To BBQ Or Not To BBQ

I say do!

Whenever I can't sleep, I don't just lie in bed and stare at the ceiling. I get up and set to work. Indeed many of my posts here at Evenings With Peter have been written by the hands of my insomnia. And yes, I nod to the irony. Recently, I was wide awake around 2 a.m. and decided to make a host of barbecue sauces. The latest Saveur had newly arrived in my mailbox and the entire issue is almost entirely dedicated to the stuff.

Now, this was premeditated--I'd ordered the ingredients from Fresh Direct (an incredibly handy online service that delivers food right to your doorstep if available in your area) two days prior with plans on making my 'cue; I just didn't know I would be doing it in the middle of the night. The good thing is you don't need to get too many ingredients as the foundation of most of the recipes are the same: ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, onions and garlic. Much of the rest of it is probably to be found already in your kitchen, such as dry mustard, chili sauce or powder, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and bourbon! Should you find yourself without all the goods, a little improvisation is a wondrous thing.

After making the sauces, I put them in plastic bags and stored them in the freezer to keep us up to our knees in barbecue all summer!

Here are the links to the four sauces I toiled over and suggestions for what to do with them:

Dr. Pepper Barbecue Sauce
Yep, that's what I said, bub. Dr. Pepper. Marvelous for baked beans.

Peach-Chipotle Sauce
Recipe courtesy of Elizabeth Karmel from Hill Country Barbecue Market in Manhattan, to be slathered over smoked prime rib. Sounds good to me!

Bourbon Barbecue Sauce
Try it with pork as Saveur suggests--why not go whole hog and make pulled pork? I ran out of Heinz chile sauce and Worcestershire for this one so I subbed Sriracha and shoyu, naturally brewed soy sauce, to lend some Asian flair.

Coffee Barbecue Sauce
From New York chef David Burke, this didn't yield nearly as much sauce as it was supposed to. Tasted good though. I don't know what I did wrong, but next time what I would do is skip the coffee beans and just throw in a cup of strong, full-bodied coffee as you simmer. Add this to your next chicken dish.

Do enjoy!

Photo credit: Todd Coleman