I’ve never been a super barbecue sauce guy by itself. Like if it’s already on some wings or on ribs etc I’m down but almost always if there’s another option, like ranch or hot sauce, I’ll usually pick that. I think it’s because it’s mostly just too sweet, although not as bad as ketchup in that regard. After a while, I just tap out on it and would rather have something else to cut it with. Even the “spicy” BBQs are rarely that. I assume this is because I live in the UK, where BBQ is more of a British idea of what Americans might do #yeehaw.
All of this was flipped upside down however after getting into Netflix’s American Barbecue Show. Season 1 was one of my favourite cooking show seasons ever. Everyone was sweet and nice to each other while still maintaining competition. The show still maintained that vibe, while giving some serious game on how to grill and succeed. A fine balance most shows can’t handle. I’m super excited for Season 2. One of the judges on the show, Big Kev Bludso, had a cookbook which was very sweetly gifted to me by a friend.
We tried out the wings recipe and ribs recipe with the linked chicken/pork rub recipes. We were blown away with how simple the recipes were, but how complex and layered the flavours were, especially when combined with the smoke. So I thought, if the rub slaps this hard, lemme try this sauce. It might be the most popular thing I’ve ever made, my friends sceptical at first completely lapped it up. A 3 cups recipe, which initially had seemed like overkill, became the perfect amount for 6-8 people. I even took the recipe stateside to see if Americans, responded the same way. They raved about it too. So if you’re a budding sauce boss or just curious on how good this sauce can be, I’ll share the recipe. Each time the sauce has come out with a different flavour profile so I think it really is a fun one and everyone can claim it as their own success.
If you’re interested in this or other recipes I’ve done, I’ve got a 14 day trial offer so y’all can see behind the content wall. If not, I’ll see y’all next week for my Mexican adventures1
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons salted butter
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
1½ tablespoons cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon seasoning salt
2 teaspoons mustard powder
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
2 cups ketchup
½ cup cider vinegar
½ cup Worcestershire sauce (clutch ingredient)
4 teaspoons red pepper flake
2 tablespoons liquid smoke (substitute with a 1TB vinegary hot sauce since there’s no UK equivalent)
Mise En Place:
You can combine the wet ingredients as part of prep to save washing up etc
Cooking process
Start by cooking down the onions in the butter and once they’re soft, put all the other ingredients in. Then let it cook on a low heat, just enough to where a bubble will appear and pop every now and then, for 10 mins…
Final Result
You can go two ways from this point. I honestly prefer the sauce being blended up and served like this. Bludso recommends letting the sauce steep in the fridge and then sieving out the bits so you’re left with a smooth sauce. To me that’s more clean up and you lose the natural sweetness of the onion and other bits blended up to create a chunkier sauce. Each to their own, let me know which one you rock with and prefer!
Finally I know