Had a question this morning from an American member, asking what HP sauce is, and what would be a good replacement in the US. I've heard that A1 steak sauce is pretty close, but I'd try this recipe from the conditus blogspot (or buying on Amazon) first.
From the conditus blogspot:
"The original recipe for HP Sauce was invented and developed by Frederick Gibson Garton, a grocer from Nottingham. He registered the name H.P. Sauce in 1895. Garton called the sauce HP because he had heard that a restaurant in the Houses of Parliament had begun serving it. For many years the bottle labels have carried a picture of the Houses of Parliament.
Garton sold the recipe and HP brand for the sum of £150 and the settlement of some unpaid bills to Edwin Samson Moore. Moore, the founder of the Midlands Vinegar Company (the forerunner of HP Foods) subsequently launched HP Sauce in 1903.
HP Sauce became known as "Wilson's gravy" in the 1960s and 1970s after Harold Wilson, the Labour Prime Minister. The name arose after Wilson's wife, Mary, gave an interview to The Sunday Times in which she claimed "If Harold has a fault, it is that he will drown everything with HP Sauce".
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Ingredients
130 mins
- 150 ml
water
- 250 ml
white wine vinegar
- 300 ml
cider vinegar
- 2
small cans, or 2 tubes of tomato paste (pureé)
- 4
apples
- 3
small red onions
- 250 ml
orange juice
- 250 ml
apple juice 🍎
- 300 ml
jar of tamarind paste, or make your own puree from a block
- 1/4 cup
pitted dates, chopped finely
- 1/4 cup
prunes
- 3 tablespoon
black treacle (or molasses at a pinch)
- 1/2 teaspoon
onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon
whole black peppercorns
- 1/2 teaspoon
cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon
mustard seeds
- 3/4 teaspoon
all spice
- 1 teaspoon
coarse sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon
cinnamon powder
Cooking Instructions
-
1
Recipe given makes about 1litre, roughly 1 quart, so adjust depending on how much you want
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2
Roughly chop apples (I'm using Braeburns) and red onions. Finely chop 1 clove of garlic
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3
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4
In a large pot, add the water, white wine vinegar, tomato paste, apple juice, orange juice, dates, prunes, black treacle, tamarind, garlic, apples and red onions. Stir to blend. Over medium heat and covered, bring mixture to a boil.
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5
Reduce heat to a slow simmer and simmer covered for 25 - 30 minutes.
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6
Using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, thoroughly grind cloves, black peppercorns, cardamom, mustard seed, cayenne, salt, cinnamon and allspice.
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7
After simmering in step #5, use an immersion (hand) blender to pureé mixture and reduce lumps. Add ground spice mixture to pot, stir well and simmer (covered) for another 30 - 45 minutes.
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8
Add cider vinegar to pot, stir to blend and return to a simmer. Simmer until thick.
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Scald off some bottles: Put a small amount of water into jars/bottles and heat until water is steaming either in an oven or in the microwave, to sterilise the bottles. Pour water out before using. Ladle hot sauce mixture into hot, prepared sealable bottles using a large funnel, then seal.
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10
Allow to cool then refrigerate. I like to use Grolsch beer bottles. Don't put in the fridge while hot, otherwise it will sour Grolsch is a premium Dutch beer, which is great in beer batters if you're not a beer drinker, with the added advantage of leaving some great clip-top bottles behind. They're also made from thick glass so they're good for hot liquids, as well as flavoured oils and vinegars. You'll need at least two 450ml bottles for this recipe
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11
And how much do we love HP-Sauce in Britain?
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12
However, there was a little casual misogyny in the mid 20th century...
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But we'll still use it for anything...
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15
HP brown sauce on corned beef hash...
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16
...or simply on a bacon butty...
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Comments (2)
Jeff L @jlock
September 30, 2022 17:08
Not a good recipe. Ingredients and instructions don’t match. Tastes nothing like HP. Maybe closer to A1?? But not a very good sauce. Also makes more than 2x what it says. Just a poor recipe. Don’t waste your time.
Written by
Tex @cook_3903024
on
Manchester, England
I'm a designer/artist and I learned to cook when I started making my own Chinese food over 30 years ago. I'm a lover of my native British food, but recently I've developed a taste for American comfort food, especially sandwiches and BBQ (watching too much 'Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives' probably). 😸 Unfortunately, we don't have any independent US-style diners or drive-ins in my neck of the woods, so I had to learn from recipe books and the Food Network. I'll also be publishing some traditional UK classics in case any non-Brits want to have a crack at Brit grub.
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