Sometimes simpler is better.
BBQ - August 30 2009
Although you can buy exotic or seasonal fruits on nearly any giving day of the year, this is does not necessarily mean you should go out and buy or use them every day. Similarly, just because it is possible to use passion fruit in marinades or BBQ sauce, doesn’t mean you should.
The other day, I made a batch of BBQ sauce for grilling some ribs, steak and chicken. Although the ingredients sound simple, like baking soda and vinegar, their combination results in a great surprise.
Here is a rough recipe:
2 – 3 cps chicken stock
2 – 3 cps old vine Zinfandel
I large can – crushed tomato
1 large or equivalent onion chopped very fine
1 head garlic – approximately
4 + tablespoons sugar
3 – 4 tablespoons cider vinegar
cinnamon to taste
cayenne powder to taste
paprika to taste
salt to taste
4 tablespoons buckwheat honey*
A very important point about making this or other similar sauces:
- Reduce the sauce SLOWLY. Using a high boil – when large bubbles constantly and frequently burst at the surface – may result in the sauce’s sugars burning before the sauce reduces to a correct consistency.
*The buckwheat honey, from Virginia Pure Beeswax, is a recent find at the Columbia Pike Farmer’s Market. It has a wonderful dark, nearly chocolate color and a rich smooth dark caramel flavor, making it a superb substitute for molasses.
Like molasses, the buckwheat honey added a touch of dark caramel flavor to the sauce as well as gave it a big boost in the “sticky” factor. At the same time, unlike molasses, the buckwheat honey’s subtle flower flavors are just strong enough to bring out some surprising flavors to the sauce.
