Recipe of the Month - June
She Devil Barbecue Sauce
Light the barbie, simmer this funky sauce. It gets both its heat and its smoke from chipotle chilli; I use dried, though if dried are not available you can use canned in adobo though it is often much hotter with chile heat, so you'll need to use less.
Gutsy old fashioned barbecue sauce like this is good with meat of course--brush it on when the meat is cooked for a final glaze and return it to the heat of the grill to just set a bit--too much sitting around on the fire with the barbecue sauce will scorch it as it is high in sugar. She Devil is also good added to ordinary canned baked beans, vegetarian or otherwise, and baked together either on the barbie on in the oven.
And if you can't bother lighting the fire, or if the weather is just not being cooperative, try barbecue burgers by mixing barbecue sauce with leanish ground beef and lots and lots of chopped onion, enough crumbs or soaked bread to bind it all together. Brown in oven and slather with more barbecue sauce. they'll probably fall apart as you eat them as they have so many onions in them, but they are delish.
The recipe is from my newly reissued 101 Essential Tips: Barbecue (DK publishing):
- 1 onion, coarsely grated
- 3-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 4 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
- 1 cup tomato catsup
- 4 tablespoon dark brown sugar or dark molasses
- 2-3 dried chipotle chillies, or 1-2 chipotle chillies from a can, with a little of their adobo sauce
- 1 1/4 cup beer or lager
- 1 cup water, or as needed
- 1 teaspoon dry English mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon either paprika, or if more heat is needed, red chile powder (mild, such as ancho, or ordinary chile powder)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin, or more to taste
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 4 tablespoons vinegar, or more to taste
Combine the onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, catsup, brown sugar or Molasses, chipotle, beer, water, mustard, chile powder, cumin, salt and pepper and half the vinegar in a nonreactive saucepan.
Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until it forms a thick sticky sauce. If the mixture threatens to burn, add more water or beer.
When sauce is ready, add the remaining cider vinegar and taste for seasoning, as well as sweet-tart balance and adjust accordingly.
Remove from heat.
Brush on to meats that are mostly cooked, or add to whatever you wish to perk up with a spicy smokey classic bbq sauce.
Store for up to two weeks in the refrigerator; for longer storage time, freeze. Defrost and use as needed.
© Marlena Spieler 2004