Monkey gland sauce

Monkey gland sauce has its origins in South Africa. It has been featured as a restaurant item for decades, becoming a bit of a South African restaurant and fast food menus staple condiment. It is a thick, sweet and tangy sauce, that’s dark in colour, and has a glossy finish. It is typically served as a topping for grilled steaks or burgers, but can also be used as a marinade, a dipping sauce for onion rings and fries, or smothered over roast potatoes.

Which ingredients does the Monkey Gland Sauce consist of?

The Monkey Gland Sauce consists largely of already popular condiments found in most household pantries. The main components of the sauce are chutney and tomato sauce – which result in a sweet mixture. Then an addition of onions, vinegar, garlic and Worcestershire sauce, give it the savoury-sweet flavour that is loved by many.

Prepare Monkey Gland Sauce at home.

Below is a list of recipes, found online, that you can follow to make your own Monkey Gland Sauce:

Monkey gland sauce - Food 24

Hand-cut rump burgers with onion rings and monkeygland sauce - Woolworths Taste

HOMEMADE MONKEY GLAND SAUCE - Crush Mag Online

Why is it called Monkey Gland Sauce?

Despite its name, the sauce has nothing to do with monkeys or their glands. There are a number of theories about how the sauce got its name, two of which stemming from a controversial 1920s medical experiment, and the most popular one being quite a scandal!

The most popular theory is that the name originated at the Savoy Hotel in London. French scientist, Dr Abrahamovitch Serge Voronoff, who was a regular patron of the hotel, was conducting experiments on how to cure impotence in men. His experiments, apparently, involved grafting monkey testicle tissue onto the testicles of impotent men, believing that these men could regain their vigor and that it would keep the men young. Dr Voronoff’s dish of preference, at the Savoy Hotel, was a brandied steak and the restaurant staff soon nicknamed the dish “Monkey Gland Sauce '', after his infamous experiments. One of the hotel’s staff, Cavaliere Bagatta - who was an Italian waiter, later moved to South Africa and brought the dish along with him, introducing it to the South African restaurant scene. Over time, the sauce evolved to its modern-day form and by the 70s, was a staple condiment.

The second theory dates back to the old Carlton Hotel in Johannesburg in the 50s. This theory claims that the French chefs working at the hotel found it distasteful when their South African guests doused their finely prepared French cuisine in the likes of tomato sauce, chutney or Worcester sauce. Out of frustration, they decided to make a more sophisticated sauce, by combining the pantry condiments, and named it “Monkey Gland”, after Dr Voronoff. There is no solid evidence regarding the connection of the sauce to Dr Voronoff.

Another theory suggests that a Swiss chef came to South Africa in the late 60s and needed to quickly make a sauce for steak. He then scrabbled about in the cupboard and found a few bottles of chutney, tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce and mixed them together. It is unclear though, where the name came from in this version of theories.

While the origin of the Monkey Gland Sauce is quite theoretical, there’s no denying that the sauce is firmly rooted in South African culture.

See also

• Monkey Gland – cocktail
• List of dips
• List of sauces

References

• Gold, Scott (2008). The Shameless Carnivore: A Manifesto for Meat Lovers. Ten Speed Press. ISBN 978-0-7679-2922-6.
• Pienaar, Heilie (2003). Karan Beef Cookbook. Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-838-1.
• Raichlen, Steven (2010). Planet Barbecue!: 309 Recipes, 60 Countries. Workman Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7611-4801-2.
• Sellick, Will (2010). The Imperial African Cookery Book: Recipes from English-speaking Africa. Jeppestown Press. ISBN 978-0-9553936-8-6.