The steak sauce rule a third of Aussies swear by

Some traditionalists believe a steak should never be eaten with sauce; that a slab of meaty perfection should be enjoyed in its purest form. 

We at 9Honey Kitchen are not traditionalists.

We believe that a steak should be embellished however you like, whether that be with a dash of gravy, a slathering of mushroom sauce, or just a sprinkle of salt.

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Hey, we're even willing to turn a blind eye if you eat your T-Bone with a side of tomato sauce. We won't judge (too much).

But what about you, our lovely readers – what are your thoughts on the great sauce on steak debacle of 2023? 

Well, according to an exclusive Nine.com.au reader poll, about 10 per cent of you are traditionalists, eating your steak sans sauce, and we respect that.

But for the other 90 per cent, what is the preferred topping?

Well, mushroom sauce was the most popular by far with 30 per cent of survey respondents saying it was their favourite varnishing.

It seems only 8 per cent of respondents' taste buds are still developing, saying their preferred sauce is the classic (basic) tomato sauce or barbeque.

Pepper sauce came in second place behind mushroom with 20 per cent of votes, followed by Dianne, gravy and butter all in the single digits.

We received plenty of comments from respondents saying their sauce choice depends on the cut of steak and its accompaniments (talk about a steak connoisseur), whereas others didn't miss the opportunity to remind us of all the saucy delights we forgot to include in our survey options.

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So, we would like to give an honourable mention to all the following steak adornments and trimmings, red wine jus, hot English mustard, blue cheese, béarnaise, garlic butter, Worcestershire, sautéed onion, chimichurri, and surf and turf.

Finally, the last issue that seemed to have many of our readers up in arms was that we didn't mention whether the sauces in question were store bought or homemade. 

All we can say to that is, if you have the time and skill to make your sauces homemade, we respect and admire you. If you don't, we understand you (also respect, but maybe not admire as much).