Sauce, Sauce, Sauce

If you have never ventured into the realm of homemade BBQ sauce you really should, it is just as rewarding as a perfectly smoked brisket. Sauce is easy and fun to make.

First thing I would suggest is start small (small saucepan, small amount, etc) and TAKE NOTES!!! It never fails the one time you strike gold you forgot to write down ingredient measurements. So make sure and keep notes and write down what you do so when you create that prefect masterpiece you can re-create it again and again.

Now just like the foundation of my secret rub recipe is Salt, Pepper, Sugar, and a distribution agent (Wheat Flour), the foundation of BBQ sauce is pretty much just as simple Salt, Pepper, Sugar, distribution agent (Ketchup). Ketchup is your foundation that all the other flavors and spices attach to. Now when it comes to the core elements of heat and sweet the possibilities are endless. I have tried ALL different kinds of heat and sweet agents from plain old black pepper to grandma’s homemade peach preserves. So you can make your sauce as simple or complex as you want. My daughter and I have so much fun when we make sauce. She has the most important job of constantly stirring the sauce (she says that is the secret to good sauce). My suggestion is start simple and then tweak as you go, just remember all sauce really is when you get down to the core is ketchup, brown sugar, salt and pepper.

Use the following recipe as a baseline for your first attempt at homemade BBQ sauce. Simmer the following ingredients in a saucepan for 5 to 10min, then start to add your own elements for added spiciness or sweetness, sample as you go and tweak till you have a finished product you like. Remember to write down what you add, and add small amounts at a time. Have fun with it, this process is the exact process I used when I came up with my secret Original BBQ Sauce recipe and my Black Label BBQ Sauce.

1cup – Ketchup

2 tablespoons – Brown sugar

½ teaspoon – Kosher salt

½ teaspoon – Black pepper

Newcomers

To those of you that are new to BBQ or are still trying to get the hang of this amazing and rewarding hobby I just want to say welcome. As we start to enter the perfect BBQ weather and more and more people are starting to stop at the smokers on display at the local stores, more and more people are looking for help. Well you have found it! As you look through the pages on this blog you will quickly see that the soul purpose of this blog is to help you, to guide you through the choppy waters of traditional slow smoked BBQ.

As I get questions from newcomers to the BBQ world I want to draw your attention to the first post that started this bloq “Bake or Broil, Smoke or Grill” this post is foundational in understanding what slow smoked BBQ is. Moving from backyard burgers to slow smoked brisket is somewhat of a paradigm shift and this post helps get you in the proper mindset to set the stage for success.

The BBQ Manual

I am very excited to say that the current manuscript for my first book is currently being edited and reviewed, so it should not be much longer and "The BBQ Manual" will be available for purchase through Amazon. The book will be a hard copy of the pages and articles found on this site some of the content has been expanded but it was more or less created for those that want a hard copy of the content found on this site. It is also an answer to my bookshelf that has been begging for a book written by yours truly for years.

It has been awhile since I have posted any how-to's, videos or tips, I have been busy in a new position at work and weather has not been cooperating with my desired BBQ efforts. I am working to address a few questions I have received via e-mail and plan to write them up into full blown posts not just generic e-mail replies, so keep those e-mails coming!

I am always looking for ways to expand this blog but want to keep it in line with it's intent to provide information on slow smoked BBQ NOT grilling.