Homemade Steak Sauce

I’m not the meatiest of carnivores.  I’m in it for the toppings.

I’m most interested in a steak when it is topped with a ludicrous amount of A-1 sauce and/or bleu cheese.  Hamburgers with exactly toooo much cheddar cheese.  Yes, please.  I’ll sign up for lobster because of the clarified butter.  And most every East LA taco truck is amazing because of its seasoning, sauce, and salsas.

Join me in saucing just about anything and everything.

My refrigerator is filled with a menagerie of little jars filled with sweet, sour, and spicy sauce concoctions.  Butter too… obviously lots of butter.

Steak is a special occasion in my refrigerator.  Because it’s Summer.  Because I’m experimenting with being a grown-up lady who grills over charcoal.  Because I made a fancy-pants Homemade Steak Sauce…  it’s a very special occasion.  STEAK!

Serving suggestion:  on grilled skirt steak, in abundance, like a BOSS.

The amazing thing about homemade steak sauce is that it’s much more than the sum of its parts.

Sure it’s ketchup and Worcestershire, beef broth, and a surprising amount of instant espresso powder… but it doesn’t taste specifically like any one of these ingredients.  I think it might be a little bit of magic.

Onions and garlic are cooked down with a good amount of fresh parsley.  The smell?  YES!

Once the onion are cooked down we add ketchup, Worcestershire,  beef broth, espresso powder (!!!), salt and pepper.  The mixture simmers away, covered, for about fifteen minutes.

The onions are garlic with be extra soft and tender and the flavors will be mixed and melted into something exactly right!

The espresso powder, even though it’s totally unexpected, adds quite a lot to this sauce.  How to attach words to the espresso powder flavor additions is challenging.  It’s hard to describe.  It adds depth and intrigue.  Umami.  Espresso powder is that special something that, in combination with the other ingredients, makes a sauce that doesn’t taste like coffee.  Weird and perfect!

I grilled these skirt steaks in the rain which I  think adds extra flavor to the meat, and extra bad-assedness to my grilling skills.

Or is it bad-assery?

This sauce is tangy, slightly sweet, earthy, and utterly delicious.  Next time I might add extra heat with crushed red pepper flakes.  It’s also delicious on chicken, grilled vegetables, and leftover steak and eggs.  It’s also lovely to share with a neighbor, if you happen to be the friendly sort.

Adapted from The Lemonade Cookbook.

Homemade Steak Sauce

Print Recipe

Steak and everything else sauce! Definitely don’t skip the espresso powder and add a bit of crushed red pepper flakes for added spice!

• Prep Time: 0 hours
• Cook Time: 0 hours
• Total Time: 0 hours
• Yield: just over 1 cup 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced (about 3/4 cup)
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely diced
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 3/4 cup beef broth (or water)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes until the onions are softened and translucent. Add garlic and parsley and sauté for 2 more minutes, until softened and fragrant.
2. Add ketchup, broth or water, Worcestershire sauce, espresso powder, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
3. Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to puree until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender you can carefully transfer the mixture to an upright blender, cover, and blend until smooth. Transfer to a clean mason jar and allow to rest until cooled to room temperature. Seal with a lid and store in the refrigerator. Serve on grilled steak. Sauce will last in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.