SWEET-SOUR BBQ SAUCE

Let me begin this post by saying we all have our weaknesses, and mine is this recipe for Sweet-Sour BBQ Sauce, which in our family has become known as Mom’s BBQ Sauce. 

I’ve been making it since I first found the recipe in a Woman’s Day magazine…okay, it was 40 years ago, I was newly married, and there weren’t  a lot of food magazines out there.  We were also blissfully ignorant in those days of the evil lurking behind all that sugar we consumed, of which this recipe has more than its share.

For the most part, I like to think of myself as fairly health conscious about what we consume.  I use very little processed foods making almost everything from scratch  using wholesome ingredients.

While there are wonderful BBQ rubs, both dry and wet, and other sauces I’m sure would be better for you, I can’t seem to part with this favorite…and my family wouldn’t let me anyway.  My sons have even been known to smuggle a bottle back to the west coast in their suitcases after a visit home.

I will usually make double or triple the recipe and store it in bottles in my fridge, where it will keep for a very long time.  It’s almost become an annual event. 

I love the sweetness and tanginess of this sauce with its spicy undertones.  It is exceptional on grilled chicken and ribs, basting them with it the last 15 minutes.  Remember to keep a watchful eye on it.  With the high content of sugar, excessive heat could cause it to burn.  What you’re looking for is that candied glaze as the sauce and the ribs/chicken  become one.

So what prompted me to make a triple batch of this sauce today?  Guess who’s coming to dinner during the month of September?  Both of our sons will be coming home, one from LA, and one from San Francisco for separate visits.  Photos of chicken and ribs with sweet-sour BBQ sauce to come!

Sweet-Sour BBQ Sauce

2 cups prepared BBQ sauce

1 cup each: ketchup, packed brown sugar (light, dark or combination)

2/3 cup each:  cider vinegar, granulated sugar

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon each:  paprika, onion powder

Combine ingredients in saucepan.  Heat to boiling.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.