Barbecue sauce

woodworkingboy

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Whenever I'm in the states out west, I like to frequent a barbecue restaurant in the San Fernando valley. The food is excellent and the waitresses are super nice...call you honey and stuff, and really pay attention to your journey through the meal. The place has been there for like fifty years or maybe longer.

Their sauce is very tasty, and they sell it in bottles. When I bought some of the bottles and tried it, the taste was good, but it didn't have quite the spark. So, the next time I was in there I asked the owner, and since I'm an old customer (he said), he offered to tell me a secret about bb sauce. Taking me off to a corner, he advised to put a little red wine in the sauce....they don't or can't sell it that way. Never one to refuse a good tip, I added it to the bottled stuff, and magnifique!

Just thought I'd share that with you guys who like to barbecue...add some red wine into the sauce!
 
Interesting tip Jay. Odd that they can't sell it that way.

At first I thought this way going the way of an episode of MASH where Hawkeye and Trapper have ribs and sauce shipped from Chicago to Korea.:)
 
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  • #6
I don't know for sure that they can't sell it with the wine added. The impression I got was more that they held back a little on the ingredients, still have folks coming in to eat for the full bore taste. A select few get told to add wine, which is all they do at the restaurant. It's good without the wine, but a noticeable difference.
 
This seems like a good place for this... this is a recipie for my late Grandma's BBQ sauce. I actually think it's more like a braising sauce as it is a little runny. But it's really good...

Grandma Z's BarBQ Sauce (single batch)

1/2 cup Ketchup (or "Catsup" as she has it written here)
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Tobasco Sauce
1/8 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Yellow Mustard
1 T. Brown Sugar
1 cup Water

Mix all together and let sit until sugar is dissolved.

I usually make a double or triple batch for whatever I'm cooking. Goes great on slow cooked beef short ribs, or slow cooked chicken thighs.

Gary
 
I wonder if less water would accomplish the same thing?

My family is devoid of recipies, by and far.
 
Some left over wine's always good.

"Only had BIG bottles at the store...wouldn't want it to go to waste, now."
 
I would keep the ratios the same and just reduce it over heat. Replacing the water w/ more ketchup is going to alter the flavor profile. Maybe add in some red wine for 1/2 the water.
 
...and maybe a little garlic powder for added flavor? ..."I want ribs"!!!
 
I've never tried making it myself, but I was roofing a guy's house once who had grilled some chicken and insisted that I come down for lunch and try some. He had made his own using two parts honey and one part Heinz 57 sauce. It was fantastic. He said the honey made it stick to the chicken. Made sense to me. All I know is it was some G-O-O-D chicken.
 
Maybe they don't put the red wine in it because it might ferment when they can it like homemade grape juice does & blow the lid off...
 
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  • #21
Possibly, and maybe some license is required to sell sauce with an alcohol content? It seemed more like a hush hush thing, wanting folks to come in to eat if they desired the full impact from the sauce there.
 
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