Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

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There are some super-good bottled barbecue sauces on the market, but nothing quite measures up to homemade. And when you slather it on a grilled rack of ribs, chicken breasts, or pork chops, or toss it with juicy chicken wings, your guests will be pleasantly surprised—and very grateful.

This recipe features the smoky, fiery goodness of chipotle chiles that come canned in adobo—a slightly thick, spicy sauce typically made with chile peppers, vinegar, herbs, and spices and used in Mexican cooking. For each barbecue sauce I make, I typically feature one ingredient (as the chipotle here), but most sauces need a few traditional ingredients in order to be “barbecue.”

Vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire, brown sugar, and garlic are all common in barbecue sauces, as are ketchup, crushed tomatoes, or tomato sauce—except Carolina style. Of course, there are as many variations as there are cooks, and you may need to experiment a bit to get the balance of flavors the way you like it. Bottom line: Keep it simple, and the flavor combination will do you right.

You may also like spicy Korean, Kansas City style, maple, fresh cherry, apricot, bourbon, red wine, or Carolina style barbecue sauces.

Makes 2/3 cup

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped

1/2 cup ketchup

1 tbsp adobo sauce

2 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp cider vinegar

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp Tabasco sauce (or other bottled hot sauce), or to taste

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Adobo Sauce and Chipotle Chiles

Preparation

1. Heat a small saucepan over medium-low heat and add the olive oil. Add the garlic and chipotle chiles and cook, stirring frequently, 3 minutes.
2. Increase the heat to medium and add the ketchup and next 6 ingredients (through Tabasco sauce) and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a light simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook until thickened, 7-8 minutes.

Chipotle and Garlic

Sauce Beginning to Cook

Transfer to a bowl. Use right away or cover and refrigerate overnight.

Chipotle Barbecue Sauce