It’s a Holiday Weekend, and I can’t grill, but I can still have some BBQ. Today is a Pork Picnic cooked ala Crock Pot, a method I previously posted https://chefconfidential.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/pulled-pork-sandwich-cider-coleslaw/
However, in that post I neglected to add my BBQ sauce recipe. It is a very simple sauce to make, and the spices I use mimic those in the rub. It is very basic, easily changed up however if you so desire. Well, you couldn’t make it into a Carolina style sauce, but you could make it as smoky, or spicy as you desire. The honey could be swapped out for molasses, or one of my favorites is to add chipotle. Once I found this magical little tube, I‘ve been chipotlizing a lot of things, biscuits, mayo, burgers, grits, homefries, egss…etc.
Chipotle has that sweet, mellow, smokey heat, that in moderation doesn’t over power the food. Just like the convenience of having tomato paste in a tube (for those annoying recipes that call for a tablespoon of tomato paste) this pure chipotle paste fits the bill. I buy mine at my local Sur La Table store.
As stated in the aforementioned post, I don’t mix the BBQ sauce in with the meat, I spread it on the meat, top with some cole slaw, and sometimes a slice of dill pickle. The cole slaw pictured here is so easy to make
BBQ Sauce
I usually make a double batch of this BBQ sauce, I leave half the batch as is, then doctor up the other half.
6 oz tomato paste
½ cup water
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup honey
¼ cup cider vinegar
2 TBL canola oil
2 TBL grated onion
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 TBL salt
2 TBL chili powder
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp paprika
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, simmer for 1 hour covered. Store leftovers in the refrigerator
When finished it’s a thick sauce, if you prefer a thinner sauce, simply add more water while cooking.
This Poppy Seed Cole Slaw is a creamy version, unlike the cider vinegar based German Cole Slaw in the prior post.
Cole Slaw
1 small to medium sized, head cabbage, sliced into strips, only the green parts
½ red pepper chopped
2 carrots shredded
poppy seed dressing
Toss it all together, adding as much or little, of the dressing as you like. Allow the mixture to refrigerate, for at least an hour before serving. Enjoy on top of sandwich, or as a side.