Move over steak sauce and ketchup, there’s a new contender in town in the form of Grilled Meat Dipping Sauce. A savory and sweet medley of flavors cozies up to earthy and acidic elements to create a sauce that you’ll want to use on everything.

Grilled Meat Dipping Sauce (also known as yakiniku sauce) is used to dip fresh-off-the-grill slices of beef, but this sauce should not be limited to one type of meat. This well-balanced sauce tastes as if barbecue sauce got several injections of umami.

What makes this sauce different is its texture, which comes from pureed onion. The finely chopped onion and all of the juices add acidity, as well as thickness to the sauce. Garlic, ginger, and miso paste all get mixed in to add a complex aromatic body. Soy sauce adds the right level of saltiness, and the touch of sugar balances the salty and savory elements out.  Finally, sesame seeds get added to create another layer of texture alongside a dose of nuttiness.

Once all whisked together, the sauce gets microwaved for a few seconds, just enough to dissolve the sugar into the sauce. 

You can use the sauce immediately, or you can store it in the refrigerator and take it out when you’re ready to serve.

Dipping a hot-off-the-grill piece of steak into this Grilled Meat Dipping Sauce will have you wondering why you haven’t made this sauce sooner. All of the different elements of the sauce, from sweet, savory, acidic, and earthy combine to enhance the richness of the meat but also cut through the fat and grease that comes from meat as well. Veggies can also be dipped into this sauce, as it’s a great boost of flavor.  

While this is a dipping sauce, it’ll work wonderfully as a sauce to brush onto the meat while grilling and also a great sauce to add in ground beef for hamburgers, to create flavor that goes beyond the surface level.