One of the first commercially-concocted ‘lost culinary treasures’ that I came into contact with was Swiss Chalet’s famous dipping sauce. Of course, it wasn’t lost back then. But the Chalet has faded into the family-resto background in recent years…
The legendary Swiss Chalet Restaurant at 360 Yonge Street, in Toronto:
Some connoisseurs claim it invented Rotisserie Chicken!
It’s a Canadian institution, and a beloved childhood memory for many of us boomers. Swiss Chalet (SC) opened its doors in 1954, with the goal of popularizing the Swiss method of spirt-roasting chicken.
An ambitious startup
The Chalet started out as a hole-in the wall on Bloor St. West in Toronto, but soon moved into bigger, more-central digs at 360 Yonge St., right downtown.
Its chicken and signature dipping sauce soon became a legend. SC never did have gravy as such, serving a bowl of its au jus-style dipping sauce on the side with very order. And the sauce has become a legend of its own, since diners discovered it went well with just about every savoury food they loved.
Many have tried to duplicate it, some more success-fully than others…
Hard to describe…
The flavour of SC Sauce is hard to describe. It’s simple, tangy, peppery, umami and straightforward. But then comes the complex undertone of herbs and spices.
Enter, the copy-cats…
There are literally thousands of copy-cat SC Sauce recipes on the internet. And their ingredient lists range from classic to… Well, let’s just say, ‘fascinating’.
The one I’ve chosen to showcase today is among the best I’ve tasted…
Marie, the expat…
Marie Porter is a Canadian expat living in the US. She started foodwriting with a blog about poutine. But she’s since segued to a more-general pop-foods format she calls Celebration Generation. And one of her most cherished projects has been to create an as-close-as-possible copy-cat to SC Sauce.
Her painstakingly developed and tested recipe lists 15 ingredients. Ten of those are herbs and spices. The key ingredients are simply: chicken broth, tomato juice, cornstarch and butter. And a teaspoon of vinegar.
A third option…
Fortunately for the less adventurous and more convenience-minded among us, the Chalet has, for some time now, made its famous dipping sauce available in grocery stores. You can get it canned or as a powdered mix. Those unable to access Canadian supermarkets can order from Amazon.com.
My take
Marie Porter is the real deal. And Canadian, to boot! She’s done a great job analyzing the flavour of original SC Sauce and building a copy-cat I really enjioyed. One thing I might do differently is set the white vinegar aside in favour of a tsp. of lemon juice. Just my preference.
My culinary Spidey-Sense tells me I’ll probably be featuring more of her recipes in future!
~ Maggie J.