The folks at Dale’s never do anything fast.
It was 74 year ago that Army buddies Joe Daole and Jacob “Jake” M. Levine Jr. introduced their now-famous Dale’s Seasoning marinade when they opened Dale’s Cellar Restaurant steakhouse in downtown Birmingham in 1946.
(A brief pause here for a piece of Dale’s trivia: There is no “Dale.” Daole and Levine came up with the name by combining the first two letters of each of their last names, and Dale’s was born.)
Sixty years later, in 2006, Dale’s introduced a healthier version of its marinade, with 42 percent less sodium than the original.
Now, 14 years after that, comes Dale’s Steak Sauce, a table condiment that may be used not only on steaks but also to dress up burgers, hot dogs, steaks, pork chops, chicken and anything else that could use a little extra Dale’s love.
“We’ve been talking about this for a really long time and started experimenting with it close to five years ago,” Alan Seigel, the late Jake Levine’s nephew and the vice president of Dale’s Sauces Inc., says. “We just don’t rush into things.”
Made with a blend of tomato puree, soy sauce, molasses, mustard, salt, black pepper, onion, garlic, cayenne pepper and other ingredients, the new steak sauce has a flavor profile that is distinctly Dale’s, but it has the slightly thicker consistency of a condiment such as ketchup or salad dressing.
“We have a certain flavor profile that is that Dale’s flavor,” Seigel says. “We wanted to make sure we preserved that, but we wanted to give it a few other qualities, also.
“We think it’s pretty strong when you first taste it, but as you get more and more into it, then you go, ‘All right, give me some more of that.’”
The new Dale’s Steak Sauce should begin appearing in Piggly Wiggly, Food Giant and other grocery stores around Alabama this week, Seigel says.
In the coming weeks, it should also be available in Publix, Winn-Dixie and Walmart stores and everywhere else you find the Dale’s marinades, he adds.
The average retail price should be between $2.99 and $3.49 for a 10-ounce bottle.
Dale's Steak Sauce is a new table condiment from the Birmingham, Ala.-based Dale's Sauces Inc., which is famous for its Dale's Seasoning marinade that started in 1946. (Photo by Kim Maye/Dale's Sauces Inc.)
Made in Alabama, available nationwide
The COVID-19 outbreak has put a slight hitch in Dale’s distribution plans for the new steak sauce, Seigel says.
“The idea was to roll it out in the spring and the summer, and right about the time we’re ready to go and it’s time to flip the switch, all of this COVID stuff started happening,” he says.
“It’s been a little challenging to get it on the shelf, but we’ve had some good players here locally that understand Dale’s and understand the brand and understand that a third product would probably be a good thing, so they’ve helped us out a lot.”
A homegrown product that is still made in Alabama by the Southern Classic Food Group in Brundidge, Dale’s Seasoning marinade is available in more than 12,000 stores in 44 states across the country, Seigel says.
The new steak sauce should eventually be in all those locations, as well, he adds.
As the label suggests, Dale’s Steak Sauce is good for dipping, dunking or pouring, Seigel says.
“I started out putting it on french fries, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes,” he says. “A friend of mine put it on a barbecue sandwich, like regular barbecue sauce. We want to have a very versatile product.”
Dale’s loyal customers, Seigel adds, will come up with more ways to use it, echoing the brand slogan, “How do you do your Dale’s?”
“We are going to get people using it, and then we are going to get some feedback and find out how they are using it,” he says. “It may come out totally different than what we envisioned.
“Our people are great at that, Seigel adds. “They’ll send letters. They’ll send us emails. They’ll respond to us on Facebook with different recipes. And they’ll tell us how they’re liking it -- really quickly.”
READ MORE:
Alabama’s iconic Dale’s steak sauce: A well-seasoned history
These sweet, little Alabama biscuits are beloved nationwide
Alabama needs an official soft drink, and this is the one
An Alabama success story: John’s Famous Slaw Dressing
The sweet story of Millie Ray and her famous orange rolls
15 things to know and love about Grapico on its 100th anniversary