Steak Sauce, or not?

Steak sauce, hell no.
If you're using steak sauce
it means you just don't want
to taste the natural flavor
of good beef.

Carlton Pierre,you must realize(and I speak from 4oyrs of orchestral experience,I'm a trumpet player) that folks who go to the 'Fleder' are usually not the kind of folks who would be happy with ANYTHING,let alone one of the worst opera's(actually an operetta)ever written. You would have been better served seeing "Tommy",that way,you could have rolled up your score,filled it with whatever,lit it,and breathed deeply as you made friends with everyone within 100yds of your seat

I actually did something like that, Garykg6, about 30 years ago at an all day concert/fest at the old Cincinnati Gardens. Someone has a phot to prove it.

No steak sauce for me! I normally eat my steak plain, maybe with a bit of ketchup, but no steak sauce of any kind.

~Jessica

I used to use liberal amounts of A-1 back before I knew better. These days I have to have buttons mushrooms in a butter sauce for a transcendent steak experience. I will use A-1 in a pinch if it's an inferior steak however.

Purist. . . None.

I once took a young woman out to dinner. I knew she liked steak, so I took her to a very upscale restaurant for a steak. I suggested she get the fillet mignon. . . she didn't know what it was but I convinced her it was her best choice (hey, I wasn't dating her for her intellectual brilliance and worldliness!).
When her fillet came she grabbed the ketsup bottle that was brought for her fries. . . I stopped her just as she was about to drench the fillet in ketsup.
"Wow" she said, "this here's the best steak ah ever haid!" Damn that girl was fun!

Peter Luger`s steak sauce is great but I prefer it on the side. Also good as they serve it with their tomato and onion salad.

I love a good steak but despite that fact I love my A-1 with it. I just can't explain it.

i only use A-1 on cheaper cuts like sirloin. for filet i either nix the steak sauce or use bearnaise sauce. for ribeye, i use worcestershire or nothing at all.

i only use A-1 on cheaper cuts like sirloin. for filet i either nix the steak sauce or use bearnaise sauce. for ribeye, i use worcestershire or nothing at all. i like bleu cheese on my sirloin.

Steak sauce? I very seldomly use it, but it is fine for a cheaper steak. I am not very impressed with the A-1 type sauces, although I have used A-1.

Worcestershire is my idea of a steak sauce and it must be Lea & Perrin's.

For the most part, I am of the salt and pepper school. Trying to guild the lilly is usually a mistake.

quote:

Originally posted by carlton pierre

There are a lot of great steak sauces around, yet I read where a true steak lover eats his/her steak without sauce, that it kills the steak?
I prefer mine with no steak sauce but wonder what others think?

carl reitz

quote:

Originally posted by carlton pierre

There are a lot of great steak sauces around, yet I read where a true steak lover eats his/her steak without sauce, that it kills the steak?
I prefer mine with no steak sauce but wonder what others think?

carl reitz

Of course not. Unless , of course , you have a bad steak

Steak sauce.. Almost never.. One person had a good point.. No steak sauce when I pay more than $20 for it, or if I cook it myself.

2 stories

1) I was at a Palm Steakhouse in VA I think, or was it MD.. Where ever Tysons Corner is, I forget.. anyhow, I ordered my ribeye medium rare, and the waitress comes to me and asks "Would you like steak sauce with that?". I waved to her to come closer and told her politely in a very low voice "If this steak NEEDS steak sauce, I'm walking out".. :))

2) When I cook steaks for friends and family, I see it as an outright insult to me if someone asks for steak sauce.. Well, this past Sunday someone did (Cousins wife), but then the excuse/reason was legitimate - I had to cook her steak well done because she's 4 months pregnant... Prior to the pregnancy, she was a medium rare gal.. :D Man cooking that steak well done was driving me nuts... There was a desparate urge to take the suffering steak off the grill. ;-)

all condiments are a matter of preference.

Would you say, "if these fries NEED ketchup, I'm walking out"?!?

I should think that most steak houses would have steak sauce as an option, for people who like the taste of steak sauce on their steak.

It's not a question of whether the steak NEEDS steak sauce, it's whether or not you prefer to HAVE steak sauce or not.

I don't get offended when my brother puts hot sauce on just about everything I cook. Why?, because he puts hot sauce on just about everything he eats. The food I prepare, the food he prepares, the food he eats out, the food my mother makes, roadfood, you name it.
It's what he likes. How can I get offended? I have NO control over that. Sometimes, I add heat to his dish, because I know he like everything to be spicy. In my opinion, it can ruin my dish, but THAT'S how he eats his food. Hot, and spicy. I don't get offended, and I don't care.

so, if he asked for steak sauce, I'm confident it's not that the food I prepared was done incorrectly, it would be because, that's how he likes it.

I love HP steak sauce on my nana and mom's meat pies. It's a tradition around Christmas time. It's hard to find in the US but it is readily available in Canada and the UK.

Occasionally, I'll put A-1 on grilled steaks. I also like horseradish on steak.

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader

all condiments are a matter of preference.

Would you say, "if these fries NEED ketchup, I'm walking out"?!?

I should think that most steak houses would have steak sauce as an option, for people who like the taste of steak sauce on their steak.

It's not a question of whether the steak NEEDS steak sauce, it's whether or not you prefer to HAVE steak sauce or not.

I don't get offended when my brother puts hot sauce on just about everything I cook. Why?, because he puts hot sauce on just about everything he eats. The food I prepare, the food he prepares, the food he eats out, the food my mother makes, roadfood, you name it.
It's what he likes. How can I get offended? I have NO control over that. Sometimes, I add heat to his dish, because I know he like everything to be spicy. In my opinion, it can ruin my dish, but THAT'S how he eats his food. Hot, and spicy. I don't get offended, and I don't care.

so, if he asked for steak sauce, I'm confident it's not that the food I prepared was done incorrectly, it would be because, that's how he likes it.

I see your point about personal preferences.. But if I spent $35 for french fries, it better not need ketchup!! :))

I know one gal that puts a significant amount of salt on her food.. The oddest thing is, she doesn't even taste it first.. Once the dish comes on the table, she puts (kid you not) maybe 1 oz of salt on her food!! YIKES!

In regards to HP sauce, yes, some HP sauce on a shepherds pie is good.. Watch, I'll get blasted for polluting the purity of a shepherds pie.. ;-)

HP steak sauce does nothing for me. Guar Gummy Goo is how I would describe the whole mess.

quote:

Originally posted by cleveland66

I absolutely love steak sauce...on my fries.

could not agree more but I did find a good use for steak sauce, I was eating outside at a local restaurant and the wind kicked up and it really came in handy when I needed something to hold my napkin down.

My late grandfather was an old German butcher,and my dad said grandpa felt that if you had to cover a steak in sauce,then the meat wasn't any good,to which i agree.i also prefer my bbq brisket or other bbq meat plain,no sauce at all.

Does bearnaise sauce count? Chateaubriand bearnaise is a french bistro classic that I find pretty tasty (if the sauce is done properly). Also steak au poivre with a brandy & cream sauce, another bistro standard.

Both sauces are great dips for the accompanying pommes frites, too.

Steak sauces actually originated because before refrigeration, people were eating a lot of spoiled meat, and they needed something to cover up the taste.

That said, I like mine with s-n-p and a little pat of compound butter. Now I like the flavor of 57 a lot on burgers and fries, or just straight out of the bottle when I'm walking past the fridge.
Bearnaise and other cream sauces are ok for some cuts, but on the side please. And yes, I love horseradish on prime rib.

I admit I use it on the side as a condiment..on a hamburger or grilled chicken.....or on my baked potato instead of butter or sour cream...at home...I found out that SuperWalmart makes a steak sauce that tastes exactly like Heinz 57...at $2.00 less a bottle...the shape of the bottle is exactly the same as Heinz...the flavor is the same....

Ketchup! If the steak is that great, the taste will shine through the Heinz. I challenge it!
The Bear

I usually hate steak sauce except when mixed with ketchup to dip fries or patty melts with.

Notwithstanding, I found a peppercorn blue cheese mix that came with a ribeye. Was it ever good and did not cover the meat flavor like A-1 will. Also bernaise is good sometimes. IMO teriaki is an assault to a good steak. May as well have tofu if you can't taste the meat.

quote:

Originally posted by Captain Morgan

Steak sauces actually originated because before refrigeration, people were eating a lot of spoiled meat, and they needed something to cover up the taste.

that's just simply preposterous.

try, beef sauces originated from au jous, pan drippings (the natural juices of the steak) or stock, and went from there. Adding herbs and spices, and cream, etc.
Not to cover, but to add.

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader

quote:

Originally posted by Captain Morgan

Steak sauces actually originated because before refrigeration, people were eating a lot of spoiled meat, and they needed something to cover up the taste.

that's just simply preposterous.

try, beef sauces originated from au jous, pan drippings (the natural juices of the steak) or stock, and went from there. Adding herbs and spices, and cream, etc.
Not to cover, but to add.

You are amazingly incorrect. All sauces and gravies were originally used to mask the off taste of bad meats. You can look it up.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/SauceHistory.htm

to be fair, there is some revisionist history going on by
spice and sauce companies who insist the flavor alone is the
reason meat was flavored before electricity.

I like steak sauce but on the side. That way I can dip my very rare steak in it or not. I've recently switched from A-1 Bold and Spicy, started purchasing Shula's Steak Sauce, add a tad of cayenne and make my own bold and spicy. I could almost drink that stuff out of the bottle.

The author of the web site, Linda Stradley, makes a bit of a leap of faith when she says, "Sauces and gravies were used to mask the flavor of tainted foods." To back her statement, she uses a quote from Marian Woodman's article that says, "...possibly to conceal doubtful freshness, possibly to demonstrate the variety of costly spices available to the host."

The word possibly being the operative word. So, to conceal doubtful freshness is no more of a known reason why sauces exist, than the reason to demonstrate one's wealth by using a variety of costly spices.

and "ALL sauces and gravies", is a gross overstatement.

maybe preposterous was a bit overdone, but there is no definate proof that sauces were created for the purpose of covering tainted meat. No more viable than the reason was to "show off" one's wealth, which was a very fashionable thing to do in Roman times.

and the article was speaking about Roman custom 200 AD and commented solely on that. So permit me stretch, or make a leap, as much as Linda Stradley...The fact that Romans were using such elaborate sauces would indicate that "sauces" and the use of "sauces" had long been around. So, one can easily surmise that Romans did not invent sauce. Therefore, the Roman use of sauce, even if it was to conceal bad meat, was not the exclusive use, nor necessarily the intended use of sauce prior to the Romans.
~Now that may be taking some liberty from Woodman's remark in one direction, but no more liberty than Stradley took.


taken from:
http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodsauces.html

Food historians tell us sauces were "invented" for many reasons. The three primary reasons are:
1. Cooking medium
2. Meat tenderizer
3. Flavor enhancer

quote:

Originally posted by carlton pierre

I actually did something like that, Garykg6, about 30 years ago at an all day concert/fest at the old Cincinnati Gardens. Someone has a phot to prove it.

Whoa! Was that the fest with Leslie West and Mountain, Frigid Pink, Suzy Quattro, and some Cincinnati bands? I'm thinking that one was 35 years ago. If so, I was there too!

Vis a vis steaks and sauces, I don't put much salt,let alone anything else on my steak. I do put Worcestershire sauce or teriyaki sauce on sirloin burgers. I might also use HP sauce for the same purpose if it was readily available and not so expensive.

Upon reflection, it occurs to me that I like some horseradish sauce on the side with prime rib, if you consider that a steak.

My old BF used to get a sirloin WELL DONE and smother it with ketchup.
On occasion, I will use Heinz 57, but that is not the norm. Usually just a little garlic salt and pepper works for me.

I like a little dap of A-1 too.I took the A-1 off the tables at my Restaurant when the lunch crowd started puttng it on French Fries and Hamburger steaks.I hate to see a steak plate come back with a puddle of A-1.

quote:

Originally posted by roossy90

My old BF used to get a sirloin WELL DONE and smother it with ketchup.

One can only hope that your old BF became your old BF rather quickly.

My Father always told me that a good piece of steak doesn't need sauce. Of course, in my teens I started hanging out at steakaterias (Rustler was our favorite, but I worked at York) and experimenting with A-1, Heinz, straight Worcestershire, whatever I could get my hands on. A year of college cafeteria food, all requiring a jolt of something to get it down, must have scared me straight. No bottled sauce here.

Of course a good filet needs judicious seasoning/saucing and I occasionally like steak with a pan sauce, particularly one with good mushrooms or some variety of blue cheese. But prepared sauce can stay in the cafeteria line where it belongs.

A little Dale's Seasoning before the steak hits the grill. Nothing else is needed.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

quote:

Originally posted by roossy90

My old BF used to get a sirloin WELL DONE and smother it with ketchup.

One can only hope that your old BF became your old BF rather quickly.

Soooooooooooo long.......... He been gone a long long time....Our taste buds just didnt match up.....
I am a rare to Mid rare kinda gal.....

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader


quote:
Originally posted by Captain Morgan

Steak sauces actually originated because before refrigeration, people were eating a lot of spoiled meat, and they needed something to cover up the taste.



that's just simply preposterous.

try, beef sauces originated from au jous, pan drippings (the natural juices of the steak) or stock, and went from there. Adding herbs and spices, and cream, etc.
Not to cover, but to add.

A-1 though is none of these. It's a strong sauce of anchovies, raisins and orange peel that masks. Of course it is preference because I like BBQ sauce and to some people, sauce is an insult to a pit master.

That said, my Chinese friend warn me to NEVER get a highly sauced meat in a traditional restaurant. This, they say is what is done to mask poor or slighly off meat.

quote:

I prefer mine with no steak sauce but wonder what others think?

NOT! A good steak cooked Pittsburgh Rare makes its OWN steak sauce!

Yummmm

A-1 sauce and the like have never sat well with me for some reason.. I'm glad I'm not the only one, the rest of my family can't eat steak without it.

Of course, I usually order filet mignon, and they are good enough without anything added. I'd like to find a good kind somewhere eventually though.

quote:

Originally posted by cleveland66

I absolutely love steak sauce...on my fries.

Mmmm, that does sound good.