MUTHA SAUCE

First, let me say Happy Mother's Day.  Enjoy this day and pause for a moment to reflect on all the things you do as a Mother.  Even if you don't have children.  Reflect on the things you do to nurture, whether it is plants, animals, other peoples children, whatever.  Honor that. It's a beautiful thing.  Even though you may not do it perfectly, don't beat yourself up over it but rather focus on all the positives that come out of nurturing others.

I am so looking forward to some ribs with some Mutha Sauce on them.  I thought I had posted this great barbecue sauce before but I can seem to find it on my blog.

Making a batch of this kind of all started with the idea that my husband had to make ribs on Mother's Day.  So as you are reading this I hope to be enjoying just that.  I will let you know how that all went. 

The taste that really stands out initially when you make this sauce is the black pepper. It does mellow as it ages. 

You may or may not like a smoky flavor.  I find it repeats on me sometimes so I don't add it.  Certainly if you like smoky notes, add it in to your liking starting with a few drops and working your way up a drop at a time. That stuff is powerful.

Mutha Sauce

Source: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: An American Roadhouse, by John Stage and Nancy Radke; Published by: Ten Speed Press
Read about their history here on the Dino Bar-B-Que Site
This recipe is slightly adapted and broken down into two sizes.  To be truthful I ended up one and halfing the give me a taste column.  We don't eat a ton of meat so this is plenty.  It does however go great in other dishes, such as baked beans.

Give Me a Taste     The Mother Load       Ingredients

 

1 tablespoon         1/4 cup                       vegetable oil
1 small                  1 large (about a cup) onion, minced                             

1 teaspoon            1                                 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1/2 teaspoon         1  teaspoons               black pepper
2 teaspoons           2  tablespoons            garlic, minced
8 ounces                28 ounces                  tomato sauce*
1/2 cup                  2 cups                         ketchup
1/4 cup                  1 cup                           water
3 tablespoons        3/4 cup                       Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons        1/2 cup                       cider vinegar

1 tablespoon          1/4 cup                       lemon juice
1 tablespoon          1/4 cup                       molasses
1 tablespoon          1/4 cup                       cayenne pepper sauce*
1 tablespoon          1/4 cup                       spicy brown mustard
1/4 cup                   3/4 cup                       dark brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon             1 tablespoon              chili powder
1/8 teaspoon          1/2 teaspoon              ground allspice

In a sauce pan or stock pot, depending on how big you are going to go, saute onion in oil until transluscent.  Add minced garlic, saute one minute more. Add remainder of ingredients.  Cook for about 30 to 40 minutes with a gentle simmer.

Store in glass jars.  You can freeze this too.

*I make my own hot sauce, which is actually more jalapeno than cayenne.  I also can my own tomatoes, so there is lot less salt and/or sugar in mine.

To purchase the book, click here.  To purchase bottled Dino sauce, click here. And no one told me to say that.