Jezebel: Southern Queen of Spicy Sauce

Jezebel sauce is a popular USA Southern sauce, made with apple jelly, fruit preserves, and spicy seasoning.

Though it is commonly used in glazing for ham and other smoked meats, Jezebel sauce can also be served as a side sauce for chicken, beef, or pork. It can eaten like a dip with crackers--drizzeled over a bit of cream cheese on a Triscuit.

It was a favorite feature of Southern church potluck dinners.

Queen Jezebel was often labeled the Old Testement's sumptuous, proverbial wicked, painted woman. Apparently, the name of "Jezebel" is attached to this sauce because it is delicious, spicy, sumptuous, and potentially powerful.

Different Southern regions claim to be the source of its origin, including Louisiana, Florida, and Mississippi. Naturally, there are different versions of Jezebel sauce.

This recipe below, posted by LORIELEECOOPER at Allrecipes.com is fairly standard:

Jezebel Sauce

Prep Time: 15 Min
Ready In: 8 Hrs 15 Min

Ingredients:

1 (10 ounce) jar apple jelly
1 (10 ounce) jar pineapple fruit preserves
1 (8 ounce) jar prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon ground dry mustard
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together apple jelly, pineapple fruit preserves, prepared horseradish, ground dry mustard and cracked black pepper. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight, before serving.

Jezebel Sauce, accessed 6/20/12

A Florida recipe for "Jezebel Sauce" in the Junior League of Fort Lauderdale cookbook, Sunny Side Up, is basically the same. However, the sauce is served with crackers and cream cheese.

A North Carolina version of Jezebel sauce replaces the dry mustard with ginger and is served with pork (see below).

Gingered Jezebel Sauce

Ingredients:

2/3 cup pineapple preserves
1/3 cup apple jelly
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Preparation:

Microwave pineapple preserves and apple jelly in a glass bowl at HIGH 2 minutes or until melted. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Mary Fierle, Asheville, North Carolina, Southern Living, June 2004, accessed 6/20/12. This recipe goes with Grilled Pork Tenderloin With Gingered Jezebel Sauce

From Austin,Texas, The Stubb's Bar-B-Q Cookbook (2007) from Stubb's Legendary Kitchen with Kate Heyhoe, had the following sauce recipe for ribs:

Wicked Jezebel Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup pineapple preserves
2/3 cup apple jelly
5 tablespoons creole mustard or whole-grain brown mustard
5 tablespoons prepared horseradish

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients, cover and chill. For best results let the flavors meld overnight. Jezebel Sauce will keep refrigerated at least four weeks.

Recipes cannot be copyrighted, but I assembled this page on 6/20/12, Myth Woodling.

Frankie Laine - Early Video of "Jezebel"

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