Saucemeister Wahoo's Q-Sauce 101

[WaHoo]

So there is my neighbor... spending several hours smoking his spare ribs to perfection... Watching the temperature, adding hickory chips as needed... only to cover the smoke taste with the typical vinegar-heavy sauce off the shelf. WHAT A MORON!

Yes, there is a place for Kansas City, Sweet Baby Ray, and all the others, but it sure as hell shouldn't be on something you spent your whole afternoon cooking...

It can be very easy to make your own sauce, and it doesn't have to be completely from scratch.

There are only 3 basic ingredients needed:Tomato, Sugar, Spices...

Ok, here we go:

1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons mustard*
1 can (6oz) tomato paste
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar**
1/4 cup lemon juice***
1/4 stick butter
1 small-medium minced onion
1 clove minced garlic
2 tablespoons Worcestershire (W-) sauce

Simply mix together and let it boil on low heat for about 15 minutes until the onion gets soft.

* Don't bother with the cheap yellow stuff. Get Dijon! You want mustard flavor, not vinegar flavor!

** some cool stuff here: Sweet, but with options. Replace with the same amount of honey (my favorite because it's less overwhelming), molasses or corn syrup (if you like things darker and richer)

*** this replaces the vinegar. Try pineapple juice if you like Sweet Baby Ray's sauce :D

There you go, guys! Ground black pepper, a shot of bourbon... all up to you now. If things get too runny, just let it cook for a while longer to reduce... Add a couple drops liquid smoke if you're planning to use the sauce on grilled meat. This beats EVERY storebought sauce, in taste and price.

Btw: Even though you're using ketchup and mustard, you can still consider yourself a Saucemeister. Ever watched a major BBQ cook-off? It's common practice there 8)

[Chairman_Kaga]

I have a very similar one. Just a PITA to make very often. ;)
(I rarely actually measure the small stuff like seasonings. Just the large amounts of liquids.)

2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup brown mustard
1 tsp liquid smoke (optional)
2-3 tbsp dry yellow mustard
2-3 tbsp hot paprika
2-3 tbsp Kosher salt
4-5 tbsp molasses (honey will substitue nicely, I find that brown sugar burns a bit too quickly on the grill but it's all personal taste preference)
1/2 medium sized yellow onion finely chopped
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (pineapple juice does sound tastey, I'll have to try that)
3 cloves crushed garlic


Bring to low simmer in sauce pan and let go for 15-20 minutes stirring often. If it's too thin, add more molasses or honey, whichever you used, and simmer another 5-10 minutes.


Sauces are great but the true flavors come from the dry rub you put on the day before. (assuming you do so)


For some more great simple BBQ sauce ideas, BBQ Bible has some great ones.
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0761119795/qid=1091293229/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/102-6849116-3603315)