Clean Barbecue Sauce

It’s almost summertime and definitely time to break out the grill!  We use our grill a lot during the spring and summer.  From grilled fruit to grilled veggies to steak, we try everything on the grill.  My husband finally fired ours up the other night for the first time this season and my mouth started watering before the food was even put on the grill!

Since we do a lot of grilling, I’ve been on the lookout for a clean barbecue sauce recipe that I would like.  It just so happens in the latest issue of Everyday Food, I found a recipe for Classic Barbecue Sauce.  I cleaned it up a bit, but even as is in Everyday Food, it’s still better than what’s in the store.  Did you know that even barbecue sauce has artificial colors, preservatives and the dreaded High Fructose Corn Syrup?  Ugh!

Anyway, this barbecue sauce is delicious on chicken.  I think the next time I make it, I’m going to add a little fruit juice like pineapple or peach, and at some point try to spice it up with some type of hot sauce for my husband, but in the meantime this is tasty and will definitely be something we use again and again.

This does take a bit of time to prepare, but the best part?  You can freeze it up to 4 months!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 small white onion, diced small
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
• 2 tsp. ground mustard
• 1 can (28 oz.) tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup unsulfured molasses (you can substitute this with dark agave nectar)
• 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tbsp. white vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat canola oil over medium heat.  Add diced onion and cook until completely soft, approximately 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook about 1 minute.
2. Add the tomato paste and mustard.  Stirring constantly, cook until paste turns a bright red in color, approximately 5 minutes.  Add 2 cups water, tomato sauce, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Stir until smooth.
3. Bring mixture to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cover partially.  Stirring occasionally, simmer for 2 hours.  You can thin the sauce down with water if it becomes too thick.  Add more vinegar, salt and/or pepper to taste (if desired).
4. Let completely cool before using.

Note:  Can be refrigerated up to 1 week or frozen up to 4 months.