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Sauce: "Ninth Revision" Barbecue Sauce

Source of Recipe

From "BBQ USA" by Steven Raichlen


Recipe Introduction

"'Art is long, life short,' observed the poet Goethe. Pit master Clay Olson has spent half a lifetime perfecting this sweet lemony sauce, which is now in its ninth revision. Clay likes to serve it with brisket, but it also goes well with chicken and pork."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 3 cups ketchup
â—¦ â…” cup distilled white vinegar, or more to taste
â—¦ ¼ cup yellow mustard (like French's mustard)
â—¦ ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
â—¦ 6 very thin slices lemon, seeded and finely diced with rind on
â—¦ 1 small onion, minced
â—¦ 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar, or more to taste
â—¦ 2 tablespoons chili powder
â—¦ 1 teaspoon garlic salt, or more to taste
â—¦ 1 teaspoon black pepper
â—¦ 1 teaspoon ground ginger
â—¦ ¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper


Recipe

Combine the ketchup, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon, onion, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic salt, black pepper, ginger, cayenne, and 1 cup of water in a heavy nonreactive saucepan and slowly bring to a boil over medium heat.

Reduce the heat to medium and let the sauce simmer gently until thick and full-flavored, about 30 minutes, adding a little more water if it gets too thick. Taste for seasoning, adding more brown sugar, garlic salt, and/or even vinegar, as necessary, to taste; the sauce should be very flavorful.

Clay strains the sauce before serving, but I like the pointillistic pleasure of biting into flavorful bits of lemon and onion. In either case, transfer the sauce to clean jars and refrigerate until serving. The sauce can be refrigerated, covered, for several weeks.

Makes 4 ½ to 5 cups