My Son's Professional BBQ group has disbanded after 30 years. I have spoken often of their award winning fruit based sauces which were sold in this area for many years. Now they are finally off the shelves and I have gotten their basic sauce recipe with suggestions as to how the blueberry and raspberry sauces were developed with it. Perhaps those who are interested can make the effort to produce one of them. I still have a bottle of each left in my pantry and fridge, but they will be gone soon. I may try to duplicate the Blues when I run out. Keep in mind that the basic sauce, was never packaged and sold professionally. They modified it to make Blues, Razz and Hot Razz sauces. I like them all. They are a bit strong, thick and have a bite. Might be interesting to make the base sauce first as a test, to see if it is worthy of modification with a fruit.
SMOKIN’ BARBEQUE SAUCE BASE
TOP SECRET
MAKES ABOUT 6 CUPS
½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 teaspoons rubbed sage
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon cayenne (optional)
¼ teaspoon mace
1 cup white vinegar
½ cup honey
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 32-ounce bottle of ketchup
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a non-reactive saucepan. Blend in the vinegar, honey, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil. Stir in the ketchup, being careful that the ketchup doesn’t pop and splatter. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasonings to taste.
This is a base. If you want to modify with berry preserves, or other sweeteners, simply replace for an equal measure of the ketchup. Good options are frozen blueberries, razzberries, blackberries, cranberries, or a combination. You can also get interesting flavors with different chilies, fresh garlic, miso, and spices.