Doctored Cattlemen's sauce

[nursewizzle]

So I don't even know where I saw this the other night, but I heard that Cattlemen's has a "base sauce" that makes a good starting point to be modified. It even says on the label "customizable" and "make it your own".

I was wondering if anyone has done this, or maybe had some ideas of what you would do to "customize" this sauce. I think it would be cool to start with a base and be able to make different sauces for brisket, pulled pork, rubs, chicken, etc. (I just realized those are the four KCBS categories lol)

 

[02ebz06]

Not I, but I think that is great marketing.

 

[1MoreFord]

As I understand it Cattleman's was once a food service only product. As a kid the only time I remember seeing any was in restaurants. I've heard, and seen in print, many times that Cattleman's was the base for (or only ingredient) secret sauce for many places.

 

[BigW.]

I bought a couple of there sauces before and liked them. I have not tried the "base" sauce. I'd love to try it but do not want/need that large of an amount.

 

[HalfSmoked]

Appreciate the information I have a couple sauces that I could use a base sauce.

Warren

 

[SmokinAl]

I’m going to order one & see what it is all about.
Thanks for posting the info.
Al

 

[thirdeye]

Ketchup is the base for many "homemade" sauces, and a lot of cooks will jazz up store bought sauces. Kraft Original, KC Masterpiece, Sweet Baby Rays etc., can all be modified to your liking. Popular adders might be apple juice, honey or agave nectar for sweetness... vinegar for tang.... or red pepper, black pepper or hot sauce for heat.

 

[HalfSmoked]

Keep us posted Al.

Warren

 

[mhein68]

We tried many years ago tp buy Cattlemans for a Competition and was told flat out NO... Seen it used in many BBQ joints I been at and wanted to try... Only commercial use (I think thats what I was told?) Great to see be able to buy now!

 

[jcam222]

Probably the widest used "secret" sauce in the restaurant business for bbq. When we sold London broil sandwiches for the fairs and races in Ohio and Florida it's all we used. Many other concessions used it as well.

 

[Steve H]

Be curious of the reviews on this. Hopefully it isn't a jug of slightly doctored ketchup.

 

[SmokinAl]

I bought a gallon of it, but haven’t opened it yet.
Stupid me had ribs yesterday & didn’t even think to try the Cattleman’s.
Al

 

[HalfSmoked]

Hahaha Al senior moments

Warren

 

[clifish]

I see they make two base sauces, one regular and another smoky. Which one is everyone working with?

 

[Steve H]

I see they make two base sauces, one regular and another smoky. Which one is everyone working with?

Neither. Until I hear what these "base" sauces are all about. Sounds too much like a gimmick.

 

[clifish]

Neither. Until I hear what these "base" sauces are all about. Sounds too much like a gimmick.

I waiting for opinions before I take a shot as well. Well, maybe it will be like a bottle of yoshitoes that you can take in many directions or use as is?

Stuff like this makes me miss chef JimmyJJ he was all about the sauce.

 

[bill1]

Cattlemen's is a CA chain of steakhouses. (Pretty good, though consistency can be hit/miss.) My memory can be a bit untrustworthy but you used to be able to buy their sauce in local stores, with their logo on the label. Gotta' wonder if this is the same thing, now nationwide, and bought out by McCormick/French's? The websites show it with the Registered TM logo.
I think it made a great base, although now I tend to use Sweet Baby Ray's. Only fill my squirt bottle 3/4 full and then will top off with orange juice for chicken, vinegar for pork, or bourbon for beef.

Update: I really shouldn't post from memory. Yes Cattlemen's is a restaurant chain, and an earlier Cattlemen's BBQ sauce label looked a bit like their logo but they're independent--even if I've been confused about that fact for ~15 years! French's Foods (yeah the mustard people) developed it in 1963-1965. French's was founded in NY in 1883 but acquired in 1926 by the British company Colman, who also owned Reckitt. Reckitt & Colman acquired Durkee spices (also of NY) in 1986 and consolidated them a year later into a single operation based in NJ.
Reckitt merged with the Dutch company Benckiser in 1999 and sold off French's to McCormick in 2017 after having sold off Durkee (their other food operation) to B&G the year before.
(B&G is the parent company of Crisco, Wrights liquid smoke, The Texas Roadhouse restaurant chain, and the spices/sauces that bear the Weber name.)

It was in the mid-late 2000's that I was buying Cattlemen's in the half-gallon jug at a good price at my local Costco, as I recall, (famous last words) and the photo below shows one of those RB half-gallon jugs (that I still use) to mix my own stuff. Diluted many times since then, I suppose there's still a few molecules of the original still making it's way, over a decade later, into my cooking. Oh, where does the time go?

Yeah, it was good stuff back when I was buying it (but so is sweet baby rays today) but I don't recall seeing it since, certainly not at Costco. This post certainly brought back memories that are getting a bit musty.