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monkey gland sauce recipe in progress, a dark glossy sauce simmering in a saucepan beside a braaied steak and jars of tomato sauce and chutney in an Australian kitchen

Monkey gland sauce

South Africa's sweet, tangy steak sauce, built from an Australian supermarket trolley. Tomato sauce, fruit chutney and Worcestershire sauce simmered with onion and garlic until dark and glossy. No glands involved.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 2 cups
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp neutral oil
  • 1 large brown onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 cup tomato sauce Australian tomato sauce, not American-style ketchup, if you have the choice
  • ½ cup fruit chutney Mrs Balls, or an apricot and peach chutney such as Beerenberg with 1 tsp brown vinegar and a pinch of cayenne stirred in
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp brown vinegar
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp Dijon or hot English mustard
  • ½ cup water swap ¼ cup of it for red wine if a bottle is open
  • salt and black pepper to taste

Method
 

  1. Warm the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Fry the onion gently for 8 to 10 minutes until soft, sweet and just starting to colour. Do not rush this step; half-raw onion is the most common way a batch goes wrong.
  2. Add the garlic and cook for one minute more.
  3. Add the tomato sauce, chutney, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, sugar, mustard and water. Stir well and bring to a gentle simmer.
  4. Turn the heat down low and simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce has darkened, thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Add a splash of water if it thickens before the flavour comes together; turn the heat up a notch if it is still thin.
  5. Taste and adjust. Too sweet, add vinegar. Too sharp, add a pinch more sugar. Flat, add a splash more Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and plenty of black pepper.
  6. Serve chunky, or blitz smooth with a stick blender for the steakhouse look. Keeps in a sealed jar in the fridge for about a week and tastes better on day two.

Notes

Makes enough for a braai of six with some left over for the next day's chips. Quantities are a starting point; tomato sauces and chutneys vary in sweetness, so the last five minutes of tasting are the real recipe. Keep it to a lazy simmer, since a hard boil catches the sugar on the bottom of the pan and turns it bitter.