Creating your own barbecue sauce delivers rewards every time. Packaged in pretty containers, friends and neighbors may even encourage you to start a business. After decades in the highly competitive sauce industry, I’m now happy to simply putz around in my own kitchen perfecting a personal 2023 barbecue season sauce.
This summer’s rendition relies on dried apricots for texture, bulk, and a bit of fruity tanginess. The hefty dose of honey adds a lovely funky sweetness; two spoonfuls of crushed red pepper creates a nearly pulsating heat. Tomatoes, usually in the form of paste or ketchup, form the backbone of most red barbecue sauces while Worcestershire contributes the complex spicing that pairs so well with meat and the smoke of a grill. Vinegar proves essential to cut the richness while sweet spices, such as cinnamon and cloves, round out the heat and bitter notes.
A slow simmer, with plenty of stirring to prevent scorching, creates a velvety texture and moderately thick consistency. Double the batch, if you wish, for this sauce is excellent slathered on pork chops, ribs, cut up chicken, and sliced eggplant. A modest coating applied to salmon and tofu turns those lean proteins into crave-worthy eats.
To store, simply cool the sauce and tuck into the refrigerator for several weeks. To bottle the sauce, make sure to boil it hard before ladling it into hot, clean canning jars and cover with new lids according to manufacturer’s directions.
Grilled chicken, slathered in barbecue sauce, just may be the quintessential summer meal. It’s terrific hot off the grill or chilled for picnic fare. I always cook extra; you can reheat the chicken pieces on a sheet pan in a 400-degree-F oven for 15 minutes. Serve extra sauce, warmed, on the side.
Three to four pounds of chicken parts will need about 1 to 2 cups of sauce. To prevent the sauce from burning, move nearly-cooked chicken to a cooler section of the grill and then apply the sauce to one side. Turn the chicken over and apply more sauce in several applications.
When I have time, I like to cut up a whole chicken into pieces so I have an assortment of light and dark meat. You can use 3 1/2 to 4 pounds bone-in, skin-on cutup chicken parts with skin-on here. If using boneless, skinless chicken, reduce the cooking time by about 1/3.
Spicy Honey Barbecue Sauce With Apricots
Makes 4 cups
