How to Make Worcestershire Sauce

If you’re a fan of worcestershire sauce, this all-around seasoning that totally amps up the flavor of your cooking, we’re letting you in the book of homemade secrets. For your refined tastes, we’ll teach you how to make this sauce from scratch so you can adjust a few things here and there to maximize your taste preferences.

What is Worcestershire Sauce?

Worcestershire sauce is a condiment used the same way as fish sauce or soy sauce. This fermented flavoring is made from vinegar, anchovies, molasses, and spices. It has a versatile use in cooking and quite easy to incorporate into various dishes.

You can use worcestershire sauce as a marinade, condiment, seasoning, or just a sauce. It’s great for meat, poultry, fish, veggies, and savory recipes that need a rich flavor.

What can I substitute for This sauce?

If you don’t have time to make your own worcestershire or if you simply want to try something better, then refer to this list of worcestershire sauce alternatives. Depending on which dish you’re needing it for, some of the choices would be better than others. So consider carefully to perfect your worcestershire sauce recipe. 

1.Soy sauce with ketchup

Mixing soy sauce with ketchup will create a complex blend with thick texture and rich flavor. Soy sauce will bring the umami and earthy flavor as ketchup brings a lot that touches the five basic tastes of sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and a bit spicy.

2. Oyster Sauce

This seasoning is packed with a lot of flavor that is thick and savory. Typically made with oysters, salt, sugar, MSG, corn starch, and food coloring, oyster sauce can also work for many dishes needing worcestershire. With a tangy flavor that is sweet, salty, and also rich in umami, this sauce is used in a lot of Asian recipes.

3. Anchovy paste (diluted with water)

Anchovy paste has a strong taste that can really deepen the flavor of your recipes. In order not to overpower other ingredients in a dish, you can either dilute anchovy paste with water or add sparingly in your cooking. This choice would be a good alternative to Worcestershire sauce because you can use it in casseroles, pizza, pasta, lasagna, salad dressings, sauces, marinades, savory dishes, and baked goods like pancakes and waffles.

4. Balsamic Vinegar

One of the base ingredients for worcestershire is vinegar. Among the kinds of vinegar that you can choose, try using balsamic. This vinegar has a rich and complex flavor that is a mix of molasses, fig, cherry, prune, and even chocolate. It balances tangy and sweetness that can give a great taste for your recipe.

5. Fish Sauce

Many brands of fish sauce and worcestershire sauce are made with anchovies. As such, it’s no surprise that you can find similar flavor notes in both condiments. Of course, worcestershire has a much richer and complex flavor given that it has plenty of spices and other ingredients whereas fish sauce is basically made with just fermented fish. Regardless, you can use fish sauce and just add some spices to your recipe to replace worcestershire.

How to Make Your Own Worcestershire Sauce

First, prepare the following ingredients:

• apple cider vinegar
• brown sugar
• molasses
• soy sauce
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• mustard powder
• cinnamon
• ground black pepper
• anchovies
• water

Feel free to adjust the measurements according to your palate. There are multiple variations in making the worcestershire. For your reference, consider the following:

• If you don’t have or don’t like apple cider vinegar, you can switch it with malt vinegar, balsamic vinegar, or spirit vinegar.
• If you don’t have anchovies, you can use fish sauce instead.
• If you want a warmer, fuller flavor, add in ground ginger.
• If you want to add more aroma and kick to the blend, put in 1 whole clove.
• If you wish to make a zesty taste, you can add 1 small lemon.
• If you’re a fan of hot sauces, you can also add cardamom pods and chiles or a few spoons of cayenne powder and curry powder.
• If you like a tarty flavor, add tamarind into the mix as well.

As you see, there are plenty of ingredients you can include to make your own worcestershire sauce. You can try concocting your own blend however you like but if you’re confused with all the choices, just remember to have vinegar, anchovies, molasses, and some spices.

Concocting your own worcestershire sauce

When you’ve decided and prepared your ingredients, it’s time for some mixing. Using the listed ingredients above, let’s make a worcestershire condiment you can use for a variety of dishes. It’s actually an easy and straightforward concoction.

1. Let put all of the ingredients in a saucepan and mix. Bring it to a boil while stirring constantly.
2. Simmer for a minute.
3. Cool down.
4. Store in an airtight jar or sauce bottle of your choice.

You can store your homemade worcestershire sauce in the fridge and it will last for over a month.

Should you try making your own sauce?

You have to try it. It’s not too hard to make as long as you have the right ingredients. Discovering how to make this sauce will also expand your knowledge in cooking as well as your palate for eating.

There are plenty of benefits to making your own worcestershire because you can accommodate your diet preferences as well as health restrictions. So, go ahead and take some time to make what could be your next secret ingredient in making delicious homemade meals.

You can store your homemade worcestershire sauce in the fridge and it will last for over a month.