Is Aldi's Steak Sauce Just An A.1. Copycat? We Put It To The Test

To steak lovers, adding steak sauce can feel like something of an insult. In fact, to some, reaching for the steak sauce is a faux pas and even an insult to the cook. In any case, those who love sauces often reach for a steak sauce whether the steak feels like it needs it or not, no offense intended. So, then the question becomes which steak sauce do you trust with your steak? For me, it's always been A.1., but Aldi offers a compelling alternative.

No one likes a copycat, but when that copycat becomes a dupe, saving my family money, I'm all for it. That's basically what Burman's is. When you discover a less expensive brand selling essentially the same product for cheaper, it's easy to feel misled. With A.1., you're really paying for a recognizable name. I was determined to figure out if this steak sauce would be as enjoyable as A.1., one of the best steak sauces out there, so I embarked on a blind taste test.

To get the most level-headed comparison possible, I tried each sauce with a steak dinner. While the differences were few, Burman's is different in a significant way that Aldi shoppers have come to know in love. With sauces so similar, it begs the question: If you put Burman's in an empty A.1. container, would anyone notice? I didn't try out this little trick, but Aldi's marketing department should take notice.

Go to nearly any steak joint that doesn't have its own signature sauce, and you'll most certainly come across A.1. There's a good chance it'll be sitting right at your table, even if some consider it a faux pas it reach for A.1. sauce at a steakhouse.

A.1.'s ingredients begin with a base of tomato paste and includes vinegar to add bite, corn syrup for sweetener and salt to enhance flavors. You'll also see raisin paste, an addition made by H.W. Brand, King George IV's chef. Apparently, raisin paste helped to prolong a steak's freshness, while the sauce covered any grotesque tastes that may arise from bad meat. While this certainly isn't a problem (in most cases) today, it speaks to the use many people see for steak sauce: to cover up the flavor.

There's also crushed tomato purée for something unique for the sauce, an assortment of spices that notably includes celery, as well as dried garlic and onion, caramel color to achieve a desirable look, and xanthan gum, a thickening agent. The sauce itself is tangy and a little tomatoey, but with balance of sweet and salty to enhance (or even save) your steak. Slap a cape on these bottles; they're the real heroes.

Texture-wise, it's thinner than barbecue sauce. This way, it easily coats a bite of steak without the need to go overboard and smother the morsel. A small dunk of the bite will do the trick.

While A.1. is widely available, I've never seen Burman's at a table. However, its goal is the same, and the way you'd want to use it with your steak is also identical.

Also nearly the same? The ingredients and flavor profile. In fact, the only real differences are that the vinegar is identified as distilled, spices appear between raisin paste and crushed orange purée in the list, xanthan gum shows up earlier, and potassium sorbate is an added preservative for the sauce. Flavor-wise, like A.1., Burman's steak sauce is tart and a little tomatoey. It, too, would work as a steak superhero. Though there may be just a slight more tartness in Burman's compared to A.1., it feels barely perceptible and perhaps not even worth mentioning.

For two sauces that taste nearly identical and differ only in consistency, they are two pretty wildly different prices, which isn't terribly surprising since Aldi's groceries are so cheap. You'll find a 10-ounce Burman's steak sauce at Aldi's for $2.19, though there might be some fluctuation depending on your location. Though A.1. is widely available at most grocery stores, Burman's is an Aldi's private label. That said, you can find Burman's on Amazon, though the price is quite a bit more, just shy of $10, last I looked.

A.1., on the other hand, has a wide distribution, though it will consistently cost you more than Burman's. At Walmart, a 10 ounce bottle is $4.97, Target's price is $5.29, Publix has it for $7.97, and Family Dollar sells it for $5.99. No matter where you're shopping, A.1. costs more.

To compare these sauces, my husband and I made a typical steak dinner: ribeye, squash, and mashed potatoes. My husband, the designated steak cook in our home, salted the steak generously, allowing it to rest in the fridge for several hours before beginning the cooking process. This acted as a dry brine. When it came to cooking, he seared the steak in a stainless steel pan, flipping regularly every one or two minutes to ensure a regular, consistent cook. Often, he'll use other flavoring elements, but he kept it rather plain this time to ensure we could taste those steak sauces clearly.

On the side, he poured each steak sauce in its own dish. Though he knew which sauce was A.1. and which was Burman's, I did not. This way, I could provide my thoughts on each, deciding how similar they were and which one was better than the other. Visually, the sauces look nearly identical, and poured in a saucer from the bottle, there would be no real way to confidently say which sauce is either brand.

As soon as I had tried each sauce on a piece of steak, one difference became clear: Aldi's Burman's steak sauce is waterier than A.1. That's not to say that it is too thick, but rather the A.1. had a little more to cling onto the steak with.

In terms of flavor, they are very nearly identical. The difference between the ordering of ingredients is so minimal, it had little impact on the flavor. In fact, the only difference the bites had was between how much steak I could taste through the sauce. Since A.1. is a little less runny, it's harder to taste the steak through the sauce. Aldi's Burman's sauce, on the other hand, is looser and doesn't cling quite as adamantly. As a result, you get more steak flavor through the taste of the thinner sauce.

In the end, I found that Burman's is less a copycat and more a straight-up dupe. That is, it's essentially the same product with a significantly lower price. The best news is that if you're shopping at Aldi already and run out of steak sauce, there's no need to make a special trip to the store to restock on A.1. The Burman's will work just fine.

That said, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that Burman's has potassium sorbate, while A.1. does not. While every other ingredient is indistinguishable, this one stands apart. Still, it's a frequently used preservative you'll find in most aisles of the grocery store. If you want to avoid this addition, go for A.1. If it doesn't matter to you, save yourself a few bucks and go treat yourself to a fancy coffee (or one of those popular Aldi Finds). Either way, you'll have a tasty steak sauce. Plus, if the Burman's ends up being too thin, using Aldi's return policy, you can get a refund.