Homemade Browning Sauce Recipe

Name: Homemade Browning Sauce Recipe
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 7 min
Ingredients: 2 cups of coconut palm sugar (raw organic cane sugar works too); 1 cup of hot water; 2 tsp of himalayan pink salt

Last Updated December 19, 2022. Published April 30, 2015 By Charla 112 Comments

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Homemade browning sauce - the essential multipurpose pantry staple condiment which is used in a number of Caribbean recipes.

Browning sauce is probably one of the most important ingredients you'll ever encounter in Caribbean cooking.

Seriously, I mean if you've ever browsed the pantry of an Islander you're guaranteed to find a stash of this stuff.

Don't forget to checkout my other DIY recipes - Jamaican Curry Powder, All Purpose Seasoning and my Seafood Seasoning all of which are crucial to Caribbean cooking.

Of course my family were the same, we always had some browning in the pantry, my mother wouldn't have it any other way.

As a young woman, who was reared by both my mother and grandmother, I still to this day like to whip out the browning when cooking some Island food.

Lately I've been thinking about the components of this rather rich sauce, When I made my homemade Brown stew chicken and Jamaican beef stew I knew I had to credit it's richness to this sauce.

The best thing I could have done for myself was start making my own brown sauce from scratch. It's a zillions times cheaper doing it yourself and very VERY easy to make.

What is exactly is homemade browning sauce?

I'm sure you're probably wondering what's so special about browning sauce? I just read your mind, you see it's traditionally used to create an enriched deep colour hence the name.

Browning creates the most amazing dark brown hue I've ever seen in the culinary world, it's my key ingredient.

When is homemade browning sauce used?

Caribbean people add this to stewed meat, gravy and even extend it to baking the infamous black cake during the festive season.

Browning is essentially charred brown sugar, more noted for it's strong hue rather than its nutritional value.

Unlike the store bought kind, my recipe is completely unadulterated and free from additives and preservatives.

Please note that the flavour of the sauce is slightly smokey from charring the sugar. The longer you allow the sugar to burn the smokier the flavour and deeper the colour.

I decided to add some himalayan pink salt once liquidised to balance out that smokiness.

Add this one to your gravy, stews or whatever you need to enrich....go on I dare you!

Browning sauce vs Worcestershire

Browning sauce and Worcestershire sauce are NOT interchangeable and are not the same.

Worcestershire sauce is a fermented condiment with vinegar (white or malt) being the base ingredient. Other flavours such as anchovies, molasses, tamarind, onion, garlic and other flavours i.e salt, sugar are used.

It has a distinct flavour of sweet, savoury and tanginess from the tamarind.

Unlike browning Worcestershire is NOT used in cakes, instead it is used to add flavour and serves as a marinade especially when making a stir fry, salads or a meat dish.

Interestingly enough, it does play a key role in a bloody Mary mix.

On the other hand, browning sauce isn't used for flavour, rather, its primary focus is to darken food i.e cakes, meat and stews.

It is made from caramelizing brown sugar, once the sugar is caramelized to the point of being almost dark in appearance hot water is added to make the sauce which yields a smoky flavour.

The store bought browning is more concentrated than the homemade version.

Typically when you are working with the store bought kind, you only need a small amount i.e less than a teaspoon.

A little goes a long way, use too much and it imparts a bitter flavour into your finished dish.

The texture and use of the homemade version

The good news is that the homemade version of browning doesn't contain any additives or preservatives resulting in a less concentrated version.

Plus you know exactly what goes into it since you have complete control over the ingredients.

The texture of the browning is thinner and not as bitter as its store bought counterpart.

As a result, you can be a bit more heavy handed if made correctly (Using tablespoon, instead of teaspoon) when using this version of the sauce and not have to worry about the finishing dish becoming too bitter.

I've updated the post with a few progress pictures so you have an idea of what to expect.

Again! please DO NOT use cold water as this will ruin the recipe because the sugar will harden and not dissolve.

Is kitchen bouquet the same as browning?

Although both condiments are used for yielding colour in food, they aren't the same thing.

Kitchen bouquet is made from caramel with a vegetable base, unlike browning which is essentially brown sugar and water and can be used in alcoholic beverages.

Notes and tips

Use hot water to dissolve the sugar NEVER cold or the sugar will become hard and not dissolve.
It is very important to use a large saucepan NOT small to accommodate the sugar expanding and to prevent any injuries.
Don't let the sugar turn BLACK or it will result in a bitter tasting browning sauce.
Be very careful when adding the hot water as the sugar may splutter and raise up.
Use a non-stick saucepan or an old saucepan. DON'T use one of your fancy or brand new saucepans.
When adding the hot water you may want to do this in the kitchen sink to reduce accidents.
Store in the refrigerator for several months to over a year once chilled.
Keep the fan extractor on/leave a window open to reduce a build up of smoke.

Other recipes to use this sauce in

Jamaican Black Cake
Brown Stew Jackfruit (Jackfruit Stew)
Brown Stew Fish
Brown Stew Turkey Neck
Slow Cooker Brown Stew Chicken
Caribbean Turkey Steaks Recipe
Sweet Potato Pudding
Caramelized Onions
Oxtail Stew

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