My brother turned 30, which already feels bizarre typing. Like I’m sure most siblings think, in my head, we will always be in our teens, whatever our age. Some things never change. However, we can still be just as competitive over silly things, and our shared sense of ridiculous humour is certainly age-proof! To celebrate his Birthday, my family decided to buy a Webber BBQ for his new home; it’s pretty awesome. I decided to help him kickstart his BBQ adventures with a batch of my favourite sauce, like this ancho chile BBQ sauce.
Inspired by the sweet and spicy BBQ sauces I had in Missouri, I used ancho chilli and maple syrup to give the ancho chile bbq sauce a rich, intense flavour, which stands alone as a side dip or a burger sauce.
For the jar itself, I wanted to make it suitable for a gift, so I used blackboard paint and chalk to give it a rustic look. To finish it off, I designed a simple retro-looking logo which I glued onto a label and attached with raffia.
Flavoursome Ancho Chile BBQ Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium ancho chilli diced
- 2 cloves garlic finely diced
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 1 cup ketchup
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- 1 standard-sized espresso
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, add the oil and melt the butter.
- Add the onion, garlic, and chilli, and cook on moderate heat until the onion has turned translucent for about 5 minutes.
- Add and stir in all of the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Put a lid on the saucepan and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring sporadically.
- Using a silicone spatula, scrape the sauce into a blender (or use a hand blender), and blend until smooth. At this point, taste the sauce and adjust spices if necessary; add a pinch of chilli flakes if it needs more of a kick or some more syrup to sweeten it some more.