Barbeque Sauce

Home-made Barbeque sauce tastes so much better than what you can buy at the store. My mom used to make barbeque ribs every Memorial day and to say her sauce is strong is an understatement. One whiff of that sauce and your sinuses are clear for months. I prefer, however, a sweeter sauce. I made ribs last night for dinner and I used a sauce recipe that I got from Craig's uncle. When you eat the ribs cooked in that sauce it's like eating dinner and dessert at the same time, as someone once told me.

1/2 c molasses
2 c ketchup
12 T vinegar
1 1/2 c brown sugar
8 t liquid smoke
1 t onion powder
1 t dry mustard
1 t garlic powder
1/2 - 3 t dried cayenne pepper
1 t black pepper

Heat ingredients together in a sauce pan. Mix 1 T of cornstarch and 1 T of water. Add to sauce and heat until bubbly.

The sauce is easy to make and you can give it just a little kick, like I do, with the 1/2 t of cayenne pepper, or add a lot to make it really hot, depending on your preference. I've also used this sauce with a pork roast and it was just as delicious.

To make the ribs, I used a rack of pork spareribs. I sprinkled a little bit of tenderizer over the meat before I cooked it. I put the rack in a 9 x 13 baking pan with 1/2 c vinegar at the bottom, covered it with foil, and cooked it at 350 for 2 hours. Drain the liquid and cut ribs into individual pieces. Pour sauce over ribs and cook for another hour, uncovered. Then you can enjoy them with lots of wipes and/or napkins.

Someday, I would like to try this recipe with all fresh ingredients, but I don't think I'm quite there yet. I like to think of it as taking baby steps toward true Amishness.