I installed a Plugin for Macheesmo recently that lets me check out what people are searching for on Macheesmo. It’s a bit Big Brother, and I usually don’t pay attention to it. The most useful part for me is looking at what people search for that return zero results. So in theory I can make what people want! Oddly enough the most popular search over the last month or so was for something called “boss sauce.” I’d never heard of such a thing.
Turns out that there is a hot sauce, that looks awesome, called Boss Sauce. I don’t really know what that Boss Sauce tastes like, but it looks like a solid hot sauce. I decided to make my own though. The Macheesmo Boss Sauce.
Boss. Bottled.
I thought this search info was very odd before I realized that Boss Sauce is an actual thing. In retrospect, I guess people are searching for it to see if I use it. Never have!
And yes. You may notice that I have one reader (Hi Bill) that frequently communicates with me by typing messages into the search box. Thanks Bill.
I had never really tasted boss sauce, but I had a few ideas of what I wanted mine to taste like. First, it had to be spicy. For me this was a no-brainer. Second, I wanted to make a sauce that would be good on a lot of different things. For me, this meant a barbeque sauce.
Macheesmo Boss Sauce
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 jalepeno, chopped
- 2-3 habaneros, diced
- 3 large yellow tomatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8 sections (You could use red obviously, I just liked the color.)
- 10 strawberries (optional, but I liked the fruity touch. Kind of a mystery ingredient.)
- 1/4 Cup Dijon mustard
- 1/4 Cup white wine vinegar
- 1/4 Cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Teaspoons hot sauce (Tabasco for example)
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
- 1/2 Teaspoon – 1 Teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional. It might be hot enough without this for most people)
Getting the veggies started. To start this sauce, roughly chop all the veggies. Don’t worry about getting them too even. Everything is going to get blended together anyway.
For the tomatoes, dip each one into boiling water for about 10 seconds and then remove them. Let them cool for a few minutes and the skin on each tomato should peel right off. Then you can chop them into 1/8 sections.
In a large pan, put a few Tablespoons oil in the pan along with your onions and garlic.
Don't worry about chopping much.
Let the onions and garlic soften up a bit, just for a few minutes. Then add all your peppers!
This is a pretty good amount of heat.
Cook for a few more minutes and then add your tomatoes and strawberries. Now the strawberries are kind of an odd ingredient for a sauce. Honestly, it was a last minute decision. It gave the final product a kind of fruity taste, but it was very subtle. I don’t think you could identify strawberries as an ingredient if you didn’t know about them.
I also hit the veggies with a good pinch of salt at this point.
Strawberries and tomatoes added.
Once all of that cooks down for a few more minutes, transfer all the veggies to a food processor or blender and give them a whirl.
I love my blender.
Spicing up the sauce. The sauce right now is kind of one dimensional. Which, by the way, is not a good description for a sauce. Basically, it just taste like a tomato sauce that is really spicy. I decided to add some ingredients to it to hopefully round out the flavor a bit.
This is what I pulled out of the pantry.
Some extras.
To add these ingredients, transfer the sauce back to the stove, preferably to a narrow pot sort of what you would use for stock. Add all the other ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes or so.
The real key is to taste the sauce and adjust to your tastes. This is a good base, but feel free to adjust it. Definitely taste for salt and heat and maybe add a pinch of salt and pepper and cayenne to adjust all those things.
Ok. What do you do with this stuff? Well, you can do a lot of things. I thought I would try it out on a nice pork chop.
A good looking chop.
I just seasoned the pork chop with salt and pepper and browned it in a pan for about 5 minutes a side. The juices should run clear, but a perfectly cooked chop will have a tiny hit of pink in the center, especially near the bone.
This was my plain old dinner, which looks just fine.
But then I kicked it up a notch by covering everything in the sauce!
This recipe makes a lot of this sauce. Once it was cooled, I filled up an empty ketchup bottle and now I just keep it in the fridge and use it anytime I want to give something a little kick.
Check back tomorrow also. I’m posting on the second thing I did with this sauce, which is maybe the best application for it.
So, everyone out there who was searching for boss sauce… your searches have been answered.
Being the condiment queen I am and a suck for spicy, I’ll plan to whip some of this up soon… looks great!
P.S., Wonder what its shelf life is like?
P.P.S., Did Betsy label that or is your handwriting really that girly?? Jus wonderin ;)
That was spost to be “sucker.” Ahem.
Well, this is the first time I’ve made it so I’m not positive on shelf life… I think it is fine in the fridge for at least a week. Or at least, I just tasted mine last night after a week and it is just fine still. If you are a bottler, you could probably bottle it and keep it even longer! Not really sure on that.
Frankly, I intend to finish mine off before it gets to that point. Also you could half the recipe to make a bit less if you are worried about it.
And yes… that is my handwriting. :)
Hm, suppose I should just go ahead and admit that when you see a hit today for “tuna casserole” – that was my search. Was looking for a slightly more yummy version of that particular comfort food. Maybe the addition of boss sauce?
oh my good LORD!!
you went and outdid yourdamnself on those pictures – they look absolutely fantastico! really lovely and clear and light.
mmmmm…
boss sauce.
i didn’t know i needed you
but i do now.
ok
i just thought of a Macheesmo Wishlist.
top of my Macheesmo Wishlist
is a magical button.
let’s call it a ‘print-me’ button,
so that i can click!
and print out your recipe.
please Mr Macheesmo
can you make my wish come true?
RE: Print link. It already exists but it’s a bit hidden :)
Under each post there are some links in green like “Subscribe”, “Follow me on Twitter”… the very last link is “Print”
It doesn’t say “Print Me” which I like better and may change… but should do the trick for ya :)
Okay, I had never heard of Boss sauce either. After reading your post, however, I am now sure that I have to make it!
Do you think apple would be a replacement for strawberries. I have an allergy to strawberries in my famly.
You could definitely substitute the strawberries or just leave them out entirely. There is a lot going on in this sauce.
I would maybe pick some other berry over apples (raspberries)? Something with a tartness to it. But at the end of the day they are kind of optional.
Anytime a sandwich of any kind uses a bun , it should always be toasted. It would quickly get soggy if the sandwich filling is a wet filling.
Looks like a killer sauce. Adding the strawberries is an interesting twist I hadn’t thought of before when making BBQ or hot sauces. Definately something new to try out!
Looks like a very decent condiment: yet I have some remarks.
Worchestire-sauce is not vegetarian (uses a little bit of old fish oil). Not that I care, but still you might have some discerning readers that do!
Use appropriate tagging when applicable >:D
Strawberries are an awesome touch, one of those more sour than sweet fruits, but I suppose for the holiday season you could use cranberries instead.
Ever made lemon flavoured oil? Might be a nice touch as well, if you like lemons.
Getting habaneros, and proper tomatoes is tough outside of season … Near impossible where I live.
I guess I’ll stick to the canned Italian stuff :)
Happy cooking!
@CookingDM-Fan. I actually used a vegetarian Worcestershire Sauce for my version because I live with one and he wanted to try it.
You can find the veg version at fancy stores and it tastes pretty close to the real stuff.
Hey there,
Having just found your page my searching for “Macheezmo Boss Sauce” myself, I thought I’d explain a bit. There used to be a Mexican restaurant in Portland (Oregon) called Macheezmo Mouse that used something they called “Boss Sauce” on many of their burritos. They sold it by the cup-full as well. You could put it on anything, really, and I’ve never been able to find anything else like it. It was a thin dark brown, spicy (yet sweet), and delicious. Anyway, the restaurants closed years ago and now their secret sauce remains a secret. I’ve been searching for it to no avail.
Good luck with your new (unrelated) version!
We had a Macheesmo Mouse in Lynnwood, Wa, which I LOVED, I too thought that the BOSS sauce was the best I had ever had, I would literally sell my soul for that recipe, God, if anyone knows this, please let this recipe be known! Andy