Bourbon Barbecue Sauce

Please welcome guest author Hank Shaw who shares the recipe for his favorite BBQ sauce with us. This sauce is, btw, outrageously good. ~Elise

All barbecue cooks have their own “secret sauce,” but for the most part, each relies on some sort of sugar, something acidic like vinegar, fat – typically butter – and something else to make it special. This sauce uses molasses, lemon juice, bourbon and Worcestershire sauce as its main flavors. It has that tart, sweet, salty, rich and spicy combination that I think all great barbecue sauces need. Use this with ribs, pulled pork or even tri-tip.

Bourbon Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Note that most (not all) of the alcohol from the bourbon will boil away while the sauce reduces, leaving bourbon's distinctive caramel-flavored tang.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil, such as canola or peanut
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 chopped chile pepper, such as a serrano
• 1 medium yellow or white onion, grated
• 1 cup bourbon or Tennessee whiskey
• 1/2 cup ketchup or tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup dark molasses
• 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
• Salt to taste

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