Family BBQ Sauce

The Family BBQ Sauce (AKA, the best darn ribs sauce. period.)

My dad has a tendency to write down all of our recipes on the backs of business cards.  Personally, I love this because it shows which recipes are used time and time again.  It also shows how true and good these recipes are that these cards have survived, un-altered, for my life.  

Exhibit A:

Like many people, my Great-Grandmother and Grandmother did not use specific measurements.  Everything I was taught about cooking comes from estimations and what "looks right" or "smells right" or "tastes right."  Now, I understand that this may tick some people off, and if this is a problem for you, I can attempt to make some measurements if you'd like.

So here we go! Step one: Gather all ingredients (Left to Right)

1) Liquid Smoke (powerful stuff, aim for only one or two drops)

2) Hot Sauce (we use Dumb Ass, also strong, also only a couple drops)

3) Lemon Juice 

4) Worchestershire Sauce (Wore-chester-sh-shire, if you're in my household)

5) Yellow Mustard

6) Steak Sauce

7) Molasses

8) Ketchup (you'll need three cups at least, so get a bigger bottle)

9) Vinegar

10) Pepper

11) Brown Sugar

12) Onion (Sweet, Yellow, White: which ever)

Other things not shown:

13) Pot (With lid, por favor)

14) Spatula

Okay... here we go!

Step 1: Place vinegar and lemon juice in the pot, enough to cover the bottom of the pot by 1/4 inch. (Go half/half)

Step 2: Add about that much pepper. (Look below)

Step 3: Prepare to Cry!! (Just kidding, but we are chopping onions)

Step 3A: Slice the Onion through the middle.

Step 3B: Stack them on top of each other.

Step 3C: Cut the Stack in half.

Step 3D: Cut the onion in a star formation (As pictured below)

Step 4: Add the onions to the pot with the vinegar and lemon juice.

Step 5: Cover! And bring to a boil and then back down to simmer.  (Also, the vinegar and lemon juice are going to come to a boil much faster than water would)

Allow the onions to soften until they look something like this:

Step 6: Here comes the adding of all the other ingredients (the ones below the line according to recipe card above)

About three cups of ketchup:

About 2 Tablespoons of Molasses:

A couple of shakes of Worcestershire and Steak Sauce, drops of liquid smoke, drops of hot sauce:

Add 1/8 cup of mustard (despite what you might think, this is also very potent.  Be careful!)

Top it off with about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of brown sugar and stir! (honestly, it depends on how sweet you like your BBQ)

Last step: Put it on simmer/lo heat and walk away! (Seriously, this is necessary to make those sauces that taste like love)

Oh yes, Don't forget to taste!!! (Check out this awesomely posed selfie of us tasting the sauce)

Unfortunately, I only have this picture of the final product, as it is being spooned over pork ribs. (Don't worry, that recipe is coming next Tuesday)

BBQ CHEAT SHEET

Since cooking is all about the ratios of Sweet, Salt, Spicy, and Sour, here is a listing showing how to alter the ingredients based on what type of BBQ sauce you like:

Tangy: increase the vinegar and decrease the ketchup.

Sweet: increase the brown sugar and ketchup, decrease the hot sauce.

If you want a faux-grilled taste: add only ONE extra drop of liquid smoke, seriously, this stuff is Poe-tent!

Spicy/Sweet: increase brown sugar and hot sauce

Carolina BBQ: increase mustard and vinegar

If you think that your sauce is just too strong in generally, add either water or ketchup.