While I'm a meat purist when it comes to barbeque, most people like a nice, rich sauce with their meat. Not wanting to disappoint or force my taste on others, I've spent some time researching barbeque sauce and going over the sauces I've liked in the past, and experimenting with ingredients to come up with the basics of a good barbeque sauce, one from which a number of regional variations to suit your taste can be derived.
In my research on sauce I'm indebted to the late C.B. Stubblefield, who I knew when he was just a struggling legend who had moved down to Austin from Lubbock with a sauce and a dream — one which really didn't take off until after he had passed on. Stubbs' sauce really is one of the best sauces I've ever tasted, even in the too thin, too acidic commercial version. If you don't have the time or motivation to make your own, his will do in a pinch.
INGREDIENTS
These ingredients are in amounts to make about three quarts of sauce. It's difficult to make much less than that and get the proportions right. Because of the acid and sugar, barbeque sauce keeps really well, either refrigerated or canned, so I usually make it in batches of more than a gallon at a time, using multiples of the ingredients in this recipe.
- 4 oz pure dark molasses (Bre'er Rabbit or Grandma's)
- 12 oz tomato paste
- 32 oz water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon coarse black pepper
- 1 teaspoon crushed cayenne pepper (not ground)
- Pan drippings from pork or beef brisket
INSTRUCTIONS
Start by combining half of the water and all of the tomato paste and molasses in a one-gallon pot and mix it up really well. Put it on a low simmer until it starts to steam, stirring frequently and making sure that nothing accumulates and burns on the bottom of the pot. Add the pepper, cayenne, and salt. Keep stirring and gradually add the rest of the water. Let the whole thing simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the ingredients mixed. Barbeque sauce is basically gravy, so finish it off by adding about eight ounces of pan drippings from your barbeque. Stir that in really well and let it simmer for another 15 minutes. Stir frequently, don't let the sauce come to a boil, and make sure it doesn't separate or stick to the bottom of the pot.
Article comments
1 - Jordan Richardson
Dave! Finally a useful article! Thank you.
:)
(Happy Holidays to you and yours!)
2 - Dave Nalle
Thanks, Jordan. Same back at you. Look for a sequel article on picking the right wood for smoking meat, coming soon.
Dave
3 - Joanne Huspek
Nice! And you make your own sauce too? You are one multi-talented dude, Dave...
My dad used to fool around making his own sauces. Me, there is only one BBQ sauce for me, and that is Rudolph's Barbecue Sauce from Minneapolis. I buy it by the case, because we can't get it in Michigan. Just the right amount of sweetness, no nasty fake hickory flavor, and not too tangy. Mmm, mmm...
4 - Dave Nalle
The addition of artificial "smoke" flavor can really ruin a sauce. That stuff can be truly nasty. That's why you add the pan drippings in this recipe. They add the smoky flavor naturally.
I should have mentioned in the article that the one catch with adding the pan drippings is that they do make the sauce slightly more vulnerable to spoilage, but not enough to worry about if you refrigirate or vacuum seal the sauce.
Dave
5 - Joanne Huspek
Dave, get a pressure canner and you can make sauce for everyone! Just think, a cottage industry...
6 - Dave Nalle
Not a bad idea. More cool doodads for the kitchen!
I actually still can the old fashioned way by boiling the mason jars and creating a heat vacuum seal.
Dave
7 - Ruvy
Just ran across this, Dave. I have a neighbor from Texas who built himself a nice barbecue... I'll send this to him. If he likes it, he can make the sauce while his wife makes apocalyptic predictions from what she sees on the computer. I'll just keep my mouth shut and flip the meat....
You think I'm bad, Dave? YOu should listen to her!