Ultimate Barbecue Sauce

I made this sauce once long ago and I never forgot it.  Sometimes that happens.  That is a perfect example of why I now have a blog.  I have to have some sort of record as to what I've made or else I'll never remember. But I digress…

So my husband told me a couple of nights ago that he really felt like making baby back ribs, as it turned out, I really felt like eating some so it worked out well. The only thing I didn't feel like, was store bought barbecue sauce.  Don't get me wrong, I use store bought all the time and it's totally yum.   But, I wanted to have super fancy, very special ribs, so I just made a sauce myself.  I LOVE this sauce.  I love it as much this time as I did last time.  It really takes the flavor of the meat to a whole new level.  It's not spicy, it's sweet with a bite of vinegar.  It's smooth but it has pieces of onion.  It's just perfect in my opinion.

I doubled the recipe so I'd have some in the refrigerator for other uses.  The original recipe is for barbecued chicken so maybe I'll whip some of that up.  You can't go wrong with this sauce!

Ultimate Barbecue Sauce

Recipe from Tyler Forence

Ingredients

• 1 slice bacon
• 1 bunch fresh thyme
• extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 Tbsp red or white wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika, smoked if you have it
• fresh ground black pepper

Cooking Directions

1. In a large saucepan, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil and then wrap the slice of bacon around the thyme and add it to the hot oil. Cook for about 4 minutes so the bacon can render.
2. Remove the bacon/thyme and discard.
3. Add the chopped onion and garlic and let cook but do not brown it. Cook about 5 minutes.
4. Add the remaining ingredients and then reduce heat to simmer and cook for about 20 minutes.