People tend to think Americans wouldn’t have any culture when it comes to food. Well, most people outside of the US think that. Did they never hear of BBQ sauce?! ? Fun fact, though: I never liked barbecue sauce until that one time in New York when I got it together with my sweet potato fries (btw this makes a wonderful food combination and is so easy to make at home). That was probably because I obviously associated it with meat but never liked it. Once served with the fries, my memories were exchanged. I knew I had to create my own recipe. Inspired by classical American recipes for BBQ sauce I managed (after a few failures) to make this unbelievably delicious sauce by substituting some ingredients of the original.
Now you may ask, why I share the recipe these days, when it’s not even barbecue season (at least in some parts of the world). That’s because BBQ sauce isn’t only for burgers. It’s the perfect glaze and sauce for lentil loafs. And as I said before it’s the perfect dip for any kinds of oven roasted vegetables. It also goes well with rice or with a wrap or a sandwich. The possibilities are endless.
The Best Homemade BBQ Sauce
Ditch the bottled bbq sauce for this homemade version. It's a little sweet, a little spicy and makes any grilled dish.
Course:
Side Dish
Cuisine:
American
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- a little less than 1 cup tomato passata (250 g)
- 1/2 tsp dijon-mustard
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar (70 g)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar) (60 g)
- 1 tbsp tamari (or soy sauce) (15 g)
- 1 tbsp & 1 tsp maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener) (25 g)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
Instructions
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Cook the chopped onion and pressed garlic in a big pan (non-stick, otherwise with some oil) over medium heat for about 1-2 minutes until they become translucent.
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Add all the other ingredients and stir thoroughly.
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Bring sauce to a boil. Then lower the heat to the lowest setting and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
-
Let sauce cool off completely before blending it, if desired, to get a very smooth sauce.
Recipe Notes
- In Europe what we call tomato passata is an uncooked tomato puree that has been strained of seeds and skins. If you can find it you could substitute canned tomatoes and run them through a sieve.
