My Five Ketchup Based Sauces
Everyone associates the same existence of ketchup to the United States, yet it will amaze you to know that it is only partly true, or rather, indirectly. It seems that the origin of the term derives from the Malay Kecap (which in Malay it is pronounced right ‘keciàp’), name of a traditional sauce made from fermented fish that with various shades is a bit all over the Eastern world, such as the thai Nam Pla, the northkorean Aek Jeot or the Japanese Ponzu. Whatever the origin of the name, it is certain that the increasingly frequent trade with the East in 1600 have brought to Europe a sauce with these characteristics, then modified by each country in a different way through the addition of various ingredients. It seems to be related to this period also true master pieces of Made in Italy as the Piedmontese Bagna Cauda or the Pouring of Anchovies of Cetara.
The sauce then moved through strong emigration to America and continues its transformation process through the addition of tomato. We speak of the period to be clear, in which the tomato has also been added to the traditional vinegary sauce used on the east coast of the US to season the pork, giving birth in fact to the forerunner of the actual barbecue sauce. The Ketchup however, assumes its present form only in 1872 when Henry J. Heinz, created the recipe which is still considered synonymous with ketchup, in which have been used vinegar, sugar, onions and spices.
Anyone who loves the BBQ Sauces, and even more those who have tried to cook it at home, knows very well how long it requires a home made version. Cause of this the most commercial and cheesy versions not infrequently start right from a base of ketchup to be realized. I fall into this category of people and I can’t do anything but moving away from this solution, feeding a real passion for artisanal barbecue sauces, made with hours of simmering.
This don’t imply, however, that I have a revulsion against the ketchup on the contrary, I consider it a very pleasant and smart sauce, in case of a good quality one. If it is true that I would never purchase a barbecue sauce made from ketchup, it is equally true that I use it as a base for the composition of other very valid table sauces that you would never suspect to be made in no more than two minutes.
What follows are my five favorite, all made starting from Heinz ketchup, which I think is still the one that is more suitable to culinary reinterpretation.
Noblesse Oblige
Use: Feathered fowl, duck
Profile: Very incisive, wide and fragrant
Environment: Elegant dinner
4/6 Ketchup
1/6 Truffle Cream
1/6 Mustard
+ E.V. Olive Oil
Use suggestions: emulsify it very well, preferably with an immersion blender: truffle cream and oil in particular will make a little effort to amalgamate simply stirring by hand. On the oil I have not specified the amount because it affects a lot on consistency and each people can set as more like. It ‘a very intriguing sauce but tends to tire easily. I suggest to dose it directly into the flow, perhaps as part of the dish out.
Fresh & Spicy
Uses: Fried food, chips in particular
Profile: Witty, tasty and intriguing
Environment: Evening in front of the television or out door picnic
4/6 Ketchup
1/6 in Adobo Chipotle
1/6 Lime Juice
Use suggestions: the chipotle, for the few that do not know it, is a barely smoked chili, so not particularly spicy but very aromatic. Unfortunately it is not easy to find, and then you have to adapt to the form in which it retrieves. The ideal for the result is in my opinion in adobo, in which case the sauce is homogenized with an immersion blender. Otherwise you may find the ready chipotle sauces or chipotle powder. Of course in these cases is not worth the proportions of the recipe and you have to adapt. The objective is that of a slightly less dense sauce of a common ketchup, fresh and slightly spicy
Clubhouse Secret
Use: Hamburger, sandwich
Profile: Happy and smart
Environment: Summer grilling
2/5 Mayonnaise
1/5 Ketchup
1/5 Dijone Mustard
1/5 Pickles
Use suggestions: advice to chop pickles as first thing and then mixed them using an immersion blender with the other ingredients. Not bad even the “chutney” version with pickles simply chopped and not homogenized.
Cherry Pepper
Use: Roast, rib roast, classic cuts
Profile: Austere but lively, never boring
Environment: Christmas in family
4/6 Ketchup
1/6 Worcestershire Sauce
1/6 Black Cherries in syrup
qb Black Pepper
Use suggestions: this is perhaps my favorite. It manages to be a sauce for special occasions but never being boring. The ideal result is achieved with black cherries in syrup, dosing both the liquid and cherries, of course then homogenizing all with the usual immersion blender. Otherwise you can also use the cherry syrup for slush. I consider the pepper part as a very important element in the balance of the sauce but it is right that everyone will adjust to that effect as best prefer.
Steakhouse Mad
Use: Noble beef cuts
Profile: Intense but precious and refined
Environment: Fine steaks tasting
3/6 Ketchup
1/6 Balsamic Vinegar
1/6 Worcestershire Sauce
1/6 Caramelized Onions
+ Black Pepper + Tabasco
Use suggestions: personally I like this sauce very smooth, then with homogenized caramelized onions, but there may also be someone who leave them a bit coarser. Each then can adjust to his liking the pungency through the black pepper and spiciness through tabasco, I like quite peppery and slightly spicy.
Along with these, we could create lots of sauces because ketchup it is really a versatile base, which adapts to create profiles very different the one with each other. And you? Which dish would you create a ketchup based sauce to accompany with?
