Tart and Tangy Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce

You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. ~Wayne Gretzky

If I had to be a plant, I’d think I’d choose rhubarb.

It’s predictable and reliable, but can always surprise you.

This rhubarb-based barbecue sauce is a good example.

Inspired by a recipe for Victorian Barbecue Sauce from the Bernardin Complete Book on Home Preserving (a book I highly recommend), this sauce has a rhubarb rather than a tomato base.

The original recipe is more of a chutney, and I wanted to create something spicier with a broader range of flavors. Cranberries help create a deeper color, and provide a slightly different range of tang to the finished sauce. A blend of spices rounds out the flavors.

For sweetness, I used brown sugar and molasses.

And it just so happens that Crosby’s Molasses, a Maritime company and household staple since the late 1800s, is holding a summer recipe contest for members of Food Bloggers of Canada.

Now, this is not a sponsored post. But since I actually really do use Crosby molasses in my Maritime kitchen, I’m entering the fray with this recipe.

I’m sure the competition will be stiff, but what the heck. I hope you will try this sauce in any case. Win or lose, I think you’ll like it.

(FYI: Crosby’s molasses actually features twice in this recipe, because I used it for making the brown sugar.

Don’t pay extra for brown sugar when you can make is so easily yourself. Simply mix 1-2 tablespoons of molasses into a cup of granulated sugar.

If you have a stand mixer, you can whip up a batch in just a few minutes. I usually mix up 8 cups of sugar and 1/2 cup of molasses at a time.

If you are mixing your sugar by hand, it will take a bit of patience, so only work with small batches in order to thoroughly incorporate the molasses.

I prefer the flavor of this home-mixed brown sugar to the commercial varieties available in the stores. The flavor is deeper and more interesting.)

5 from 1 vote

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Tart and Tangy Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

1 hr 15 mins

Total Time

1 hr 25 mins

 

This barbecue sauce is tart and tangy and makes a nice change from tomato-based sauces.

Category: Sauce

Type: North American

Servings: 2 quarts / liters

Author: Mary Gillespie - Ketchup With That

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup / 60 ml vegetable oil
• 4 cups / 1 liter chopped onion
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-1/2 tablespoons / 22.5 ml cumin
• 1 tablespoon / 15 ml dry mustard
• 1-1/2 teaspoons / 7.5 ml chili powder
• 1 teaspoon / 5 ml salt
• 1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 ml pepper
• 1 teaspoon / 5 ml coriander
• 1 teaspoon / 5 ml ginger
• 2 teaspoons / 10 ml paprika
• 8 cups / 2 liters chopped rhubarb
• 1 cup / 250 ml cranberries
• 1/2 cup /125 ml molasses
• 1/2 cup / 125 ml tomato paste or ketchup
• 1 cup / 250 ml cider vinegar
• 2-1/2 cups / 625 ml brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon / 5 ml thyme

Instructions

1. Heat a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-low heat.
2. Add vegetable oil.
3. Add onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure onions are not browning. If the onions start to brown, turn down the heat.
4. Add garlic and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.
5. While onion and garlic are cooking, combine cumin, mustard, chili powder, salt, pepper, coriander, ginger and paprika in a small bowl. Add spices to onion and garlic mixture and stir to coat vegetables. Cook spices for 1 minute, stirring to keep them from sticking and burning.
6. Add tomato paste or ketchup, and stir well to completely combine. Cook for one minute, then add molasses. Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes to give flavors a chance to combine.

7. Add rhubarb, cranberries, cider vinegar, brown sugar and thyme. Stir thoroughly to combine ingredients, then bring to a boil over med-high heat.

8. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for one hour, or until mixture has started to thicken. When the sauce is ready, it should look a bit chunky, with the rhubarb broken down and the cranberries popped.
9. Take the sauce off the heat and let it cool a bit before tasting. If you prefer a sweeter sauce, you can add up to 1/2 cup of brown sugar and stir it into the sauce until it has melted.
10. If you like a chunky sauce, you can leave it as it is. Blend in a blender or food processor for a smooth sauce.
11. Store sauce in fridge for up to 4 weeks.