It seems that no steak dining experience is complete without steak sauce! Whether you opt for a standard brown steak sauce or a unique chef-inspired creation, these sauces provide your steak with a strong flavor that accentuates the taste of the beef.
While every diner has their own preferred steak sauce, it goes without saying that some sauce varieties have gained great popularity thanks to their distinctive flavors. Without further ado, here are some of the best types of steak sauce that you might wish to try during your next dining experience.
Peppercorn Sauce
This creamy steak sauce is primarily prepared using peppercorn (a plant which produces black pepper seasoning) and heavy cream, though other seasonings and even liquor (such as brandy or whisky) may be incorporated in some varieties of the sauce. This flavorful sauce isn’t just used for filet mignon and other top-quality beef steak cuts; it is also a popular choice for chicken, fish, and lamb dishes.
Béarnaise Sauce
This French steak sauce is prepared in a manner similar to Hollandaise sauce, though it uses a slightly different set of ingredients to achieve its own unique flavor. The main ingredients of Béarnaise sauce are an egg yolk, clarified butter, white wine vinegar, shallot, peppercorn, and tarragon. The ingredients are mixed to produce a creamy, yellow steak sauce that adds a unique flavor to any steak. While this process may sound simple, however, it is worth noting that it requires great skill (and much practice) to perfect a Béarnaise sauce–similar to what is required to make a truly delicious Hollandaise sauce. It is said that some chefs take years to perfect their recipe.
Montreal Steak Seasoning
While not a steak sauce per se, this distinctive dry rub is a popular choice at many Montreal-area restaurants; so flavorful that diners who choose this seasoning often forgo a sauce entirely! While the exact mix varies from chef to chef, the standard Montreal steak seasoning includes garlic, Cayenne pepper flakes, coriander, salt, and dill seed.
Demi-Glace
Another French steak sauce, demi-glace is crafted by combining the strongly flavored espagnole sauce with a brown beef or veal stock. The two sauces are combined in equal amounts to create a distinctive, delicious glaze. While preparation of a true demi-glace can be somewhat time consuming (due to the boiling down of browned bones in the preparation of the espagnole sauce), demi-glace can last for six months when refrigerated without losing any of its flavor or quality.
Compound Butters
By mixing butter and other additional ingredients, many steakhouses are able to create their own unique, buttery sauce to add to the flavor of steak and other menu items. These “sauces” are typically made by whipping garlic, parsley, lemon juice, or other ingredients into butter. When it is time for a steak to be cooked, the chilled butter mixture is either melted on top of the meat or is used to add flavor to another sauce. Popular varieties include beurre à la bourguignonne and beurre blanc.
A1 Sauce
There are perhaps few steak sauce varieties more widely known than A1, which has gained a large following around the world since its introduction in 1831. According to one popular legend, the sauce gained its name when Henderson William Brand served an early version of the sauce to King Geroge IV. The King was so impressed with the sauce’s flavor that he praised it as being “A1!” By sticking with a mix of tomato and raisin paste, distilled vinegar, dried garlic, and various herbs and spices, A1 has only grown in popularity thanks to its one of a kind flavor.
