Grilling: Basic Barbecue Sauce
On Fridays, Joshua Bousel drops by with a recipe for you to grill over the weekend. Fire it up, Joshua!
Although I love barbecue sauces of all types, the standard around my house is still the tomato-based variety that's ingrained in our collective American consciousness. While choices of sauce abound at any local megamart, I've yet to find one that rivals making my own from scratch.
This basic sauce base takes about 15 minutes to make from start to finish and consists of ingredients that are almost always on hand in my kitchen. Knowing the ease of making homemade and the quality of the end product, I cannot comprehend why bottled sauces are so popular, especially since this standard base is merely a launching point for infinite varieties.
I'll make a huge batch at the beginning of the season and continue to modify it in smaller batches with new flavors. Adding some sautéed onions adds a nice robustness, throw in some jalapeños to give it a kick, pineapple juice for a tropical sweetness, and so on. With so much opportunity for experimentation, all of which probably yield better results than those supermarket bottles, I hope you'll make the switch to homemade barbecue sauce, if you haven't already.
Basic Barbecue Sauce
Adapted from How to Grill by Steven Raichlen.
Ingredients
2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon of your favorite barbecue rub
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Procedure
Combine all of the ingredients in a nonreactive saucepan and slowly bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer until dark, thick, and richly flavored, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the sauce to a clean jar and store in the refrigerator. It will keep for several months.
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17 Comments:
Looks almost exactly like the barbecue sauce I make, except mine does have liquid smoke in it as well.
FryPrayEatPassOut at 8:47PM on 05/15/09
Ketchup in BBQ sauce makes me weep.
For me the whole point of homemade BBQ sauce is to avoid the processed bottled stuff and all the additives.
Granted, the recipe does not say what brand of ketchup, and there are some low-ingredient and HFC-free kinds out there...but it is still KETCHUP!
If you are already adding seasonings to your taste, why not start with a plain tomato base, instead of one with spices (and *other* things) already in.
sadiepix at 9:03PM on 05/15/09
@FryPrayEatPassOut: This recipe originally had liquid smoke in it, but I don't like the stuff much myself, it's too strong. I prefer to throw some wood chunks on the fire if I want to add that smokey flavor.
@sadiepix: I'll have to try one starting with a plain tomato base, but I must say that ketchup has always given me the base flavor I'm looking for in a standard sauce. This is probably a remnant of growing up on the bottled varieties.
Joshua Bousel at 10:46PM on 05/15/09
What about chili sauce in place of ketchup? Got more zip. Oh, and don't forget the bourbon!
arm1970 at 5:49AM on 05/16/09
Hate Worcestershire sauce. I use a glob of marmite instead- same principle, really, and vegetarian (because even vegetarians like bbq sauce). I've also used oyster sauce successfully.
thatgrrl at 9:57AM on 05/16/09
@arm1970: I like the idea. I'd probably have chili sauce including ketchup, or scale back the ketchup 1/2 a cup and put in 1/2 a cup of chili sauce, otherwise it might be too overpowering.
@thatgrrl: I often replace soy sauce for Worcestershire in sauce recipes, so that's another option.
Joshua Bousel at 10:42AM on 05/16/09
Looks a lot like the BBQ sauce I make, though I also use liquid smoke and prefer red wine vinegar to cider vinegar. I felt the same way as everyone else about store-bought bbq sauce until about 1.5 years ago when I discovered Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce (especially the spicy variety), which is in all the stores around here. That stuff is the bomb! Now I find myself trying to re-jigger my homemade stuff to taste *as good* (not even better!) as the store-bought, which is possibly the first time I've ever cooked something and actually liked the prepared, processed, high HFCS version better!
Though I did have the opportunity to make my sauce this past weekend, as I had some Kosher friends coming over for BBQ and I don't think the Sweet Baby Ray's stuff is Kosher. They seemed to like my BBQ sauce just fine, so maybe all is not lost.
JGordon at 12:29PM on 05/18/09
I use tomato paste instead of kechup in BBQ sauce. I also sometimes throw in some beer or stout, sometimes lime juice.
MMinNYC at 1:40PM on 05/18/09
Half ketchup and half chili sauce (both Heinz, of course) makes a great sauce base. I'm a competitive BBQ cook and that is what I use. The judges like smooth sauces, so I hit mine with a stick blender.
Another way to get a subtle smokiness sans liquid smoke is to add some smoked paprika. Just make sure it's the real deal and fresh.
John
PatioDaddio at 2:29PM on 05/18/09
For years I made my own and everyone including myself thought is was the best. several years ago I was BBQing for my daughter and her family in NY and started to make my sauce and my son-in-law said try this--- my Lord, I can't make anything that good- it was wonderful and was K.C. Masterpiece. Been using it ever since. Dave
old chef at 3:47PM on 05/20/09
I really think the best bbq sauce I've made is from the Barefoot Contessa. Not the first person I would have looked for with a BBQ sauce, but it's great. A bit expensive with a lot of ingredients, but it's really great. Sweet with honey and hoisin- best for bbq'ed chicken:
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large onion)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup tomato paste (10 ounces)
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup honey
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
SmokedMeat at 5:08PM on 05/20/09
@SmokedMeat: I love hoisin in bbq sauce. I'll have to try this one.
Joshua Bousel at 5:10PM on 05/20/09
Ketchup' What a misunderstood product. The Euro's hate it but will readily use tomato sauce which is the identical thing but by a different name. It's found all over the world with very little change, but as tomatoe sauce, Ketchup, ketsup, kecap, and so on I've even seen it as red sauce, just read the ingredients on them. Ketsup or Ketchup [ doesn't matter how you spell it] doesn't even have to be tomato based. Ketsup is almost a catch-all for any fruit or vegetable based sauce, in the Pillippines it is based on bananas and the taste is remarkabley similar and comes in a hot version, go figure ? Home cooks shun it with the idea as who would stoop to use it, I'm above it , well get over yourselves! But as an ingredient it is an incrediblely versitile flavoring or base to build upon. Any CHEF worth their salt will agree it can be an indispenseable item in the panty. With the availability of so many excellent offerings of ketsup you can find one with low salt, low added sweeteners [ no HFCS] and sans alot of unnecessary chemicals cant wait til someone puts out one using Agave syrup as the sweetener with it's low glycemic index level . I've made my own Ketsup and it came out great but was time consuming.
shipwreck at 2:32PM on 05/21/09
Sweet Baby Rayes sauce is pretty good. Of course everyone prefers their own though! I would strongly recommend that you try different ideas for your base as opposed to ketchup, mainly because ketchup is already a processed item and your are going to process it again. This takes away from its intensity. Try plain tomato paste instead. You can always check out our favorite Barbecue Sauce at Wild Mountain Gourmet
Happy grilling and keep tinkering with your recipes until they are perfect to you!
Wild Mountain Gourmet at 10:17PM on 05/21/09
Maurice's Southern Gold BBQ Sauce, made in West Columbia, S.C., contains the following: apple cider vinegar, pure mustard, Louisiana peppers, water, worc. sauce, anchovies, onion, salt, garlic, tamarinds, cloves, chili peppers, brown sugar, molasses, paprika, and spices.
It's better than any of them home brewed recipes.
In fact it's so good it'll make you want to slap your sister!
mauricesbbq.com
Poultrygeist at 2:50PM on 05/22/09
@shipwreck: I like your comment, I laugh at those people who shun ketchup (or whoever it's spelled) without ever really knowing why! People would be smart to try and make their own ketchup but to be honest I know it's not sacrilege to buy over the counter brands! Btw ketchup in Canada (a place I just vacationed in) is MUCH sweeter than the ketchup in the states, I actually bought a bottle before leaving, I like it so much!
jscarpetta at 11:28AM on 05/23/09
#1 Top Secret Texas Barbeque Sauce Recipe. Guarenteed success no matter what you are barbecuing!
bestcbstore at 9:53PM on 05/27/09