I don’t know how the bee got in my bonnet, but as I looked over the last of the remaining store bought condiments in my fridge last summer, I decided that I was going to tackle a homemade BBQ sauce until I perfected a recipe that met with the approval of everyone in my home.
I wanted one that was the perfect balance of spice and sweetness to appeal to my husband (spice) and children (sweetness). Our friends had gifted us with a bottle of sorghum BBQ sauce the year before and it was really quite good and so I was hoping to find a knock off. Memories of flavors faded over the months so I’m not sure that what I came up with was anything the same, but it was delicious none the less.
Early in the grilling season, I made a Sorghum and Roasted Rhubarb BBQ Sauce with garden fresh rhubarb, something that we could always use a few recipes for. It turned out to be just one more reason, beside Rhubarb Butter, that I was thankful we didn’t plow over the rhubarb that first year in our new home!
Later in the year, I decided I also wanted a more tomato based sauce with a natural smoky flavor (no liquid smoke please.) Both are very good and last a surprisingly long time in the fridge without preservation. Mine was good several months later, in fact!
If you have a patch of rhubarb and haven’t been sure what to do with it, you should give this recipe a try!
Sorghum & Roasted Rhubarb BBQ Sauce
Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce
Sweetened by natural sorghum with a chipotle pepper to give it a kick in the pants, there’s no excuse to use a store bought bottle again.
Ingredients
- 2 cups rhubarb, chopped
- ½ sweet onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 cup sorghum, (Buy it HERE)
- 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ⅓ cup white vinegar
- 1 chipotle pepper
- 1 cup sun dried cherry tomatoes (or ½ cup homemade tomato paste)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- pinch cinnamon
Instructions
- •Toss the rhubarb, onion, and cloves on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes.
- •In a small saucepan, measure out the sorghum, vinegar, pepper, tomatoes, and spices.
- •Add the roasted vegetables and warm it all over low heat until the sorghum is thinner in consistency.
- •Spoon the mixture into a blender and puree it until it is smooth. (A stick blender, likethis one, makes quick work of it with an easy clean up!)
- •Taste adjust your seasonings to your fancy.
- •If the sauce isn’t thick enough, return it to the pan and gently heat it over low heat until it is thicker.
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Enjoy!
Can I make several batches of this and freeze it do you think? We go through a ton of BBQ sauce at our house. This looks delicious and I can't wait to try it!! Hope your CSA is running smoothly! Have your pick-ups started yet?
I don't see why not Melissa. In fact, I might try that myself that way we're sure not to run out and I have a lot more freezer space most of the year than fridge space which is usually pretty full of milk! 🙂 No we haven't started yet and I'm glad for it too because the cooler days we've had the last few weeks have everything sitting in limbo and not really growing. Except for in the greenhouse of course. So thankful for that thing!
Hi Quinn! I recently found a rhubarb patch on our property and I'm excited to try this. Is the sorghum you use a liquid? Most of what I've seen are grains so I'm a little confused as to what to look for. Can I substitute it for something else? Thanks 😀
Yes, the sorghum is a syrup. It's like maple syrup (which you could use as a substitute, but I found that sorghum had more depth of flavor… maybe you could try a mix of maple syrup and molasses?) only thicker. It flows more like molasses. Congrats on the rhubarb score!