Recently I've been on a bit of a DIY kick in the kitchen. But it hasn't all been recent. Over the past few years I've slowly replaced some of our pantry or staple items that are usually store bought, with homemade versions. I've gotten into the habit of making my own bread for sandwiches, ice cream, most of our jams, and some salad dressings. Then there's other things that I've at least tried but haven't out right replaced the store bought version with yet. Most of those trials I hope to eventually turn into regular kitchen habits, but we'll see...baby steps.
Usually when I decide to try my hand at making a homemade version of something often purchased at the store, it's for one of two reasons, or both: cost and realizing the item has an ingredient list longer than my index finger. Are you like me? Do you get a bit suspicious of weird ingredients that you can't even pronounce?
Well one food item that has bugged me whenever I would purchase it was BBQ sauce. When Shawn and I lived in Japan--it's been 8 years since we moved back ya'll!!!!--we couldn't find good old american BBQ sauce on the store shelves of our neighborhood grocery store, Maruhei. Nor could we find it at the liquor store down the street, Yamaya. Yes, I said liquor store. They actually double as international grocery stores in Japan. So we frequented the one near our apartment and got VERY excited when they started carrying flour tortillas! Anyway, back to the sauce...they had none to purchase. So I knew making BBQ sauce was totally do-able, I mean everyone at a grilling contest probably has their own homemade secret sauce, right? Well in my search for a good recipe, I was roadblocked by ingredients that I couldn't find in Japan. The main one was hickory smoke--blast you hickory smoke! Finally a good friend who we worked and worshiped with in Japan found out that I was in need of a BBQ sauce recipe and she shared hers with me. It was just what I was looking for: simple ingredients and fantastic taste.
I made Kari's recipe often during the three years that we lived there and we always enjoyed it. But somewhere along the way, live got busy--ahem, three children--and I turned to store bought sauces. But I always felt a little guilty about it because I knew the homemade version wasn't all that difficult. But recently I came up with a good way to use BBQ sauce that the whole family enjoys (more on that in a future post), so I tried my hand at making this sauce again. Now I double or even triple it and keep the leftovers in the fridge so I can have it ready for the next meal. This fall I may even try making an extra large batch and canning it. We'll see how busy life gets during Shawn's annual moose hunt.
Kari's Homemade BBQ Sauce
from Kari Littlejohn
makes about 1 quart
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 - 1/2 of an onion chopped in slices
1-4 cloves of garlic, diced or pressed
3/4 cup ketchup (natural if preferred)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/8 cup worcestershire sauce
1/8 cup soy sauce (low sodium if preferred)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard or prepared spicy mustard (I always used the spice mustard in Japan cause I couldn't find the dry--tasted just great)
2 teaspoons chili powder
juice of 1/2 lemon and slices from the other half.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic and saute for a few minutes until soft and fragrant.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer for a few minutes until the onions look done. Store in a container in the fridge for several weeks, maybe even months if you like to live on the edge. :-)
If the weather isn't hinting at fall where you live like it is here, then you probably have some grilling opportunities ahead of you in the near future. Maybe Labor Day? If you have the chance, then I encourage you to give this BBQ sauce a try. I think you'll enjoy the sweet and tangy flavor on just about anything you add it to. Plus you can feel good abut what you're feeding your family--simple ingredients you can pronounce. Except maybe for that worcestershire sauce. That's a tricky one.
