It is true, BBQ season is upon us once again.
Dust off the cobwebs (especially in the venturai of the gas-grills), oil up the grill, and let's start cooking.
Due to the fact that BBQ is my favorite way to cook anything, I thought I'd share a few of my homemade sauces, for anyone who wants to try.
Mind you, these are not for the calorie-conscious. They are for the flavor-mongers!
For chicken
(With a chinese-style flare) :
Mix 1 cup of sugar and 3/4 cup of distilled white vinegar until the sugar is mostly dissolved. (If necessary, add more vinegar, 1 tbsp at a time).
Mix in about 1/8-1/4 cup soy sauce. ( i prefer 1/4.....makes the sauce go POW!)
put the sauce in a medium (8") pan, and cook over medium heat until it is reduced 50%, stirring constantly. (Should take about 5 minutes. When ready, the sauce should have the consitency of ketchup.)
Cook your chicken on the grill, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and paprika.
When the chicken is just about cooked to your liking, brush the sauce on and cook a minute or two more. Be sure to keep the chicken off the center of the grill away from the flames because this sauce will burn in an instant. Turn chicken, brush on last of sauce, heat another minute and serve.
Awesomely finger-licking good General Tso style barbecue chicken!!
It is also great for spare ribs! (Tenderize the ribs overnight in a mix of sodium-free tenderizer and worchestershire sauce)
You can also substitute ketchup for the soy sauce and you have a perfect sweet and sour sauce for chicken and pork. You will need at least 1/4 cup ketchup, though.
Italian chicken:
This requires marinating over night! Simply choose your favorite Italian salad dressing and soak your chicken in it overnight. (I have found that Seven Seas Italian is the most flavorful when prepared this way.)
Simply barbecue as usual, but sprinkle pepper and garlic once on the grill. Occasionally brush with more dressing while cooking. (Best with skin on)
For Hot dogs!
Make your own Sabrett- style onions!!!!! A must for the onion-lover.:
Take 2 medium onions and peel and quarter them. Then slice perpendicular to the layers about 1/4 inch thick.
Put in small sauce pan and add 1/4 tsp black pepper, 2-3 tsp sugar, and 1/2 tsp garlic powder.
Mix equal amounts of ketchup and water (about 1/2 cup each) until smooth, and stir into onions. Cook covered 15-20 minutes over low heat until onions are transparent and just lose their raw bite, stirring occasionally.
Do not let the sauce thicken! If necessary, add water as you cook.
Spoon over a nice Boar's Head dog and slop on the mustard! MMMmmmMMM!!!!!
For steak:
One of my favorite all-time barbecued steak flavors:
Mix about 1/2 cup worchestershire sauce, 1/4 cup minced onion, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp garlic (fresh crushed--about 2-3 garlic cloves), and 1/4 cup minced roasted red pepper ( you can roast this right on the grill, or in your broiler, or you can pick up a jar at your local supermarket).
Mix all ingredients. Tenderize your steak by lightly pounding after sprinkling with Aboff's sodium-free meat tenderizer (the Green Lid jar
)
Sprinkle with salt and pepper (lightly!!) and place meat and marinade in a ziplock freezer bag (I find this to be the best way to marinade....it makes it easy to cover most of the meat by removing most of the air from the bag)
Refrigerate overnight, shaking and turning occasionally.
Cook your steak how you like it, adding the remaining marinade onto the steak just before you are ready to take it off the grill. (For best results, cut shallow grooves into the steak against the grain to allow the sauce to get into the heart of the meat.)
Enjoy all! I have many more BBQ and sauce recipes, but not enough time right now to type them out!
Happy Grilling!
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