Friday, June 7, 2013

Boss Sauce and Marinade: A Paleo Review Original

After preparing the steak rolls, I had a small piece of skirt steak left.  Before going to bed, I decided it would be perfect for breakfast the next day, but it needed to be marinated.  I put the meat in a bowl and just started grabbing for ingredients that seemed to make sense not knowing how it would end up.  Come morning, I skillet fried the meat and I was in heaven.  The marinade I threw together tasted absolutely fantastic.  I grabbed my Paleo Review notebook and tried to remember what I used and in what quantities.  And now after a few test batches and the thumbs up from few trusted tasters, I bring you The Paleo Review Boss Sauce and Marinade.


Boss Sauce and Marinade is has a deep smoky flavor with a great tang.  When you eat beef like a boss, you need some Boss Sauce.  But wait, this sauce isn't just for beef, I've tested it out on chicken and it was absolutely fantastic.  What's even more awesome is that the sauce and marinade have no added sugars and I believe, correct me if I'm wrong are Whole30 compliant!  Hurrah! 

The recipes for the marinade and the sauce are just a little different.  

Boss Sauce Marinade  


Ingredients: 

(Recipe will marinate 1.5-2 pounds of meat)

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Lime Juice
2    cloves Minced Garlic
2    Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1    teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika

Preparation Instructions: 

1.  Measure out the ingredients into a measuring cup.
2.  Whisk them together with a small whisk or fork.



3.  Add marinate to plastic storage bag with the meat you'd like to cook.  While I usually like to mix up the marinade in my plastic bag, this one works better if you whisk it well separately.  Make sure the marinade has coated all sides of the meat well.  This is especially important if using smaller pieces of chicken.  
4.  Place the baggy full of marinating meat in a bowl and in the refrigerator overnight.   I have used this on a few cuts of beef (flank steak, skirt steak,  and top sirloin steak) and chicken thighs and I marinated them all over night and they were scrumptious.  The less time you marinate the meat the less flavor you will get.  

There is a happy sirloin steak in there. 
5.  After marinating overnight, or however long you decide, cook the meat using your medium of choice: baking, skillet fry, grill.  I have both prepared meat with this marinate by skillet frying and on my gas grill and the results were excellent.  Grilling with this marinade takes the flavor to a whole new level.  
Grilled Boss Flank Steak!

 Boss Sauce 

When I first made the marinade, I wondered if it would also make a great barbecue sauce as I hadn't really found one that had no added sugars, had awesome flavor, and a barbecue sauce texture that I liked.  I made a batch by simply simmering the marinate recipe in a sauce pan for about 30 minutes and then processing it in my mini chopper until emulsified well and smooth.  It turned out absolutely AWESOME!  My mind was blown.  The only problem is that it only made about 3 ounces of sauce.  I tinkered a bit more with the recipe and have found a way to get all of the flavor of the marinade but in a good sauce volume.  

Boss Sauce Ingredients

(Recipe makes about 2 cups of sauce)



15   ounces Tomato Sauce
1/2  cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
3/4  cup Lime Juice
4    Heaping Tablespoons Tomato Paste
4    Cloves of Garlic
2    teaspoons fresh ground pepper
1    teaspoon Smoked Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Preparation Instructions

1.  Measure out all of the sauce ingredients into a lidded sauce pan (I use a 2.5 quart sauce pan)
2.  Mix the ingredients together well while bringing the sauce to a boil over medium high heat.


3.  Once boiling, turn down your burner as low as it will go and maintain a simmer.   Put the lid on the pan slightly askew to control splatter.  
Simmering sauce with lid slightly askew.
4.  Simmer the sauce for 30 minutes taking the lid off to stir occasionally.

Simmering pot of Boss Sauce goodness!  
5.  Carefully pour the sauce into your food processor bowl and process the sauce until well emulsified and smooth in texture.  


6.  Pour into your preferred storage container and enjoy hot or cold.  


To be certain that these recipes are actually super tasty, I've shared samples with friends and had a Boss Sauce and Marinade tasting dinner.

Do you eat Paleo like a boss?  I do.
For the dinner, I marinated 1.5 pounds of chicken thighs in a 1/2 batch of marinate and grilled them.


 Here is that top sirloin steak that I pictured marinating above.  It was so pretty fresh off the grill.


Last, but not least, I skillet fried some skirt steak that I had marinated overnight.  Again, such pretty slices.


 I served the meat with the Boss Sauce and some green beans and carrots sautéed in ghee.

Show dinner who's boss!  
So far everyone who has tried the sauce has loved it.  My friend Maria who graciously agreed to be my co-Guinea pig at the tasting dinner had to cover her mouth to prevent drool while smelling the meats fresh off the grill.  No lie.  She actually starting eating spoonfuls of the sauce alone.  Next time I make the chicken, I will baste it with sauce while on the grill to give it an additional flavor punch.  As an added bonus, the Boss Sauce was even good on the green beans.  She loved the tang and could not believe the depth of flavor with the few simple ingredients in the recipe.  Success!  

Are you ready eat Paleo like a Boss?  Give some Boss Sauce and Marinade a try.