Homemade BBQ Sauce

I’ve noticed lately that the longer I’ve cooked with the intent of developing the dish into a shareable recipes, the more sensitive to different tastes I’ve gotten.  I can taste and identify ingredients in recipes much better then I could a year or two ago; even recipes that aren’t my own. It’s kind of cool, because I can now better replicate other people’s or restaurant recipes. Or even in my own cooking, it’s been great know what ingredient to use to achieve the type of flavor I want to create.

A little story to illustrate my point: this morning I was eating a croissant from a chain doughnut kind of place. (Yep, despite being able to make my own homemade croissants I still do occasionally buy them. Homemade croissants = way tastier then what you buy out; but let’s be honest they are a lot of work and kind of time consuming to make. Sometimes you just need a croissant for breakfast without a multi day process.)

What I noticed when I started eating my chain bought croissant this morning is that:

1. The croissant wasn’t very good. (I know what did I expect, right? I just got done telling you homemade is way better. And it is. But there are some decent already made for you food out there too, I was kind of hoping I had picked up one of that variety!)
2. I was 99% sure that the croissant had been made with either vegetable oil or vegetable shortening rather then the traditional butter. 

I wasn’t positive about the vegetable oil or shortening thing, so I looked up the nutrition facts and ingredient list. Sure enough butter was nowhere to be found on that ingredient list. However, a few different vegetable oils + artificial flavorings, and some other mystery ingredients certainly are. I’ve gotta admit, I couldn’t believe I could taste that!

Another thing my mad skilled tastebuds have working at lately? Developing today’s super good BBQ sauce recipe. It’s a bit sweet, there’s a hint of salt, some proper tang, and a nice light but lingering heat on the back of the tongue. Despite making tortilla soup just last week, it really is mostly time to bust out the summer recipes. And what, I ask you, is more summery then meats of all sorts smothered in BBQ Sauce.

That’s right. Not much. 

Plus, you guys, homemade BBQ is so, so easy to make. I know it looks like the ingredient list is kind of long. But most of it is just spices (which are totally with the trouble because they add sooo much flavor!) It takes like, five minutes of actual work and then 20-30 minutes of simmering. Well worth it. 

Bring on the brisket, the chicken, the ribs! Summer is here. 

Homemade BBQ Sauce- Yields about 3- 3 and 1/2 cups. Adapted from Ree Drummond’s Homemade BBQ Sauce @ Food Network.

• 2 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 tablespoon mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon chipotle 
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire 
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup ketchup 
• two 12 oz cans of tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons molasses 

1. Add the canola oil to a small pot over medium high heat. Add in the garlic powder, cumin, paprika, chipotle, and celery seed. Allow the spices to toast slightly until fragrant (1-2 minutes), stirring frequently to prevent burning. 

2. Add the water, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, ketchup, tomato paste, brown sugar, white vinegar, and molasses to the pot. Stir well to combine. Allow the mixture to to simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The mixture will reduce and create a nice thick bbq sauce.

3. Taste after simmering and adjust for personal taste. You may want to add more chipotle, more sugar, or more vinegar depending on your personal preference.