Barbecue Bliss Sauce

“All of the people took it up and sung it over and over until it was wrung dry, and no further innovations of tone and tempo were conceivable. Then they hushed and ate barbecue.” Zora Neale Hurston, African-American author

Hunger may be the best sauce, but barbecue is pretty close.

Sweet, tangy. Sometimes smoky. What’s not to like? And, talk about versatility. It can coat the meatiest of meats or a pot full of cooked lentils with equal zip. Or you can do like I did after snapping this photo of a bit of leftover sauce — eat it with a spoon.

Here is my favorite recipe, a thicker riff on a Fanny Farmer one.

Barbecue Bliss Sauce

Place one finely minced onion and two minced garlic cloves in the bottom of a sauce pan with 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil (for the dairy free among us.) Saute until onions are translucent.

Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 Tablespoon chili powder, 4 Tablespoons brown sugar, 4 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 4 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (which is not vegan or even vegetarian unless you purchase a specialty version), 1 cup ketchup and 1 teaspoon hot sauce.

Cook over lowest flame until sauce is thick and glistening. Use as a marinade for grilling or mixed with pre-cooked and shredded meat or pre-cooked lentils/beans if you’re in a hurry. If you have more time, put all the raw ingredients into a slow cooker with 2-3 pounds meat (I like chicken breasts with this) and cook until you have a savory stew. In the American South, the latter would be served on a bun and topped with coleslaw.

If you have some sauce left, you will not be sorry if you use it as a dip for ranch fries.