Summer is still going strong - Root Beer Barbecue Sauce

Nothing says that summer has truly arrived like the first barbecue of the season. Steaks, burgers, chicken, hot dogs, there are many ways to ring in the rapidly heating days of June. There would be some who say you can't have a barbecue without having a good barbecue sauce. I'd disagree, as I find that marinades, brining and simple good seasoning are all tried and true methods that can bring out the best in your many preparations of grilled meats. 

However, there is a lot to be said about a well executed sauce. With the right combination of sweetness, depth and tang, a sauce can really accentuate the taste of your grilled goods.

Root beer barbecue sauce isn't anything new, but it's novel enough to turn heads. 

Here's what you need. A saucepan, a good amount of rootbeer (there it is in that container. I needed the two liter for the previous post), ketchup, spices, citrus juice. For spices I'm using of of Penzey's chili mixes and I'm also experimenting by using up some apple butter, as I think it would be an interesting substitution for brown sugar. There's also a saucepan I thankfully decided would be far too small for my needs before getting started. The thing about reductions, which a root beer barbecue sauce essentially is, is that they bubble quite a bit, often rising as much as 5 times the height of the stuff was originally before actually reducing. So be on the generous side when selecting your pots people.

Here we've got the root beer bubbling with some of the ketchup. I went with at least 2.5 times the amount of root beer as I've got ketchup. Part of this was from rinsing the bowl of ketchup with more root beer to get everything cleaned off.

A nice healthy sprinkling of chili spices for the heat and flavor of the sauce. Note I'm not adding any salt because I intend to use this with a rack of ribs that I will be salting the night before. I think the sweetness and tanginess of the sauce will mix well with this long salting method.

Now for the X factor, the apple butter. I'll... let you know if things don't go as well as planned. But so far so good.

Have to stir the sauce up as we start to boil, just to keep it from scorching. It's going to be a while.

As things get active, you get a lot of steam, which you want to happen. More escaping water = A reducing sauce.

It's hard to tell, but here the bubbles start to become a bit more solid, rising in larger bubbles with walls supported by a thickened liquid. When the bubbles start to calm down a bit from this rush of bubbles test the sauce by lifting up a spoon of it. It's pretty obvious when it's not ready, as seen here.

This thickness is about ready. It probably could have reduced even more, but I was getting hungry for other things and wanted to move onto a late brunch. Sorry, just human folks. Anyway, take the saucepan off the heat and let it cool and set a bit.

Then when you're done "attempt" to pour it nicely into a clean container to use later. If you could be messier than this I'd appreciate it. And there you  have it. A root beer barbecue sauce. I'll be using this on some pork ribs later, stay posted!

Basic root beer barbecue sauce:

1 part ketchup

At least 1 part root beer, can go high as ten or more

Spices of your choosing (pepper, Italian seasoning, chili seasoning, cayenne, if it sounds good go for it)

.25 parts citrus juice (optional)

.5 parts sugar (optional)

Salt if you aren't going to salt your meat

1. Mix your ketchup, root beer and other wet ingredients into a saucepan large enough to deal with a bubbling sauce. Set heat to high.

2. Mix in any spices and other ingredients.

3. Stir the sauce as it heats.

4. Once it reduces down to either a sauce or a syrup, you're good to go. If you've hit a thick syrupy consistency, it's time to stop because it won't get much better than that.

5. Allow sauce to cool. Use right away or store for later.

Bolognese Sauce - First try

Ok, its been over a week, but here it is, my first foray into blogging. I put in special effort on Sunday to make something grand to make up for it! This is "Pastor Ryan's Bolognese Sauce," which came from that wonderful woman, the Pioneer Woman. I had carrots in the freezer, lots of beef and onions, so this seemed like an ideal time. I know, the carrots would have been better fresh, but money is tight, and I'm very much a waste not, want not kind of guy, at least when I can help it.

This won't be as glamorous as the pictures on PW, but at least you get to see me fumble through it all!

Start off with garlic. I think I like this recipe.




The good old knife smash technique always gets the job done.



I like to put my small ingredients into punch cups. Namely because I have a lot of them, and little reason to serve punch.


An onion! Fantastic. I had these in the fridge instead of red onions.



Slice in half, leave the root ends on to keep it together.

Slice through, keeping the slices attached, then cut through like so to get an easy diced onion.



Errrm, here's my carrot mush. Ok, I guess I shouldn't have compromised.



Mmmm, beef. I think a fattier mix would have actually worked better. This was a pretty lean mix.



Getting to the cooking, heated up the olive oil and tossed in the carrot and onion.



Prepping a little bit in advance! The red wine for the sauce... and a glass for me.
Edit: Oh right, the PF Chang's bag. Delicious meal. Anyway, that was a few days back, and I'm using the bag to throw away odds and ends during the process.



In goes the beef. I can't tell you how good this smelled. Goodness.



Italian style tomatoes! I think I'll have to try with fresh tomatoes later, if I can find some "seconds" at the farmer's market.



Tomato paste! Its pasty.



Finally, the garlic.



And then the tomatoes!



Milk.... ok Pastor Ryan, I'll trust you on this. I guess non fat wasn't the best choice... its all I had on hand though.



Action shot! Anyway, simmered this for two hours...



Before serving it on a bed of fresh pasta. I really need to get a pasta machine, but still, it wasn't bad. A great depth of flavor. I think the omitted Worcester sauce had a lot to do with it as well. I still think the recipe needs salt, though the Parmesan cheese recommended probably would have helped there. Its a work in progress!