Sauce that 'Cue

A guy I know on a forum I frequent sent me an email that I hope he doesn't mind if I turn into a post.

Long-time listener, first time PM'er. As the OT-resident grill master, I need some assistance. Wife finally got tired of me complaining about the storebought BQ sauces tasting like HFCS-laden ass. Got any non-secret recipes you are comfortable sharing? More of a Memphis/K.C. style, but a good Carolina wouldn't be out of the question either. I'll hang up and listen. Thanks!!

I happen to agree that most BBQ sauces in the stores taste like HFCS-laden ass, and we don't need to patronize that crap.  So here's my thoughts on barbecue sauce. It's not so much a recipe as it is a starting point. Make it yours. I make it differently depending on what I'm slathering it on and how I'm feeling day by day.

My starting point is this: what does a barbecue sauce need to do? It needs to play nice with the smoky flavor of barbecue or grilled meat, it needs to cut fatty richness with acid or heat or both, it needs to be a little sweet so the acidity and heat don't overwhelm, and it needs a little local flair. I call my sauce "Charlie's Red Rock Barbecue Sauce" because it draws heavily on flavors and techniques from the Southwest. Maybe it's Denver-style barbecue sauce.

As with any recipe, you start by building a flavor base, and you do that by sauteing your aromatic ingredients in oil. In this case, it's sauteed onion, garlic, and fresh chiles if you're using them. If you're notdoing a Southwestern sauce, I still recommend adding some minced jalapenos to taste or at least a few dashes of Sriracha or Frank's Red Hot, because a good barbecue sauce needs a little bite.

The Flavor Base:

3tbsp vegetable oil

1 medium red onion, minced

5 cloves garlic, minced, passed through a garlic press, or grated on a microplane

2 tbsp tomato paste

Optional, for more Southwestern flava:

Fresh Chiles if You're Using Them - chopped hot Autumn Roast New Mexico Green Chiles, minced jalapeno or fresno chiles, or minced poblano chile (see thoughts on chiles)

1 canned chipotle chile in adobo, minced, plus a few teaspoons of the adobo sauce, if using.

Heat the oil over medium-low heat, until shimmering, in a saucepan. Add the onion and cook slowly until it's getting soft and translucent. Then add the garlic, tomato paste, chile paste, and chipotle with its adobo sauce. Stir until the mix gets intensely fragrant, around a minute or so. Then add....

The Sauce Base

1/2 cup drained diced canned tomatoes, preferably fire roasted - Muir Glen brand is the best. Save a tablespoon or two of the liquid and add that too.

1/4 cup ketchup

3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

3-5 tbsp Spanish viniagre de Jerez (sherry vinegar) - try to find it. It's awesome, awesome stuff. In a pinch, cider vinegar will do, but sherry vinegar is the bomb diggity. Add more if you like your sauce with more acid, less if you like it sweeter.

1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup beer of your choice

2 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar or honey

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme (or 3/4 tsp dried)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground allspice
A dash of liquid smoke, if you wish, and if you're not using chipotles.

For a More Traditional Sauce

3 tbsp yellow, dijon, or coarse-ground mustard

For a Southwestern Sauce - don't add the mustard if you're doing this!

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon Mexican oregano - not regular Italian/Greek oregano!

Chile powder to taste, if you're using it (see Thoughts on Chiles)

Simmer everything together, covered, for an hour or so, adding a little orange juice or a splash of beer if it gets too cooked down. Let it cool, then puree the dickens out of it in a blender until it's smooth and saucy. Taste it. Nom! Too thick? Add water or orange juice. Need more acid because it's going on fatty pulled pork? Add more vinegar. Need more sweet? Add honey. Taste flat or like it needs something? Add salt. Should make 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups of sauce.

Thoughts on Chiles

Chiles are glorious in a barbecue sauce, because they add a ton of flavor, body, and character. They can add a ton of fruity, smoky, spicy notes and you can make it as hot or as mild as you like. You can use fresh chiles (like roasted NM green chiles, fresnos, jalapenos) and/or powdered chiles. Don't use chili powder, which is a mix of ground chile, garlic, onion, and oregano - use pure powdered chiles. My favorite spice shop, Savory Spice Shop, sells every chile powder under the sun, but you can also find most chile powders in Mexican markets or, at least out West and in areas with a big Hispanic population, in the supermarket. You can also toast whole dried chiles in a warm oven for a few minutes, seed them, then grind them into powder.

For your fresh chiles, I love hot Autumn Roast New Mexico Green Chiles, because they're glorious - sweet and grassy and earthy, with a slow, sweet burn. You could also throw in some minced jalapenos or fresnos (it'll be a little hotter, then) or a minced poblano (a forest green, dark, fresh chile that's mild but has a nice herbal flavor.)

What kind of chiles to use? Experiment. Ancho chiles have a sweet, fig-raisin flavor and very little heat, so they're a natural for sweet-savory barbecue sauce. New Mexico red chiles (the ripe, dried version of NM greens) have a brighter, sparkier flavor than anchos do, but still sweet and fruity - my favorite. Guajillos have an interesting piney, fresh, almost tart flavor that pairs excellently with pork. Cascabels are earthy and woody and quite spicy. Chiles de Arbol are woody and viciously hot. Habaneros are die-mother****er spicy, with a sweet tropical fruit flavor in the background. Chipotles have a strong bite and a pronounced smokiness - excellent if you want to make your sauce smoky without using liquid smoke, but should be used in moderation and paired with other chiles. My favorite version of the sauce uses autumn roast NM greens, a half teaspoon each of guajillo and ancho, and some chipotle. My sauce for pork leans heavily on guajillo, red NM chile powder, and cascabel. I wouldn't add more than two tablespoons total of chile powder, because then it starts over-thickening the sauce.