Use this to search the site!
Just type your request in the
blank and click on "Search"!

Today's Case


Crosse & Blackwell Steak Sauce

Subject: Crosse & Blackwell's Steak Sauce
From: Billie
Date: 6/7/2020, 6:57 PM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com

On 6/7/2020 3:20 PM, Billie wrote:

Dear Uncle Phaedrus,

My husband and I tried the no-longer-made Crosse & Blackwell Steak Sauce after 
finding it in the condiments section of an Albertson’s Grocery Store in Ventura, 
Calif., in the late 1990s.

It was made by the British condiment maker, which is still in business but no 
longer offers the steak sauce. It was very dark, piquant and on the sweet side. 
It tasted rather “raisin-y” and was more sweet that another British sauce, 
HP Original Brown Sauce, and certainly more so than the tangy A-1 sauce 
Americans love.

Could you “reverse engineer” this sauce and tell me how to make it?

Love your site, the only place I could find a recipe for pretzel hot dog buns, 
which we used to also buy in Ventura but are no longer made. Here in Upstate 
New York you can find pretzel hamburger buns, but not pretzel hot dog buns, 
which is weird because New Yorkers love hot dogs.

 Best,

 Billie 
 NY 

Hi Billie,

Sorry, reverse engineering a steak sauce is not in my wheel-house. Even if it were something that I could do, I'd have to have a bottle of it in order to know what I was trying to duplicate.

I searched the Internet, but I could not find anything at all, not a recipe or a list of ingredients or any details about it. Not even a recommendation of a sauce that tasted similar.

I'll post this for reader input.

Phaed

Subject: Crosse and Blackwell steak Sauce
From: Sarah 
Date: 6/27/2020, 12:46 AM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com

Dear Uncle Phaedrus,

I found a recipe for steak sauce (aka brown sauce) that may satisfy Billie’s 
request for Crosse and Blackwell Steak Sauce. The link to the recipe is within 
this article: https://www.lovefood.com/news/58885/make-it-dont-buy-it-brown-sauce

Here’s The direct link to the recipe itself: 
https://www.lovefood.com/recipes/60249/niamh-shields-brown-sauce

While there is no mention in the article of Crosse and Blackwell Steak Sauce, 
I noticed elsewhere On the ‘net that some likened its flavor to HP Fruity but 
said the C and B was somewhat thicker, so I’m guessing this recipe may come close. 

I enjoy reading through the recipes on your website. They’re a real goldmine! Thank you!

Best regards,

Sarah

Hi Billie,

I received an email this morning from another reader who had some suggestions.

HP makes a "fruity" version of their brown sauce. Have you tried it? It might be close to the C & B product. Amazon has it: HP Fruity Sauce

Crosse & Blackwell also sells products under the name "Branston", one of which is a "rich & fruity" sauce. Amazon has it, too: Branston Rich & Fruity Sauce

Finally, there is a recipe here for brown sauce with a lot of dates and raisins in it. It's quite complex, so you might want to try the bottled sauces first. See: Brown Sauce recipe

Phaed

Thanks Uncle Phaedrus for passing along the reader's product suggestion and the recipe, 
which I doubt I could pull off. Much appreciated.

Billie


Please sign your real first name to all recipe requests.

Please don't type in all capital letters.

If you have more than one request, please send them in separate e-mails.

Send Requests to phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com

Copyright © 2019 Phaedrus
--