Memorial day is a few days away and barbecue ribs, chicken and what have you will be on many tables. Why not make your own barbecue sauce for the occasion, one that you can customize to you and your families taste. Most store bought barbecue sauce has high fructose corn syrup as a main ingredient. If this is a concern for you, make sure your ketchup and pineapple juice doesn’t have it either. Testing a few recipes, this one is a winner for my husband and I. My preference is to use the apple cider vinegar, though the pineapple juice was delicious. The juice added more sweetness and I think the sugar and molassess adds plenty. I also use an organic white sugar, which still has some of it’s natural molasses still in it, instead of brown sugar in this sauce. Since we do not prefer a barbecue sauce with a lot of heat I only use 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper. This is a super simple sauce that will surprise you that it tastes as good or better than the store bought sauce. Refrigerates great so you can always have it on hand. Enjoy!
1 1/4 C. ketchup
1 C. brown sugar
1/4 C. molassess
1/4 C. pineapple juice or apple cider vinegar
1/4 C. water
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 1/2 tsp. ground mustard
2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (or less)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. pepper
Combine all ingredients in a medium size sauce pan. Bring to a boil and reduce and simmer for 5 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved. Serve immediately or store in a glass jar in the refrigerator.
