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Barbecue Sauce

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Makes About 3 cups 1x

Time 20 minutes

Units Scale

Ingredients

  • 2 cups ketchup
  • 1/2 cup dry red wine or water
  • 1/4 cup cider or rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder, or to taste
  • 1 tablespoon chopped onion
  • 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Combine all the ingredients except the salt and pepper in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavors have a chance to blend, about 10 minutes.
  2. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary. Use immediately or cool, cover, and refrigerate for up to a week.
— Recipe from How to Cook Everything

Recipe variations

Curry Barbecue Sauce

More fragrant: Add a teaspoon or more of curry powder.

Mustardy Barbecue Sauce

Reduce the vinegar to 2 tablespoons. Add 1/4 cup Dijon or stone-ground mustard.

Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

Serious heat: In a small bowl, use a fork to mash to a paste 1 or 2 chopped canned chipotle chiles along with some of their adobo sauce. Add to the sauce in Step 1.

Bourbon Barbecue Sauce

There’s some woody complexity in this one: Replace the wine with 1⁄2 cup bourbon.

Korean-Style Barbecue Sauce

Especially great with grilled beef—even burgers: Use soju or sake instead of the wine; choose rice vinegar and soy sauce. Omit the chili powder and increase the garlic to 1 tablespoon. Stir in 1 tablespoon gochujang (fermented chile paste), then taste to see if you want to add more.