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Wojape BBQ Sauce

Photo: Kristin Teig

BY The Editors

PUBLISHED December 3, 2025

I love taking my dad out for barbecue on his birthday. Just the thought of those burned ends of perfectly cooked meat doused in thick, lustrous Kansas City BBQ sauce tickles my taste buds. So when I turned twenty-nine and decided to host a birthday party for my friends, to thank them for all their love and support, I couldn't help but think of meat and BBQ sauce. That's the first time I cooked up my signature Wojape BBQ Sauce; I used it to braise the lamb I served that evening. It was so finger-lickin' good that my friends dreamed about this dish the rest of the year and kept asking for a repeat of that celebratory dinner. This is my homage to Kansas, to my dad—an avid BBQ sauce lover—and to my ancestors who first cooked up the wojape that now serves as the foundation for this bold, earthy, slightly smoky sauce. Thank you. – Pyet DeSpain

 

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Wojape BBQ Sauce

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Makes 1 1/4 cups 1x

Time 20 minutes

Units Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, chokecherries, gooseberries,
    cranberries, strawberries, boysenberries, brambleberries)
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup (or maple sugar)
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

In a medium sauce pot over medium heat, add the mixed berries, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, rosemary, thyme, oregano, onion powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Once the sauce reaches a thick consistency, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool. 

Note: If using chokecherries, remove the pits. For a smooth consistency, process the sauce in a blender, and remove the seeds with a sieve or mesh strainer.

– Excerpted from Rooted in Fire by Pyet DeSpain reprinted with permission from HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Copyright 2025.

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