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Tart and Tangy Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce

July 5, 2015 Mary 2 Comments

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fresh rhubarbYou’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.

Crosby's MolassesNow, 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
Tart and Tangy Barbecue Sauce
Print
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.

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Comments

  1. Susan Barkman says

    July 15, 2015 at 7:05 pm

    It sounds wonderful. Would it be able to be canned?

    Reply
    • admin says

      July 16, 2015 at 9:35 am

      Thanks for stopping by:) I haven`t canned this yet, but plan on canning the next batch. The acidity balance should make it okay for processing.

      Reply

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Hi. I'm Mary. My recipes are vegetarian, but you don't have to be - there's room for everyone at the table in my Maritime kitchen. Read More…

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