Christopher North's Own Sauce for Meat is a traditional British recipe, based on Eliza Acton's recipe of 1845, for a classic Victorian meat sauce made from a blend of store sauces with cayenne pepper, salt, lemon juice and sugar. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Christopher North's Own Sauce for Meat.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from Eliza Acton's 1845 volume Modern Cookery, the first classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
CHRISTOPHER NORTH'S OWN SAUCE FOR MANY MEATS.
Throw into a small basin a heaped saltspoonful of good cayenne pepper, in very fine powder and half the quantity of salt ; add a small dessertspoonful of well-refined, pounded, and sifted sugar ; mix these thoroughly ; then pour in a tablespoonful of the strained juice of a fresh lemon, two of Harvey's sauce, a teaspoonful of the very best mushroom catsup (or of cavice), and three tablespoonsful, or a small wineglassful, of port wine. Heat the sauce by placing the basin in a saucepan of boiling water, or turn it into a jar, and place this in the water. Serve it directly it is ready with geese or ducks, tame or wild ; roast pork, venison, fawn, a grilled blade-bone, or any other broil. A slight flavour of garlic or eschalot vinegar may be given to it at pleasure. Some persons use it with fish. It is good cold ; and, if bottled directly it is made, may be stored for several days. It is the better for being mixed some hours before it is served. The proportion of cayenne may be doubled when a very pungent sauce is desired.
Good cayenne pepper in fine powder, 1 heaped saltspoonful : salt, half as much ; pounded sugar, 1 small dessertspoonful ; strained lemon juice, 1 tablespoonful ; Harvey's sauce, 2 tablespoonsful ; best mushroom catsup (or cavice), 1 teaspoonful ; port wine, 3 tablespoonsful, or small wineglassful. (Little eschalot, or garlic-vinegar at pleasure.)
Obs.—This sauce is exceedingly good when mixed with the brown gravy or of hash or stew, or with that which is served with game or other dishes.
Mix together the cayenne pepper, sea salt and sugar in a heat-proof bowl. Work in the lemon juice until smooth then mix in the Harvey's sauce, mushroom catsup (or cavice), port wine and flavoured vinegar.
Whisk to combine then set aside for a few hours to infuse.
Just before serving, bring a pan of water to a boil, sit the sauce in this and stir as it heats through. This can be served as it is, or it can be mixed with gravy or other sauce to flavour it.
