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Business & Tech

Croix Valley Steak Sauce Spices Up Hudson

Croix Valley Steak Sauce began producing its Scovie Award-winning sauces at a new Hudson location this year.

This week's Edible Hudson is a little different. The venue? Your own backyard, with the help of Croix Valley Steak Sauce.

Despite this week's snowfall, grilling season is officially upon us. Croix Valley Steak Sauce offers tasty options to spice up your favorite flame-kissed meal.

"It all kind of goes back to 1996 when I opened a steakhouse with my parents in northern Wisconsin," said Damon Holter, owner of Croix Valley Steak Sauce. " I actually developed our original steak sauce back then to be used as the house sauce to be served with all meals. A lot of people asked if I would bottle and sell it."

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For the next 15 years, Holter worked at various eateries in the Twin Cities restaurant scene before deciding to start his own enterprise.

"One day it just hit me that the steak sauce that I made years ago—everyone had been asking for it. Why don't I make this into a business?" Holter said.

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Croix Valley Steak Sauce officially launched in October 2009. Holter added a hot and spicy and garlic and herb varieties to his original steak sauce. Croix Valley Steak Sauce products can now be found at more than 350 retailers nationwide.

"The most versatile sauce is garlic and herb. Our motto is that our products are beyond steak. You can use our sauces as a barbeque sauce, marinade and more—especially with garlic and herb. The hints of rosemary and oregano flavors really compliment a wide variety of meats," Holter said. "You can use it on chicken, pork and more. These sauces glaze over really, really well on the grill—they carmelize and don't burn."

Holter offers recipes for use of his sauces at the company's website. All of Croix Valley Steak Sauce's products are also gluten-free, a rarity for a steak sauce. 

"I learned from so many people that it's very hard to find gluten-free sauces that can flavor things up," Holter said.

In January of this year, Holter moved his production facility in with . Customers can watch Holter create his sauces through a glass door at the business.

There truly may be a competition for everything. Did you know that vying to be the top grill master has become a nationwide craze? This year, Croix Valley Steak Sauce partnered with QueNivorous, a competition barbecue team based in Del Rio, TN. The team uses Holter's sauces in official Kansas City Barbeque Society tournaments and helps develop new products through feedback and experimentation.

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