Poblano BBQ Sauce

I am disappointed in the ingredients for most storebought BBQ sauces. As with many processed foods, they tend to be full of sugars, preservatives, and additives. Whenever possible I like to make my own. There does need to be some sweetness in a traditional thick sauce, but I like to use dark molasses and maybe a Tablespoon of brown sugar to finish instead of having a primary ingredient be High Fructose Corn Syrup.

I made this to go with pulled pork for the PADS dinner last night at EPC. I also brought some storebought KC Masterpiece just in case people wanted that sweeter sauce. I like to provide people with the quality of food I would provide my own family, but if they choose the other because that is what they are used to, that's fine too.

This sauce was made to use up the last of my garden's poblano pepper, and I think the mild heat it offered was perfect.

  • 1 large white or yellow onion, peeled & coarsely chopped
  • 1 large poblano, de-stemmed & seeds removed

Place in a blender and add just enough water to cover the blender blades- 1/4-1/3 of a cup. Puree until smooth. If you want a super-smooth sauce, you can strain this mix into a bowl. I don't mind some texture in my sauce, so I just dump the whole thing into a bowl. Add the following and whisk till smooth:

  • 2 cups tomato puree (you can sub 1 cup ketchup, but reduce total cooking time by half)
  • 6 Tbsp dark molasses
  • 4 Tbsp cider vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Tabasco (or hot sauce of choice)
  • 1/2 tsp dry mustard
  • 2 Tbsp mustard ( I prefer Dijon, but yellow works fine too)

In a large, heavy bottomed skillet or Dutch oven, heat up 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil and saute:
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tsp chili powder
Cook until fragrant, approximately 2 minutes. Add the tomato/molasses mixture, bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer and cook till thickened, approximately 1 hour (30 minutes if using ketchup instead of tomato).

Season to taste with salt, black pepper, apple cider vinegar, and additional hot sauce if desired.







 

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