beautiful steak. As a result, steak sauce makers eventually refined the balance between spices and vinegar. Home-brewed with precision and special care, steak sauce was once again a favorite among beef connoisseurs.
Today, very little has changed in the world of steak sauce. But with its strong flavor, too much can easily overwhelm the taste of a perfectly good steak. Too much vinegar may add a sour accent rather than a complimentary one. Luckily, many companies have developed a sauce that perfectly enhances the steak, instead of overwhelming it.
Beginning with its first purpose to hide the taste and odor of spoiled meat, steak sauce has evolved into a delicious condiment to be added to a beautiful steak. Imaginative cooks have learned that this versatile sauce can also be used as a seasoning for chicken, seafood, barbecued ribs, and lightly tossed with some vegetables. When properly used in a marinade, all your grilled, baked and pan-fried foods will have that “just right” extra zest and flavor.