CROIX VALLEY: Original Steak Sauce & Marinade | 355ml (12oz) glass bottle

The steakhouse recipe that started it all

This is where Croix Valley began — the Holter family's homemade steak sauce, poured for diners at their Hudson, Wisconsin steakhouse from 1996 until customers kept asking to take a bottle home. It went commercial in 2009 and is still the flagship recipe in the range today.

The flavour

Front: sweet tomato and balsamic tang. Middle: warm spice builds a savoury depth. Finish: a rounded, steakhouse-style close that suits red meat.

How to cook with it

• Use as a marinade base for steak a few hours before grilling
• Brush over burgers in the last 10 minutes so it glazes without burning
• Serve warmed alongside roast beef as a table sauce
• Drizzle over hot chips for a steakhouse-style side
• Left-field: whisk into pan juices for an instant steak sauce reduction

In the bottle

Deep reddish-brown, medium-thick with a glossy sheen. Loosens nicely when warmed, making it easy to brush thin over a hot steak just off the grill.

Ingredients & Dietary

Ingredients: Full ingredient statement to be confirmed from the physical label.

Dietary: Full ingredient statement not verified for this product — dietary claims to be confirmed from the physical label.

The Rub Smuggler's Verdict

This is the recipe that started life as steakhouse table sauce before it ever saw a bottle, and it still tastes like it. Warm it first so it spreads thin over a steak fresh off the grill rather than sitting cold and heavy. Season the beef with Butcher's Axe Bullseye beef rub beforehand for a proper crust.

Questions answered

What makes this the flagship product?

It's the original homemade steak sauce the Holter family served at their Wisconsin steakhouse from 1996, before bottling it commercially in 2009.

Is it a marinade or a table sauce?

Both — it's designed to work as a steak marinade and as a finishing sauce at the table.

What's it best on?

Steak, burgers, roast beef and chips, per the brand's own recommendations.