The Bottled Steak Sauce Brand We're Leaving On The Grocery Store Shelf

The idea of using steak sauce to accompany meat is often scorned by purists. For them, a steak is meant to be enjoyed as is—unfettered and swimming in its own juices. Others take a different approach, finding a sauce for every steak — or a steak for every sauce, including the often frowned-upon ketchup that is slathered on just about anything. To bridge these two extremes, Daily Meal ranked store-bought steak sauces. Our Daily Meal tester, Michael Palan, evaluated each steak sauce's flavor, texture, aroma, appeal, and, most importantly, its ability to pair with a good steak.

The higher-ranking steak sauces are worth a trip to the grocery store. These sauces are rich in savoriness, superior in texture, and have a distinctive tang, such as Peter Luger Steak House Old Fashioned Sauce and Heinz 57 Sauce. While your steak doesn't necessarily need them, their ability to enhance without overshadowing meat may compel you to keep a bottle in your pantry or fridge.

On the contrary, the lower-ranking sauces aren't worth buying, one in particular being the Primal Kitchen Organic Steak Sauce. This sauce ranked last and may well be the reason steak purists prefer their steak plain. Despite being a diet-conscious product that's both paleo and keto-friendly, Primal Kitchen's steak sauce performed poorly from the moment it was opened and our testers got a whiff of it.

This sauce features a blend of conflicting aromas, including cinnamon, cola, and soap, which does not bode well for its taste appeal since flavor is partially derived from smell. The flavor is off-putting and presents an overly pungent essence. Others have described Primal Kitchen's steak sauce as vinegary and sour, suggesting it may be more suitable as a vinaigrette. There is also no distinctive element to set the sauce apart as a standalone condiment, and because it does not complement steak well, it can be a confusing choice for a steak sauce.

Primal Kitchen's steak sauce also tastes watered down and bland, indicating that the recipe may contain too much water. This is evident in the watery texture of the sauce, and, as witnessed by other customers, if you don't pour it out carefully, you may end up with a runny mess on your plate. When it comes to sauces, you don't want to have to shake or pat a bottle to extract it, but a watery mix that escapes the bottle too readily is unappetizing. Overall, this sauce is unappealing and not what you'd expect from a steak companion — it's best to leave it on the grocery shelf.

Despite its lack of allure, there are ways to redeem Primal Kitchen's steak sauce, including an Amazon reviewer's suggestion to add stevia and shake it. Adding a sweet element, such as sugar or honey, is a proven method to balance the acidity of food that is overly sour or acidic due to excessive vinegar. In this case, stevia aligns with the diet-conscious theme of Primal Kitchen's steak sauce and creates a sweetened end product with no sugar. However, while stevia is as effective as sugar, it may leave a bitter aftertaste.

For better texture, pour the sauce into a pan and reduce it until it reaches your desired thickness. Alternatively, mix a bit of cornstarch and sauce to create a slurry, add it back to the rest, and simmer over medium heat for a few minutes until it's thick enough to pour steadily onto your steak. The first method is ideal for a low-carb or keto diet, while the second method is effective but may not align with the same dietary goals.

If you'd like to take this steak sauce in a new direction, consider adding this ingredient that makes A1 steak sauce so popular (orange puree), or incorporating a variety of outstanding ingredients, as Daily Meal's number one ranking sauce does. Peter Luger Steak House Old Fashioned Sauce includes horseradish roots, eschalots, and anchovies, in addition to the usual steak sauce ingredients, making it unique and flavorful—qualities Primal Kitchen's product could definitely use.