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Sorta Like A1

One condiment I can never seem to get enough of is A1 original sauce (a close second place goes to Crosse and Blackwell seafood cocktail sauce). This is an ode to the content of those ridiculously-expensive dark-tinted bottles. (No kidding, I saved a 15 oz A1 bottle and I'm reusing that for my own sauce.)

Approximately 12 oz of sauce
ingredients:

Simmer ingredients:

  • ¼ cup water
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup raisins
  • ¼ cup mashed orange segments, w/ juice
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 3 oz tomato paste

Spice Blend

  • 4 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • ¼ tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
  • ¼ tsp celery seed
  • ¼ tsp black peppercorns

Finishing ingredients:

  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • ¾ cup malt vinegar
  • ½ tsp liquid mesquite smoke
  1. Combine the simmering ingredients in a stock pot. Bring to a simmer and reduce to about ½ cup.
  2. Meanwhile, grind the spice blend to a fine consistency.
  3. Once reduced, puree the mixture until smooth. Add the spice blend and finishing ingredients to the pot. Bring back to a simmer for about 2 minutes.
  4. Cool and bottle.

I originally didn't have malt vinegar on hand; without that, the sauce didn't have the right zing and was too thick. Once I procured some malt vinegar, a 1:3 addition to the thick sauce loosened it to the right consistency and had that same spice-and-acid taste that I associate with A1.

Written by Jeff Frey on Friday April 15, 2022
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