Friday 1 April 2016

BBQ Sauce.




It's almost BBQ season; mine has been cleaned, and is ready for action.

I'm looking for a fail-proof, delicious, simple, four-ingredient (or less), BBQ Sauce recipe.

My usual one is a bit hit-n-miss; it usually contains a ramshackle melange of Soy, Ketchup, Honey, Worcestershire Sauce, and vinegar. But I never seem to get it quite RIGHT.

These Pork Ribs (that we ate last night) were OK; they looked good, but were not great. No Ooomph.

So, any simple fail-proof BBQ Sauce recipe (and method) would be welcomed. Maybe my whole process is wrong; I tend to paint the sauce onto the Ribs during the final phase of cooking. Is that right?

Readers from across the pond may like to offer assistance; they seem to do this so much better than us Europeans.



47 comments:

  1. Hmmmm...I like ketchup, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce along with a couple of tbsps of Cajun seasoning. The apple cider vinegar and brown sugar are essential when grilling pork! Hickory or apple wood chips on the BBQ add nice flavor, too.

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    1. I shall replace my wine vinegar with cider vinegar. I tend to use honey rather than brown sugar, so I'll try that too.

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  2. I agree with Jennifer but you should use a dry rub first of salt pepper chilli powder, cayenne and onion powder. Leave overnight or at least an hour.
    Cook until almost done then brush with a wet sauce like Jennifer's but I use tomato paste. Apple cider vinegar is a must. You can also add Dr Pepper or a Cola..
    If you do not want a wet sauce on the cooked ribs add brown sugar to the dry rub and use a sauce on the side.
    I alway bake my ribs first, dry rub, covered in foil in the oven. the flavor is so much better and then the added sugar does not burn.

    Now I want to have some ribs.
    cheers, parsnip

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    1. Someone did say that I should cook the ribs first, then add the flavourings after. Maybe I should try that too.

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  3. We don't have a BBQ, because I'm the only one who would eat anything cooked on it.
    I love spare ribs, but cook mine in the oven in a roasting bag, which seems to keep the flavour in. I always coat mine well before cooking, and leave them for a while, using a basis of double-strength tomato purée, garlic (the powdered variety, sprinkled liberally all over, works well), then something like Herbs of Provence. I don't use sugar, Worcestershire sauce, or vinegar, (don't they burn easily?) so I doubt my recipe will have the "oomph" you're after.

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    1. That sounds more like roasted ribs, rather than the classic BBQ'd ribs. What I'd really like to replicate are the sweet-n-sour ribs from my favourite Chinese takeaway in Brighton. They are amazing.

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    2. Yes, they are, as we don't have a BBQ. I notice that angryparsnip also bakes hers in the oven first. I know quite a few people who do this and say the flavour is better, and there is less burning. As you particularly want a sweet and sour marinade, have you thought of looking in a Chinese cookbook - might be something suitable in there?

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  4. I'll have to ask Mingming. I imagine she could come up with a great concoction to replicate the taste.

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  5. I just showed my husband your deliciously looking grilled ribs! He also enjoys making BBQ (ex boy scout) this is his simple sauce, maybe not as good as the American way but a bit different and works fine with us: balsamico vinegar, rosemary, sage, laurel, red wine, (or beer) onion, cayenne pepper and marinate the meat for about 5 hours. Greetings Maria x

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    1. Sorry, it was meant paprika and not Cheyenne pepper. Reading Aril's comment I noticed my mistake.

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    2. Mine were quite good, but I was after something much better. I'll try adding the Paprika.

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  6. Smoked paprika adds is my favourite.
    Arilx

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    1. Smoked Paprika is a wonderful spice. I use it a lot.

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  7. Try adding some soy sauce, rum, garlic and mustard to the ingredients that you use Cro. Some recipes add a bit of chili too. Use the honey .... I think that's what gives them the sticky, yumminess !!!!
    .... and, I think it helps to put them in a plastic bag with the sauce and then into the fridge for up to 3 days before you BBQ them. XXXX

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    1. I've never tried the plastic bag bit... I'll have a go at that. Thanks.

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  8. Lou makes a mean BBQ sauce - same ingredients.

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  9. Jennifer and angryparsnip have it right.
    And like parsnip says, you need a dry rub first and 'marinate' it for a few hours, at least.
    I also first cook them slow in the oven before letting them get anywhere near the BBQ.

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    1. I'm beginning to understand where I go wrong.

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  10. I make a wet (ish) rub with coarse-grained garlic mustard ... just enough to thinly coat. Mix tomato puree, apple cider vinegar, a bit of cayenne pepper and a touch of honey if you like a little sweetness. Brush it on during the last 5 minutes of cooking and reserve some for dipping. Like Patricia, I cook them low and slow in the oven first.

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  11. I'd keep the other ingredients but I'd ditch the worcestershire sauce (don't like it)and replace it with Frank's Hot Pepper Sauce or tabasco. I'd bung it all on before cooking ... but what do I know? I don't even have a bbq! I use this on oven baked chicken.

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    1. I presume oven baking is less likely to burn too. See pic above.

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  12. I wish I could add something but here in America, BBQ is a man's thing. The Retired Man is in charge of the grill and he does a great job with the ribs. He does cook them in the oven first though.

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  13. I recently read in a blog (but can't remember which!) of a revolutionary idea for BBQ'd Spare Ribs. They were cooked all day in a slow cooker, wound round and round and stood up on end. The secret ingredient was coca cola. They were then finished under the grill to crisp up the outside. And this isn't an April Fools Joke!

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    1. Nigella Lawson has a recipe for cooking ham in coke. I've not tried it, but she swears that it's amazing.

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  14. I know nothing about making BBQ sauce but I can tell you that before doing anything make sure you have some decent bloody spare ribs.

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  15. Rachel is right. Also, the succulence comes from the fat mixing with the sauce, which is why slow cooking is best. On a too-hot barbecue they'll dry out before this happens. When I get home I'll post my recipe for Chinese style ribs.

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  16. I did not know BBQ existed in Europe. Dumb me. Your ingredients sound good and you must wait till the end of cooking or the sugar (honey) will burn and blacken. Try fruitwood, like prunings from apple or cherry trees for flavoring. Texans always use mesquite wood. Just low and slow and they should fall off the bone. I read a recipe once that had cigar ashes in it. Dry rubs are big in the US too.

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    1. I presume it's the honey that has burnt in my pic above. Cigar ash? No thanks.

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  17. 'Almost BBQ season' - I wish, it's brass monkeys over here in Blighty! When our bbq eventually comes out to play (wood fired) we use it most frequently for stir fries - very fast, very tasty.

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    1. I use mine mostly for big coils of sausages. They are perfect cooked over charcoal.

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  18. CRO, I love your blog. Long time reader first time poster. Others are right that spices are essential to success as is rubbing or marinating before cooking. Cheers from rural British Columbia

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    1. Hi James. I'm pleased I posted this... I'm learning a lot. Thanks.

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  19. Can't help - sorry Cro. I am not a fan of barbecues, mainly because I am not particularly a meat fan and the two go together.

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    1. My veggie son/daughter in law didn't once use the BBQ I gave them. Maybe a fire pit would suit them better.

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  20. I am getting hungry looking at your photo! :)

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    1. It was very good, but could have been better.

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  21. Not that I've tried it, but maybe some of that home-made chilli sauce would give it a kick?

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    1. I do usually add some chilli, but it's mostly that sweet/sour bit that I can't get right.

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  22. Here in NE England a successful BBQ is a triumph of hope over experience.

    My recipe for ribs or any cut of pork is marinate in Soy, vinegar, lemon juice, brown sugar and EV olive oil.

    Then stick the lot in hot oven, add onion or leek and some peppers and anything else from the fridge that's looking like it needs eating, serve with chunks of cheese bread.

    I find a combination of lemon juice and brown sugar gives a good sweet/sour combination. Or quarter lemons cover in brown sugar, leave overnight, stick in any dish.

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  24. 1/2 carton of passata ( sp? ).
    jollops of honey , soya sauce and Worcester sauce . Shake of dried ginger , Kashmiri chili powder and grind of black pepper . NO VINEGAR .
    Mix and paint all over ribs for an hour before grilling . Watch like a hawk .

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