# How to Intensify Flavor in Sauce?



## Preacher Man (Jan 10, 2019)

I've been working on a BBQ sauce lately using a beer from a local brewery I frequent. I like where I'm headed, but one thing I'm trying to do is really intensify the flavor of this beer but also keep the sauce at the current thickness.

My thought is to just add more beer and reduce it down longer. But does anyone else have any suggestions on how to intensify this one flavor while keeping all the other flavors right where they are?


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## hoity toit (Jan 10, 2019)

you got it..keep adding and reducing.

HT


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## SonnyE (Jan 11, 2019)

I think you are on the right track.
What about adding some dregs from the brewery?

My friends used to boil Brats in beer. I thought it was a waste of good beer.... 

I mix my rub with some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce, and add a big glob of Sage honey. Tasty, Tasty, Tasty!
I mix Beer with it in my tummy.


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## Scott Eisenbraun (Jan 11, 2019)

Make the beer your first ingredient, double the usual amount and reduce by half. Add the rest of the ingredients as usual. Should end up with the same consistency.


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## mike243 (Jan 11, 2019)

Try making the sauce without the beer then after reducing it past the thickness you want then add it back in


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## chef jimmyj (Jan 11, 2019)

Scott Eisenbraun said:


> Make the beer your first ingredient, double the usual amount and reduce by half. Add the rest of the ingredients as usual. Should end up with the same consistency.



This the way it's done by Pro Chefs. Beer, Wine, anything containing water. Way Faster to reduce a cup or two of Beer than a Quart of BBQ Sauce with sugar that could burn. Good job Scott...JJ


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## Scott Eisenbraun (Jan 11, 2019)

Thanks, Chef!


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## Bigtank (Jan 11, 2019)

You could add beer powder, it would intensify the taste. Although it might not be the flavor profile you are looking for.
"The Great American Spice Co" has it https://www.americanspice.com/beer-...MFHJYjAMtonO_16bdltOIcY4nqbKBscsaAsUFEALw_wcB


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## Preacher Man (Jan 11, 2019)

Thanks everyone. I'm going to try reducing it first like 

 Scott Eisenbraun
 and 

 chef jimmyj
 recommend and adding that to everything else. My concern in reducing beer is that it will bring out more bitterness rather than the overall flavor, but I'll see how the sugar and vinegar and other flavors counteract with that.


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## Bigtank (Jan 11, 2019)

Let us know how it turns out.


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## chef jimmyj (Jan 11, 2019)

Reducing any flavored liquid will intensify some flavor compounds and cook away others. Run a test batch and see what you get...JJ


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## Preacher Man (Jan 11, 2019)

Ran a batch today and divided it up into 4 test bowls. Each bowl started with this reduction added to my other ingredients.

Bowl 1: Original
Bowl 2: Halved my apple cider vinegar
Bowl 3: Same as bowl 1 with dijon mustard
Bowl 4: Same as bowl 2 with dijon mustard






I was very pleased with the flavor brought out by the reduction! I'm thinking I might add a few more ounces and reduce more to get a touch more flavor. All in all, my favorite was bowl 4.


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## Scott Eisenbraun (Jan 11, 2019)

Maybe we'll see Preacher Man BBQ Sauce on the store shelves pretty soon.


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## johnmeyer (Jan 11, 2019)

If you make beer, or know someone who does, try to figure out what ingredient in the beer is providing the flavor you want more of, and then add that: barley, hops, yeast, etc.

Obviously the raw ingredients may taste different without the fermentation, but then again, they may be able to pump up the specific taste you are looking for. It is certainly true that when you look on ingredients labels you will often find "yeast extract" and other ingredients that are found in some beers.

Another possibility, although one that has fallen out of favor, is to add a flavor enhancer. MSG has long been used to "kick it up a notch" and provide more intensity to flavors that are already there.

The other suggestions are probably going to produce better results, but I thought I'd give you a few ideas that hadn't been brought up yet.


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## chef jimmyj (Jan 11, 2019)

Unless you know for a fact that you are MSG sensitive, there in no good reason not to add it. None of my family have problems with MSG so I add it most foods I make. It sits on the counter next to the salt & pepper...JJ


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## johnmeyer (Jan 13, 2019)

chef jimmyj said:


> Unless you know for a fact that you are MSG sensitive, there in no good reason not to add it. None of my family have problems with MSG so I add it most foods I make. It sits on the counter next to the salt & pepper...JJ


Totally agree. MSG got a bad rap back in the 1970s thanks to "food police" organizations such as the awful Center for Science in the Public Interest. They are the ones that said we'd all die from eating popcorn at movie theaters because they used coconut oil. Fast forward a few decades and now coconut oil is supposed to be really good for you. 

It's just like this wonderful clip from Woody Allen's "Sleeper:"


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## bluewhisper (Jan 14, 2019)

Have you considered using powdered malt in place of some of the other sugar(s)?


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## timberjet (Apr 4, 2019)

chef jimmyj said:


> Unless you know for a fact that you are MSG sensitive, there in no good reason not to add it. None of my family have problems with MSG so I add it most foods I make. It sits on the counter next to the salt & pepper...JJ


I use fish sauce. It is the same thing but doesn't affect people who are msg sensitive. A little goes a long way. One bottle will last a heck of a long time. I use it in anything I want to increase flavor in.


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## chef jimmyj (Apr 4, 2019)

timberjet said:


> I use fish sauce. It is the same thing but doesn't affect people who are msg sensitive. A little goes a long way. One bottle will last a heck of a long time. I use it in anything I want to increase flavor in.



Yep! I love to use Golden Boy Fish Sauce, or add a couple mashed Anchovy Fillets to sauteed items, especially those that start with, " Saute the Garlic in EVOO until fragrant. "
Maggi Seasoning adds a great UMAMI punch taught to me by an Old German Lady Chef and Mentor...I would taste and say, " something missing here..." Chef Anne's response, " Needs a little MAGGI..." Anne said, " In Germany, it is very common to have Salt, Pepper and a bottle of Maggi on the home and restaurant table. " Maggi is Strong Stuff and intense. A couple of drops go a long way on the plate and a few Dashes enhances a whole Pot of Soup or Chili.
 Our Italian friends knew that a grating of Parmaggiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano adds a ton of Umami to any dish, but Seafood. Frankly, Although I would get beaten by my Sicilian Uncle, I strongly feel Parm Reggiano on Linguine and Clams or Scampi is DELICIOUS!!! 
A great Thai Sauce similar to Maggi is Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce. It's a Fermented Soy Based sauce. Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce uses two flavor enhancers but no MSG. The flavor enhancers, seen on labels as I & G, are,  disodium guanylate "produced from dried fish or dried seaweed" and used in conjunction with disodium-inosinate, from bacterial fermentation of sugars,  create the taste of _umami_. Add I & G with MSG and the combined action is many times the flavor enhancement of either alone.
I have not tried it but BRAGG'S Liquid Amigos is supposed to work magic as well...JJ


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## zwiller (Apr 4, 2019)

Long time homebrewer.  Swear I posted but if the flavors you like in that beer are the dark and malty you definitely want dark malt extract like John and Blue were talking.  Grab a 1lb bag of dried for like $5.  I can totally see this working well in sauce.


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## johnmeyer (Apr 4, 2019)

chefjimmyj, thanks for the brand recommendation for fish sauce. A few years ago I had a lot of recipes that called for fish sauce, specifically to intensify meat flavors. However, even in small doses, it corrupted the flavor instead of enhancing it. I've always suspected that the problem was that I used 2nd-rate stuff (I just pulled a random bottle off the shelf in an Asian market). I'll try some Golden Boy and see if it works better.


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## chef jimmyj (Apr 4, 2019)

John, I saw a program a few years ago where an Asian Store owner took the host around the store pointing out the best ingredients for various cuisine. She showed the most popular Fish Sauce with Vietnamese cooks, Thai cooks and a few other countries. Long story short, the Healthy Boy, also may say Golden Boy, brand was highly recommended for Newbie cooks. While it is of good quality, it had the least Funky Smell compared to some others she had. Don't get me wrong, its FISH Sauce, but it is much more mild than the Squid Brand or Three Crabs Brand seen in multiple Asian Cooking Videos. I think Salmon is too fishy tasting but can squirt this stuff directly on food at the table or even squirt it directly in my mouth. A lot of guys in the know here, like the much more expensive, super premium, Red Boat Brand as well. I have not tried Red Boat yet...JJ


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## johnmeyer (Apr 4, 2019)

chef jimmyj said:


> Long story short, the Healthy Boy, also may say Golden Boy, brand was highly recommended for Newbie cooks. While it is of good quality, it had the least Funky Smell compared to some others she had. Don't get me wrong, its FISH Sauce, but it is much more mild than the Squid Brand or Three Crabs Brand seen in multiple Asian Cooking Videos. I think Salmon is too fishy tasting but can squirt this stuff directly on food at the table or even squirt it directly in my mouth.


JJ,

Squirt it in your mouth? The stuff I used (don't remember the name) was so fishy I could barely get it past my nose to pour into the food while it was cooking. There was no way I could use it raw, like hot sauce, much less take a direct taste.

I'll order some tonight and see what it's like.

Thanks again!

John

[edit] Amazon is only selling really large bottles, and I don't want to spend $8 for more than I'll use in the next five years. I'll get it locally.

I did see that the really expensive sauce you were thinking of trying won the America's Test Kitchen taste test, but that it is about 3x the price of all the others, so it is indeed really expensive.

https://www.americastestkitchen.com/taste_tests/1625-fish-sauce


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## jokensmoken (Apr 10, 2019)

Preacher Man said:


> I've been working on a BBQ sauce lately using a beer from a local brewery I frequent. I like where I'm headed, but one thing I'm trying to do is really intensify the flavor of this beer but also keep the sauce at the current thickness.
> 
> My thought is to just add more beer and reduce it down longer. But does anyone else have any suggestions on how to intensify this one flavor while keeping all the other flavors right where they are?
> 
> View attachment 385256


I agree with reducing...I prefer to reduce my beer before i add it to my sauce...it cuts down the chance of scorching your sauce while reducing.


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## forktender (Apr 18, 2019)

Accent/ MSG in small amounts does wonders to make the flavors pop. Also a tablespoon or two of sugar beet powder might be just what you're looking for, it's used as a flavor enhancer as well and it will add some nice color to your sauce.


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