Recipe: Basic Barbecue Sauce

Basic Barbecue Sauce

About 2-1/2 Cups

A traditional American sauce that has a nice balance of sweet, tart, and spicy. Because the sauce contains sugar, it burns easily, and is best brushed on food just during the last 5 or 10 minutes of cooking. Pass the remaining sauce at the table.

3 T vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-1/4 C catsup

1/3 C cider vinegar

1/3 C Worcestershire sauce

1/3 C brown sugar

2 t chili powder

¼ t cayenne pepper

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and cook the onion and garlic gently for 10 minutes. Add the catsup, vinegar, Worcestershire, brown sugar, chili powder, and cayenne, and mix well. Let simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened.