At Chowhound, we love our steaks with a little sauce every now and then, a great addition to take your steak to another level. There are some tantalizing sauces to pair with steaks out there, and they range from the extremely refined and expensive to some good old-fashioned store-bought steak sauce in bottles. Here are 10 store-bought steak sauce brands ranked worst to best, in case you’re curious about how these delicious additions to your next grilled masterpiece stack up, in our humble opinion. While some on the list were flops, nothing beat the king of steak sauces to us. The crown still belongs firmly with the A.1. steak sauce brand.
A.1. is a British brown sauce created back in the 1820s by King George IV’s chef. Rumor goes that the royal loved it enough to proclaim it “A number 1,” resulting in its name. It’s a tomato-based sauce with ingredients like tomato puree, salt, vinegar, orange puree, raisin paste, dried onions, dried garlic, and spices. When these ingredients come together, it creates a perfectly rounded flavor profile that stands out against the competition as a well-balanced option that takes no time or effort to make, and won’t cost you a ridiculous sum to buy. Affordable, tasty, and perfectly tailored to any cut of steak. What more could you ask for from steak sauce?
What makes A.1. the king of steak sauces?
People love A.1. steak sauce for a variety of reasons. Some find the balance of ingredients perfect for an addictive taste since it hits all of the main flavor profiles like sweet, salty, umami, or sour. Others adore it for its versatility, since it goes well with all kinds of meats and vegetables. Though some steak connoisseurs believe that A.1. and other steak sauces are used as a mask to cover up low quality meat, plenty of people will eat any kind of steak with A.1. sauce, no matter how high quality, because the flavor has a certain nostalgic pull to it.
Our taster found it hitting those same beats, bringing up good memories of steak dinners from times gone by. We love the garlicky base of the sauce too, which sets it apart from other steak sauces that are very vinegar-forward. In our opinion, A.1. is like a strong support rather than the star of the show. It enhances a good quality cut of meat, and doesn’t overtake the flavor of beef in a steak entirely. For the cuts of steak that leave a bit to be desired, A.1. revives it a little, adding sweet tang and pungent richness to a piece of meat that might otherwise be a bit bland. So before sticking your nose up at the steak sauce and meat combo, just consider grabbing that A.1. and pouring some on your plate to see what a little taste can do for you. You might just be pleasantly surprised.
