spicy & smoky barbecue sauce

I made ribs recently for Ed and I, and I wanted to use a homemade barbecue sauce to go along with it- for basting AND dipping. I dislike sweet Memphis style sauces, and sometimes I find the very vinegary Carolina sauces to be off putting with ribs. Give me something smokey and spicy. That's essentially this sauce.

You're going to start off this sauce with some VERY finely mined- basically pureed- onions and garlic. I pop mine into the food processor to make them this fine. Make sure you saute and caramelize them over extremely low heat so that they don't burn, because at this small a cut, they will burn quickly.

After they have cooked to the point of being aromatic and soft, as well as very slightly brown, I add in one pureed chipotle pepper. If you don't want your sauce very spicy, you can always omit this and just add some cayenne pepper later.

Step one in the reducing and simmering portion is to add the following to the pot- mustard, ketchup, water, vinegar and tomato paste. Let these come to a simmer and then add...

The brown sugar, cumin, cayenne pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, liquid smoke and worchestershire sauce. Let this come to a simmer and cook for about 10-15 minutes over very low heat.

The final step is to taste and re-season if you feel the need. I almost always add more cayenne pepper, chili powder and garlic powder. Sometimes more liquid smoke. The only thing left to do is let it simmer for another 15 minutes or so and use as you wish. REMEMBER! If you are going to store it in a glass container, let it cool before transferring, so you don't break the glass.

Spicy & Smoky Barbecue Sauce
1 medium onion, pureed
3 cloves garlic, pureed
1 chipotle pepper in adobo, pureed
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup mustard
4 oz. tomato paste
3/4 cup white distilled vinegar
1 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon worchestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon liquid smoke
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 Tablespoon chili powder

In a small saute pan, cook onions and garlic over low heat until just brown, fragrant and soft. Add in chipotle pepper and cook 1 minute. Turn up heat to medium and combine ketchup, mustard, tomato paste, water and distilled white vinegar. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until simmering. Then add brown sugar, worchestershire sauce, liquid smoke and all the seasonings. Cook for 10-15 minutes over medium heat at a simmer. Taste and re-season if needed after 15 minutes. Continue to cook and reduce for another 15 minutes and enjoy!