braai.co.za

Monkey gland sauce

Name: Monkey gland sauce
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 500 ml
Cuisine: South African
Ingredients: 2 tbsp butter or oil; 1 onion, finely chopped; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; 250 ml tomato sauce; 125 ml fruit chutney; 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp brown vinegar; 2 tbsp brown sugar; 1 tsp mustard powder, pinch of chilli

The great South African steakhouse sauce — sweet, tangy, faintly mysterious, and containing neither monkeys nor glands. A braai.co.za page since 2010; still the best thing that can happen to a steak that's already had the best thing happen to it.

Fire's edge or stovetop Makes ±500 ml 25 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter or oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
250 ml tomato sauce
125 ml fruit chutney
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp brown vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp mustard powder, pinch of chilli

Method

Soften the onion in butter at the edge of the fire; add the garlic for the last minute.
Stir in everything else with a splash of water.
Simmer lazily for 15–20 minutes until glossy and spoon-coating, stirring now and then.
Spoon over steak, burgers or wors. Refuses to explain its name; store a week in the fridge.

Engineer's view

Read left to right: ingredients merge into steps, steps merge into supper.

Ingredient	Process →
Butter 2 tbsp	Soften onion; garlic last minute	Simmer 15–20 min → glossy → over steak, burgers or wors
Onion 1, fine
Garlic 2 cloves
Tomato sauce 250 ml	Stir in with a splash of water
Chutney 125 ml
Worcestershire 2 tbsp
Soy sauce 1 tbsp
Brown vinegar 2 tbsp
Brown sugar 2 tbsp
Mustard & chilli

Which fire, and which day? A pan at the fire’s edge or on the stove. It does not go on the grid. Hold your palm at grid height and count: 4 seconds is hot, 6 is hot-medium, 8 is medium, 10 or more is gentle. The full reading is the hand test, and the wood that makes those coals is in the wood guide. Buying notes: steak cuts. Thursday 24 September is National Braai Day.

Questions the fire actually gets

Does monkey gland sauce contain monkey?

No. No monkeys and no glands. It is onion, garlic, tomato sauce, fruit chutney, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, brown vinegar, brown sugar, mustard powder and a pinch of chilli.

How long does monkey gland sauce take?

About 25 minutes. Soften the onion in butter, garlic for the last minute, then simmer everything with a splash of water for 15–20 minutes until glossy and spoon-coating.

What do you put it on?

Steak, burgers or wors. It keeps a week in the fridge. For the steak itself, buy thick — rump, sirloin, ribeye or T-bone — which is the beef note on The Cuts.

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