Peach-Mustard BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup whole-grain mustard
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 3/4 cup peach jam or preserves
• 1 tablespoon bourbon
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion andgarlic and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the vinegar and boil until almost completely reduced and the mixture looks like wet sand, about 4 minutes. Whisk in both mustards and the jam or preserves. Simmer, whisking, until jam melts, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the bourbon and salt.

Cook's Note: The bourbon is stirred in at the end—uncooked—to give a genuine jolt to the sauce. This Southern blend goes great with pork but is also a good finisher for chicken, duck, or veal.

Sweet & Sour BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Vietnamese chili-garlic sauce
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

Directions

Heat the oil in a small saucepan over high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook over high heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the sherry, hoisin sauce, ketchup, chile-garlic sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool.

Chile-Coffee BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

• 3 guajillo chiles
• 3 mulato chiles
• 1/2 medium onion, cut into wedges
• 6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 2 tablespoons corn oil
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 1 cup strong black coffee
• 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• Pinch ground cloves
• Pinch cumin
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Directions

Split, stem, and seed the chiles. Toast the chiles in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, turning and flattening with a spatula, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Put the chiles in a heatproof bowl, cover with very hot water, and set aside until soft, about 30 minutes.Drain, reserve soaking liquid, chop chiles roughly, and set aside.

While the chiles soak, char the onion and garlic in the same dry skillet over medium heat until the onion blackens slightly and garlic softens in the skin, about 8 minutes. Cool, squeeze the garlic out of the skin, and put in a blender with chiles and onion. Puree to a paste, adding soaking liquid as needed (about 3/4 cup) to help the mixture break down.

Heat the oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chile mixture and cook, stirring, until thick and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add the tomato puree, coffee, sugar, 1 tablespoon salt, oregano, cloves, andcumin. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.

Stir in vinegar and season with salt to taste.

Cook's Note: For this recipe, we prefer Mexican oregano. It's stronger than Italian oregano, so it can hold its own with the other assertive flavors in this sauce

Cola Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a generous pinch for the garlic
• 3 cups cola
• 1 1/2 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 slightly heaping tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus additional for seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, plus additional for seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Directions

Smash the garlic cloves, sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt, and, with the flat side of a large knife, mash and smear mixture to a coarse paste.

Stir garlic paste, the 1/4 teaspoon salt, cola, ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire, chili powder, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, and allspice together in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until thickened, about 45 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, stir in the lime juice, and season with black pepper and hot sauce, to taste.

Know-How: Barbecue sauces are all about balance: a sweet note offset by sour with a jolt of spice, all of which flourish in a cloud of smoke. There are lots of ways to work this magic-thick, thin, and in-between. Concocting a signature sauce is compulsory in some barbecue circles. Start with this basic riff and play with variations to suit your style.

Kansas City-Style BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons neutral-tasting oil, such as grapeseed or vegetable


• 6 cloves garlic, smashed


• 2 tablespoons tomato paste


• 1 slightly heaping tablespoon chili powder


• 1 tablespoon paprika


• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper


• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice


• Pinch ground cloves


• 2 cups ketchup


• 2 cups water


• 1/2 cup cider vinegar


• 1/4 cup dark molasses


• 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar


• 1 tablespoon kosher salt


• 1 tablespoon soy sauce


• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce


• 2 teaspoons English-style dried mustard


• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


• 1 bay leaf

Directions

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, chili powder, paprika, red pepper, allspice, and cloves and cook, stirring, until paste is dark brick red, about 3 minutes. Add the ketchup, water, vinegar, molasses, brown sugar, salt, soy sauce, Worcestershire, mustard, black pepper, and bay leaf. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the flavors come together, about 30 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf before using.

Homemade Limeaide

1 cup fresh lime juice (from 4-6 large limes)
1 cup sugar
4 cups water, divided
ice

In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup of water with sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Combine sugar-water, lime juice and the rest of the water in a large pitcher. Feel free to add in some more sugar if you like your limeade sweeter, or a bit more water to tone down the zestiness if you have limes that are on the sour side. Add ice to help cool down the limeade, then chill until ready to serve.

Serves 4-6.