Portuguese Sauce

This isn’t a traditional Portuguese cooking sauce in the strict sense. It’s an American mid-century take, somewhere between a cocktail sauce and a chunky chili dressing, with the kind of pantry-driven flavor profile you’d find at a steakhouse from the 1960s.

The blend works because every ingredient contributes a different note. Ketchup brings sweetness, chili sauce adds tang, tomato juice thins the body, dill pickles and capers bring brine and acidity, green olives add a salty Mediterranean edge, and Worcestershire and Tabasco lock in the savory backbone.

Five minutes on high speed in the blender breaks everything down into a uniform sauce with just enough texture left from the pickles and olives. You don’t want it perfectly smooth, the little flecks of caper and olive are what give the sauce character.

Make it ahead. The flavors marry overnight and the raw onion and garlic mellow into the sauce instead of standing out as sharp notes.

The meat tenderizer is unusual but classic for this era of recipe. Skip it if you’d rather, the sauce holds up fine without.

Kitchen Tips

• Pulse rather than blend continuously if you want a chunkier dipping-style sauce.
• Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Cold sauce tastes brighter and more cohesive.
• Stored covered in the fridge, this keeps for at least 2 weeks. The acidity is its own preservative.
• Thin with a tablespoon of water or vinegar if it tightens up too much in the fridge.

Variations

• Add a tablespoon of horseradish for a sharper kick (great with cold shrimp).
• Sub Sriracha for the Tabasco for a different heat profile.
• Stir in 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley for color and freshness.