For The Best Cheese And Crackers Reach For This Sweet And Spicy Southern Sauce
If you're looking for a way to use up that leftover block of cream cheese, you can quickly transform it into a sweet and spicy snack with a dollop of Jezebel sauce and a side of crackers. The moreish, sweet heat flavor of Jezebel sauce makes this Gulf Coast original equally delightful layered on to a pastry-wrapped wheel of baked brie or spooned over the juiciest baked pork chops.
Similar to chutney, the flavorful ingredient Ina Garten adds to spice up her grilled cheese sandwiches, Jezebel sauce is a combination of tangy pineapple preserves, apple jelly, prepared horseradish, black pepper, and dry mustard. It's a seductive, piquant mixture bursting with flavor perfectly suited to transforming a plain block of cream cheese into one of the best party dips in your arsenal, but it's also delicious as a glaze for ham and spread on top of a warm, well-buttered, buttermilk biscuit.
Where did Jezebel sauce come from?
In the U.S., the name Jezebel suggests a bewitching, impudent, morally-unrestrained woman, but Southern housewives used it to describe an alluring sauce that became popular sometime after World War II. The exact origin of Jezebel sauce is difficult to pinpoint, but we do know recipes for the spicy sweet condiment began appearing in Gulf Coast neighborhood cookbooks in the 1950s. Spicy, sweet, and tangy, Jezebel sauce is dangerously scrumptious, as it hits all kinds of flavor highs. When used as a dip, you'll notice your guests will be hard-pressed to walk away from the table.
Easy to prepare and use, Jezebel sauce can be stored for two weeks in your refrigerator, making it a tempting addition to all kinds of different recipes. Use it as marinade and finishing sauce for a grilled pork tenderloin, drizzle it over baked chicken, or even try spooning it onto a scoop of vanilla ice cream.