An easy and perfect A1 Steak Sauce Copycat made in just 20 minutes and for so much less money! Made with raisins and Worcestershire sauce.
A steak isn’t really a steak unless you top it with A1 Steak Sauce. That’s what growing up with my parents taught me. At least once a month we’d grill steaks and make baked potatoes on the side for a classic steakhouse meal (never mind that the Right Way to Make a Steak is in a cast iron skillet!).
Sabrina’s A1 Sauce (Copycat)
Growing up we’d all sit down to some delicious NY Strip Steaks (I’m team ribeye now by the way) and everyone would wait their turns for the A1 steak sauce because it was so much better than Heinz 57 steak sauce. This is THE BEST homemade steak sauce recipe and I owe a ton of gratitude to Two Dogs in the Kitchen who worked hard to make the recipe.
Recipe Card


Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic , cut in half
- 2 tablespoons yellow onion , chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 orange , cut into 2 pieces
Instructions
- Add the ingredients (except for the orange) into a small saucepan.
- Squeeze the juice from the oranges into the pan, then drop in the rinds.
- On low heat, stirring occasionally, let it simmer for 15 minutes.
- Note: Keep the heat low allowing for a very low gentle heat, not a hard boil.
- To check doneness dip in a spoon and run your finger over the back, the line should stay clean.
- Turn off the heat and strain.
- Let cool completely before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Table of Contents
Chef’s Note
The worst part about A1? Well for starters the bottles are so small! And even more importantly, it is pretty darn expensive. The A1 Steak Sauce ingredients aren’t expensive on their own, so there is no reason for it! You can make almost 2 cups of generic A1 sauce with this recipe. While the ingredients may be non-negotiable here to capture that A1 flavor, it is still an easy homemade steak sauce. For another easy homemade sauce to bring out the flavors of your steak, you can also try my Argentinian Chimichurri or Brown Butter Sage Sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, to use as a marinade add ¼ cup A1 Sauce to 2 tablespoons oil, 2 garlic cloves (minced) and ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper. Add the ingredients to the steak and marinate them for 1 hour before cooking.
You can try A1 Sauce on other meats like chicken or pork. Even try it out on eggs, potatoes, and french fries. It makes a great sandwich spread or glaze for vegetables. You can mix it into dips to change up the flavors, too.
Related Recipes
More Delicious Sauces

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Recipe instructions don’t match
Hi J, I didn’t see anywhere on the recipe card where the instructions didn’t match up. Is it because I communicated the orange halves as juice? If that’s the case, I made sure to clarify steps 1 and 2 to avoid any confusion in the future. Thanks for pointing this out!
Can this be canned
Yes, you can can the sauce using a water bath canning method after ensuring the recipe’s pH is safe for canning. Let us know how it turns out Jennifer!
How long do we think this will store in the fridge? Definitely at least a week?
Store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. You can also freeze steak sauce for up to 3 months!
This is probably better than the current version of A1 which doesn’t taste anywhere near as good as it used to.
Ugh – amazing how products change over time. Hope you enjoy it.
A1 is actually vegan, so no worcestershire sauce is used.
Can this recipe be multiplied and canned?
Did you try canning it? I’m wondering the same thing.
Perfect!