Raspberry Barbecue Sauce
This is a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce that can be used as a marinade or slathered on meats while they are on the grill.
- saucepan
- mesh sieve/strainer
- food processor or blender
- 3 garlic cloves (peeled, minced or crushed)
- ½ tsp olive oil
- 1¼ to 1½ cup unsweetened raspberries (fresh (or whole frozen without juice))
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- 1 TBSP cider vinegar
- 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar ((or omit and double cider vinegar))
- 1 TBSP honey
- 1 TBSP molasses ((optional as it is heavy in bitterness))
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp ground black pepper
- ⅛ tsp onion powder
- dash Cayenne pepper
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Put olive oil and garlic in a small saucepan. Heat until garlic becomes fragrant. Add remaining ingredients. Cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken and become bubbly. Cool slightly. (Rinse pot to remove any seeds.)
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Transfer to a food processor or blender, and process until smooth. Strain seeds, and return to pot. Add a couple tablespoons of water, and cook about 10 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring frequently, and adjusting spices or sweetening as needed to taste. When it is desired thickness, remove from heat; let cool. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
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This makes about 10 to 12 ounces. Easily doubled, just adjust spices as necessary. You can make this as thick or as runny as you like. Just add a little water and combine well to make it thinner… or cook it longer to thicken.
This can be made thinner by adding a couple TBSP water while its cooking, and not allowing it to cook down as much. Also, to make it thicker, simply keep cooking down until its the desired consistency. Either of these alterations will affect the amount of sauce this recipe will make, that is why there is an average of 12 ounces for recipe yield.
If you prefer a less sweet and more savory flavor, omit the molasses and honey, and a drop or two of Liquid Smoke flavoring.
This came out great! I didn’t have any molasses, so I left that out along with the red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper because my family doesn’t like anything spicy. We put it over some pulled pork and it was a huge hit! Next time I’m making a separate spicy batch just for me!