Red wine barbecue sauce

One of the first things that you my friends used to say about me was that this man likes his sauces. I’ve spent a decent amount of time messing with those pesky french sauces (more on that later) and for one reason or another I’ve yet to actually make my own barbecue sauce (and ketchup but that latter of the two has to wait for a bit longer). That previous post was brought about not because we had a hankering for some pork, but because we needed to find a reason to justify making this sauce and make something to go along with it while we were at it. What follows is a recipe that is loosely based on one you can find on epicurious (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Red-Wine-Barbecue-Sauce-109711). This also happened to coincide rather nicely with a predilection for some red wine as well (afterall we couldn’t have made the sauce without it!)

1.5 garlic cloves (roughly minced)

1/2 a shallot (roughly minced)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon of chili powder (ancho or otherwise)

1/4 teaspoon of cumin

1.5 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup of wine

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/8 tsp liquid smoke

Over medium heat heat the oil just before it starts to smoke and right when it begins to shimmer and the oil quite easily spreads around the pot add the shallots and garlic. Sautee until the shallot begins to sweat and the garlic is beginning to brown. Add the wine and simmer for a a few minutes, add the ketchup and soy sauce, simmer for 3-5 more minutes. Finish with the liquid smoke and make any other adjustments to taste.

At this point the sauce is ready, although you can let it simmer for a bit longer to get it to whatever thickness you would like. Also this yields a little less than 2 cups, but lends itself to an easy doubling so that it’ll last more than a night!