French Heritage Cuisine's Savory Duck Fat Zip Sauce Recipe
Duck fat Zip Sauce Steak Entree with potatoes and carrot puree
French Heritage Cuisine's savory duck fat Zip sauce recipe is based on what is sometimes called Detroit Zip sauce. Zip-style sauces are a creation of American Midwest cuisine. You may ask what a Zip sauce is; it is an American version of an umami sauce, somewhat akin to a steak sauce. The sauce is traditionally loaded with butter and enhanced with various herbs and spices. It is a savory condiment, and many Southeastern Michigan restaurants make their unique version.
Duck Fat for Zip Style Sauce
I have lived in Southeastern Michigan for 20 years and indulged in the regional Zip sauces. This unique sauce primarily imparts a savory profile to beef entrees, such as steak or burgers. My Zip sauce recipe uses duck fat instead of traditional butter for an added gourmet, deep, delicious flavor. The home cook can make it from scratch and use it for other gourmet recipes outside of beef, such as for vegetable sides. It is excellent for creating savory appetizers such as sautéed mushrooms, which pair very well with this Zip Sauce.
What are the typical ingredients of Zip Sauce?
The primary liquid base consists of a fermented condiment, such as Worcestershire sauce, which originated in England. You will also often find soy sauce in the recipes, which is fermented and comes from Asian cuisine. My recipe uses Tamari sauce, which has a milder and deeper flavor profile than regular soy sauce.
Many recipes use rosemary, garlic, and other herbs and spices.
Butter is traditionally used in Zip Sauce recipes and is a common ingredient in many exceptional French sauces. I use duck fat in my sauce recipe, which I derived from the idea of French cooking styles. Dishes such as the French pommes sarladaise are made with potatoes cooked with duck fat and seasoned with garlic and other herbs, creating a savory side dish. Duck fat is known to impart a savory flavor; this compliments the overall goal of the Zip sauce.
An emulsifier ingredient is common in a Zip sauce. The typical is Dijon Mustard. You will also find Dijon mustard in vinaigrette salad dressings as the emulsifier. The Dijon mustard contains mucilage, which acts as an emulsifier. You can also use the yellow mustard powder I chose for my recipe, which emulsifies and imparts flavor.
Zip sauce, created by Americans, is a hybrid of ingredients common to English, Asian, and French cuisines. It is excellent for creating savory gourmet meals. Duck fat is excellent for cooking both beef and potatoes, so a steak and potato dish enhanced with a flavorful duck fat Zip sauce would make for a savory dinner.
What are suggested substitutions for the ingredients in Zip Sauce?
You can add some heat by sparingly using cayenne in your zip sauce or, on the milder side, white pepper. White pepper has a different flavor profile than black pepper and adds some heat.
To reinforce the garlic flavor, add 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp of granulated garlic and the garlic cloves in the recipe to deepen the flavor. Granulated dried garlic powder has a slightly roasted flavor profile that can complement the sautéed fresh garlic.
My zip sauce recipe uses reduced-sodium Tamari sauce as one of its primary ingredients; you can substitute a good-quality reduced-sodium Soy sauce.
My recipe uses Maggi Liquid Seasoning specifically because it has excellent umami-boosting characteristics. Variants of the Maggi Liquid seasoning are available, as they are made slightly differently for different global regions and cuisines. Using other versions and quantities of Maggi, you can alter the flavor profile of the Zip sauce recipe. You can read some more about Maggi Seasoning on my ingredients page.
Other umami-boosting ingredients could be used in Zip sauce recipes. You can read more about these ingredients on my ingredients page, Umami Sauce for Savory Foods
Choosing a Duck Fat for Zip Sauce
The best is to use canned duck fat (Graisse de Canard) imported from Southwest France. Various suitable domestic US duck fat brands now exist, likely prompted by the popularity of duck fat fries. The recipe uses three tablespoons of duck fat and yields about a half cup of duck fat zip sauce for four to six servings.
Duck Fat Zip Sauce Recipe Ingredients
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp Tamari sauce
1/2 tsp Maggi liquid seasoning
1/4 cup of water
1 tsp cornstarch
3 tbsp duck fat
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 Cloves garlic
1/2 tsp of yellow mustard powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp celery seed
1 tsp cornstarch
Instructions for Duck Fat Zip Sauce Recipe
In a small pot, brown the tomato paste in the duck fat over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat for 1-2 minutes to cool.
Sauté the garlic cloves Over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes.
Over low heat, add liquid and dry ingredients, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes.
Dissolve the cornstarch in warm water, then slowly add it to the pot over low heat while stirring.
Simmer on low heat for about 4 minutes, reducing and thickening the sauce. Stir the sauce continuously to help emulsify it.
Strain the sauce while hot.
Serve warm.
Duck fat zip sauce, serve warm for beef entrees or burgers.
