Princess Pamela’s Sauce Beautiful

Recipe from Pamela Strobel

Adapted by Korsha Wilson

Updated Feb. 27, 2025

Princess Pamela’s Sauce Beautiful
Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.
Total Time
25 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(112)
Comments
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Summery, tart and slightly sweet, this sauce ingeniously uses peach preserves to make a perfect pairing for pork chops. It also works as a tart dressing for a kale or chicory salad, highlighting the fruit at its peak while also adding richness thanks to butter and oil. In the mid-60s, Pamela Strobel served this condiment, her signature sauce, alongside dishes like fried chicken, black eyed peas and smothered pork chops at her restaurant, Little Kitchen. Princess Pamela, a moniker given to Ms. Strobel when she asked a printer what the name of her business should be, wore the title well: She ruled over her minuscule soul food spot underneath her apartment in New York City’s East Village, deciding who was let in (and who was kicked out). —Korsha Wilson

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Ingredients

Yield:1 cup
  • 8tablespoons peach preserves
  • 1lemon, juiced (about ¼ cup)
  • 3tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1tablespoon butter
  • 1tablespoon vegetable or other neutral-tasting oil
  • 1tablespoon vinegar
  • ½teaspoon paprika
  • Salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce, to taste
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)

395 calories; 13 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 70 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 52 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 332 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a small saucepan, combine preserves, lemon juice, sugar, butter, oil, vinegar, paprika and ½ cup water and stir to combine. Cook on medium until thickened, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
112 user ratings
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Comments

Anne P.

I lived in the Lower East Side in the 1980s and 1990s and once stumbled into Princess Pamela's restaurant "Princess Pamela's Southern Touch Cuisine"on East Houston with a friend one weeknight. She looked us over and sat us down. She yelled over to her cook (can't remember her name - maybe Euphrenia .. something) "what are we cooking tonight?" Following came honestly one the best meals I have ever eaten. We asked if she had any liquor and she pulled out a jug of wine, and said don't tell.

SA

Because people are more likely to fit a tablespoon measure into a jam jar than they are to pour jam out into a liquid measuring cup?

JYW

Why would you call for 8 tablespoons in a recipe rather than 1/2 cup??

JB

Eight tablespoons of most fruit jams are usually @120 g by Weight.

JB

Just made a big batch and froze some. Hoping it will not affect quality.

grippy c

Was excited to try this on a pork tenderloin: VERY sweet. Dialed that down with a splash of soy but wished I had ignored the “add a half cup of water” note. There’s oil in here and you can see the separation, plus it’s as thin as consommés. I’d hold off and add water as needed.

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Credits

Adapted from “Princess Pamela’s Soul Food Cookbook,” by Pamela Strobel (Signet Books, 1969)

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