Red BBQ Sauce from the Epic Vegan cookbook by Dustin Harder
The Red BBQ Sauce recipe from Dustin Harder's cookbook, Epic Vegan: Wild and Over the Top Plant-based Recipes. This recipe is easy, vegan, gluten-free, and wonderful anytime. Yield: 1¼ cups (440 g)
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time30 minutesmins
Total Time40 minutesmins
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: American, vegan
Keyword: barbecue, bbq, sauce, vegan
Servings: 8
Calories: 148.84kcal
Ingredients
2tablespoonsolive oil30 ml (optional)
1onionchopped
3clovesgarlicchopped
½cupbourbon120 ml
1cupketchup240 g
⅔cupwater160 ml, divided
¼cupdark brown sugar60 g, organic (or coconut sugar)
2tablespoonschili powder16 g
1tablespoonsmoked paprika7 g
1tablespoonDijon mustard15 g
1tablespoonred wine vinegar15 ml
1tablespoonmolasses15 ml
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion for 3 to 5 minutes, or until softened. (Kari's note: I sauté without oil, just a hot pan.)
Add the garlic and sauté 1 additional minute, until fragrant.
Slowly add the bourbon and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the bourbon has completely cooked off.
Add the ketchup, 1⁄3 cup (80 ml) of the water, brown sugar, chili powder, smoked paprika, mustard, vinegar, and molasses. Stir well. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Transfer to a high-speed blender (see Tip), add the remaining 1⁄3 cup (80 ml) water, and blend until smooth.
Notes
Author’s note: One summer I designed a menu with a friend of mine at her restaurant, Urban Vegan Kitchen in NYC, for a pop-up dinner with a BBQ theme. We wanted to include as many styles of BBQ sauce as we could on the menu. I’m delighted to offer a couple of the variations to you, as these BBQ sauces came about from nights of testing them over and over, making the smallest adjustments with my dear friend Pamela Elizabeth. Both are super tasty, but the white BBQ sauce won over the crowd at the dinner; hopefully it does the same for your hungry family and friends.Tip: Blenders and heat don’t mix! Either let the mixture cool completely before transferring to the blender, or remove the plug from the top of the blender and cover with a towel. Start blending on low and increase the speed until the mixture is smooth and creamy.