I’ve been wanting to make a steak sauce for a while now. After a lot of research, I decided to take a look at the back of a bottle of A-1 – the mother of all steak sauces. 🙂 And I’m gonna take a guess that you are unaware that a major sweetening ingredient of A-1 is… wait for it… raisins! I sure wouldn’t have thought it, although it kinda makes sense. Dried fruit is sweet without being cloying, plus there is a certain meatiness to it.
I wanted to make a sauce that was deep in flavor, sweet, and tangy all at once. I liked the idea of using dried fruit to add that extra layer of flavor and at first was thinking about dried cherries… and I still think it would be a great idea to explore later, but I really didn’t want a cherry undertone to the sauce. I settled on trying figs for a few reasons:Â Because I love their subtle deep, rich flavor and the density of the fruit; They stand up well to grilled foods (as well as being grilled); Also, I felt they had the right amount of sweetness.
It took a couple attempts, but I nailed this one. It is all-at-once deep, sweet and tangy – everything that I had set out for it to be. Honestly, you really should give it a try and it is pretty easy to make. I grilled up a 2-inch thick NY Strip and spooned on a generous amount. It complimented the steak really well and let the flavor of the meat still shine. Give it a try!
- 1½ ounces dried black figs, chopped (about ¼ cup)
- ½ cup + ½ cup water
- 3 tablespoon double concentrated tomato paste (the kind in a tube, not a can)
- 6 tablespoons cider vinegar
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Place figs and ½ cup water into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the liquid has all but evaporated; about 10 minutes.
- Transfer re-hydrated figs to a blender and add the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth. If necessary, scrape back into the pan and heat until it is a little thinner than the consistency of ketchup.
- Will keep in an air-tight container stored in the refrigerator for 10 days.
Cheers and Happy Grilling!
~ Jeff
Can’t wait to try!
Let me know what you think, Zoe!