Spring is time for babybacks: Part 1

I'm reposting a few of my favorite blogs and recipes from the past two years. In part because I have a lot more readers now than when I first started this blog, and it's new to many, and also to give me a little break from the blog this spring. Without further ado, from April of 2009.....


The first sunny day this past week I uncovered the Weber and stoked up the coals. I usually don't let inclement weather stop me, but this winter I also had a newborn to care for. I was lucky to get a frozen pizza pocket cooked in the microwave. It felt good to stretch my smokin' muscles after a three-month hiatus.

I also needed to clean out the fridge. (I'd clearly taken a three-month hiatus from it as well.) So I first made my Uncle Jack's Clean Out The Fridge Barbecue Sauce. My Uncle Jack loves to eat and he loves to make a deal. Making a tasty sauce out of items on the brink of the garbage bin tickles him pink. He'll tell you his recipe is a secret. What he means is you-don't-wanna-know what's in it. I once watched him unload the contents of my Aunt Sandra's fridge into the sauce pot - a fridge that was always chock full and contained a number of the world's greatest mysteries inside. What he did admit to me is that as long as certain ingredients were included in the recipe, the rest was mere nuance.

My sauce didn't have anything too scary. I included the certain ingredients: ketchup, mustard, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and salt, then added the bits and ends in my fridge to make the sauce. I had some bourbon, old ginger, and the end of a bottle of maple syrup to throw in. It made a rich, dark sauce. Here is a picture of my ingredients:

Here is my recipe. Remember - barbecue sauce is one of the easiest sauces to make. You can use my ratios of the base ingredients and clean out your own fridge. After that you can fire up the grill to make some baby back ribs (Part 2).

RECIPE: (Ode to) Uncle Jack's Clean Out The Fridge Barbecue Sauce

2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbls. olive oil
1 1/2 cups ketchup
2 Tbls. spicy brown mustard
3 Tbls. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
End of a bottle of maple syrup with 1/2 cup hot water to swish it all out
2 Tbls. bourbon
1 Tbls. molasses
1 tsp. finely grated ginger (can use powdered ginger too as shown)
1 tsp. salt

Saute garlic in olive oil on medium heat, stirring. Just as it begins to brown, add ketchup. Add remaining ingredients and reduce to low. Simmer sauce for about 45 minutes before serving or before cooling to bottle for the refrigerator.