I got this recipe off an internet site several years ago, but I don't remember where so I cannot give proper credit.  I have made a couple of small mods to this to suit my family's tastes. This has been a favorite of my family and friends for several years and gets requested often.

Honey Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tablespoons chipotle chiles in adobo
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1 pinch ground pepper, to taste


Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until very smooth, 1-2 minutes. Refrigerate.

Sauce may become quite thick once refrigerated. Just heat for a few seconds in microwave.

Recipe can be doubled or tripled and the level of chipotle pepper can be adjusted to suit personal preferences.

Looks interesting.

• Is it hot?  (I wish we could perfect that scale that's here*)
• What would it taste like without the salt?

*I guess it can't be done because each of us has our own scale—some of us get a runny nose before others (Kristin).   

I was just going to ask the same question re hot.  I too wish we could get that hotness scale going.  I would just go down one or two categories from where others said was hot to know my limits.  But an average sure would help.

There is some testing I would like to do, although even with the testing I am like you all, how would you quantify the data?

Man, living in Mayberry does have its drawbacks.  If were in Southern California, may not all be PelletFans, but I could get 15 BBQ folks at the drop of a hat to do this!

Poor Gringo, 4 day old site and I am already ruining folks threads!

No ruined thread here!  Very good questions.  Sorry, I don't have an absolute answer for you.

Here's what I can tell you:  I don't like "hot" as much as I did in my younger days.  I still like a "bite" to it, but I no longer enjoy my mouth feeling like it's on fire.  But I enjoy this BBQ sauce.  Using the hotness scale in the other post,  I would probably put this at about a 5...unless you put a LOT of the sauce on, then I would guess a bit of a nose run would occur!

The other issue that I've found is that some of the chipotle peppers in adobe sauce are hotter than others.  So, you could make two batches of this, and they may both have a different level of heat.

So,  what I tend to do is to put a little less of the chipotle into the blender than the recipe calls for,  and blend.  Do a taste test.  If you want more heat,  add a bit more of the chipotle,  and if you want a bit more smokey flavor, add a bit more of the adobo sauce....until you get it to your liking.

That's the nice thing about the sauce. Since there's no cooking involved, you can tailor it to your tastes by just adding a little at a time.

Pmillen:  sorry, I have not tried it without the salt.  You're really not adding that much, so I would believe that it wouldn't be too bad if you omitted it.  You could also take the same approach with the salt.  Try it with no added salt, and just add a little if you think it needs it.

If you try this, let me know if you like it.  As I said,  it's a family favorite (especially my oldest daughter and her husband!) and it gets requested frequently.

So,  what I tend to do is to put a little less of the chipotle into the blender than the recipe calls for,  and blend.  Do a taste test.  If you want more heat,  add a bit more of the chipotle,  and if you want a bit more smokey flavor, add a bit more of the adobo sauce....until you get it to your liking.

Of course.  An easy solution.  I need to do more of this.  I never deviate from a recipe but I should to meet our tastes.  If a recipes says simmer for 3 minutes I use a stop watch.

Pmillen:  sorry, I have not tried it without the salt.  You're really not adding that much, so I would believe that it wouldn't be too bad if you omitted it.  You could also take the same approach with the salt.  Try it with no added salt, and just add a little if you think it needs it.

Yep, not that much.  I have the same thought as above.

Does Worcestershire sauce have salt in it?

Bentley, yes it does.  One serving of Lee & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce has 65mg of sodium.

Not to high jack the thread, but I put a small can of chipotles in adobo sauce in with the pepper stout beef recipe and my wife couldn't eat it.  It had a lot of kick to it.  So, I think you are right when you say that one can to the next may have a different heat rating to it.  This sounds like a great sauce, and I would be inclined to put a whole small can of the chipotles and adobo in the sauce.

I would be afraid that a whole can of Chipotle in Adobo would really change the flavor profile.  The chipotle flavoring would be overpowering for me and you'd probably lose the sweetness of the honey. 

But that's just me.  Give it a try and let us know how it turns out!

Gringo

This looks really good.
Years ago I had a recipe that was similar in that it had adobo peppers in it.
I believe it came out of Southern Living magazine.
The sauce was used on grilled shrimp. I'm thinking that your sauce recipe would also work well on the grilled shrimp.

Thanks for posting this recipe