Worcestershire Sauce & It's Antecedants

The recipe below is not really Worcestershire sauce, nor is it A-1 sauce. It is the best of both and better than either. I must acknowledge that the idea for this recipe was inspired by Herter's "Bull Cook and Historical Recipes". But his recipe used beans and I understood the necessity for authentic tamarind and malt vinegar. Herter doesn't even mention malt vinegar.


This sauce come out of the bottle with the thickness of Heinz ketchup. It keeps indefinitely. It does not need refrigeration and while the sauce thins with age, the flavor becomes even better. Not many food products can say that now a days.


Worcestershire Sauce


128 Servings (1 oz. each)


15 ounces tamarinds
6 to 7 quarts cored/peeled/sliced apples (10 to 12 med. size)
1 yellow onion, 3 inch diameter, sliced
4 ounces peeled and sliced shallots
8 cloves garlic, peeled, pressed, (optional)
2 anchovy fillets, canned in oil
apple cider vinegar
1 quart Malt Vinegar
3 tablespoons ground cloves
3 tablespoons ground allspice
2 tablespoons ground turmeric
6 ounces soy sauce
3 tablespoons ground coffee
2 teaspoons Chile Pequin, dried, ground (or Cayenne)
4 tablespoons light corn syrup
6 tablespoons sea salt or table salt
3 tablespoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons ground nutmeg


COOK'S NOTES: In place of fresh garlic, substitute 1 T. garlic powder, if fresh unavailable. Use either shallots or garlic, not both. I grind all the spices fresh, except for those I can't buy whole.


INSTRUCTIONS: Mash 8 cloves of garlic. Add the anchovies to some vinegar to clean the oil off the anchovies a little setting them aside. Put the cider-wine vinegar and soy sauce into a stockpot. Add the tamarind. Peel, core and slice the apples, put them into the stock pot with the wine vinegar. Add the sliced onion. Next add the following: ground Cloves, ground Turmeric, Nutmeg, Allspice, all the garlic and mashed anchovies and ground Coffee. Bring to a low boil. As the vinegar evaporates, add a solution of half water-half malt vinegar solution to replace it. Stir requently as the apples will scorch on the bottom of the pot. Keep on low boil (about 190 to 196 degrees F.) for 2 hours.


When finished, run through a food mill and blend. Next, put all the sauce back in the pot and add the: ground Red Chile, Corn Syrup, Salt, dry mustard, and sugar. Top off the jar with undiluted malt vinegar, to thin to a consistency to suit individual taste. Shake well and let stand 24 hours before using.