Quick Barbeque Sauce

A while back, we were busy cooking dinner for a family barbeque when we realized that there wasn't any barbeque sauce in the house.  My husband is pretty adventurous and figured it would be just as easy to whip some up so he pulled out a cookbook and started gathering ingredients.  We had never made it before but the family loved it and we haven given out this recipe to almost everyone. We never buy barbeque sauce anymore. This sauce is easy  to make. The most tedious part is waiting for the sauce to thicken up (about 25 minutes).  The wait is worth it.

Quick Barbeque Sauce

Makes about 1 ½ cups

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, peeled and quartered

¼ cup water

1 cup ketchup

5 tbsp molasses

2 tbsp cider vinegar

2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 ½ tsp liquid smoke

1 tsp hot pepper sauce (tabasco)

¼ tsp ground black pepper

2 tbsp vegetable / canola oil

1 medium garlic clove pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tsp)

1 tsp chili powder

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:

Process the onion with the water  in a food processor until pureed and the mixture resembles slush, about 30 seconds.  Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a liquid measuring cup, pressing on the solids with a rubber spatula to obtain ½ cup juice.  Discard the solids.

Whisk the onion juice, ketchup, molasses, vinegar, worchestershire, mustard, liquid smoke, hot pepper sauce, and black pepper together in a medium bowl. 

Heat the oil in a large non reactive saucepan over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking.  Add the garlic, chili powder, and cayenne;  cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Whisk in the ketchup mixture and bring to a boil;  reduce the heat to medium low and simmer gently, uncovered, until the flavors meld and the sauce is thickened, about 25 minutes.  Cool the sauce to room temperature before using.  (Can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week). 

Recipe courtesy of Cooks Illustrated