geeksoup | Inaugural recipe: Blackjack Barbecue Sauce

This is a recipe whose inception came out of Texas Cooking. It's about the only thing I use from that book, to be honest; I set the book down on its spine and it opens to the recipe, complete with notes, alterations and one or two little splatter stains. I have made some adaptations to it as the years have gone by, and it's always a summer favorite around here. We start grilling, the sauce gets made.

Blackjack Barbecue Sauce

1 large, sweet onion, chopped

1 cup strong black coffee

1 cup ketchup

1-10.5 oz bottle A1 or similar steak sauce, or worchestershire

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup dark corn syrup

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1 teaspoon red pepper (I suppose, if you must, you could use chipotle, but I don't)

3 tablespoons chili powder

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and simmer for about half an hour. Let cool. Store in a glass container in the refrigerator. I guess you could strain it, or puree, but lately I have taken to just leaving it alone. I like the sweetness that the pieces of onion provide.

It's interesting: the original recipe called for straining the solids out before using. The first time I posted this (to the rec.food.recipes newsgroup, ages ago), I posted it with instructions to puree before using, because I see no reason to lose all of that oniony and garlicky goodness. When I search the web for this recipe, some of the alterations I originally posted are in supposedly original versions.

Our primary application is on pork ribs, but it's also excellent on beef ribs or chicken. More on how I do my ribs in another post. You could also brush this onto a nice fat portobello mushroom and broil or grill. Mmm.