Time to kick off Father’s day week! I hope you remembered it’s Father’s day this weekend?!? It’s not too late to make, or buy, something for the father in your life. The girls and I put our heads together and came up with a few fun ideas. Today is all about the BBQ. We always enjoy making our own sauces and marinades…which lead me to think that making our own BBQ sauce for my husband would make him a happy dad! Here’s what we did.
Traditional BBQ Sauce
(adapted from MarthaStewart.com)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
4 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 tsp red pepper flakes
3 tbsp packed brown sugar
2 cups ketchup
1/3 cup worsceshire sauce
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 tbsp molasses
1/4 tsp black pepper
1. in a bowl, combine sugar, ketchup, worscestshire, vingear, molasses and pepper. whisk together until combined. set aside. Hot Tip: use a glass 4 cup measuring bowl to mix ingredients in. Hot Tip 2: to keep your molasses from sticking to the measuring spoon, use the same spoon, without rinsing, as the spoon used for the olive oil
2. in a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. add onion and garlic, cook until transluscent – 3-5 minutes.
3. add red pepper flakes and dry mustard, heat through for 30 second
4. add ketchup mixture to pot and bring to a boil…simmer until sauce thickens…approx. 10 minutes
5. use immediately, keep for one month in the refrigerator, or you may can the sauce
If you choose to can your sauce check out this helpful site Homecanning.com and this incredibly helpful preserving book The Complete Book of Pickling by Jennifer MacKenzie. I’m thinking about doing a basics of home preserving post once we get into strawberry season. We did can our sauce, the recipe yielded 2 x 8 oz glass jars worth of sauce (about 3 cups of sauce).
Finishing touches
Create your own label for the BBQ sauce. The girls and I designed this label and print it out on our home printer. The girls will do the wrapping…of course. This gift is delicious and thoughtful…and handmade! If the father in your life prefers a different style of sauce check out this site to find an option that best fits.
Happy kick-off to father’s day week!
PS – if you see my husband…don’t tell him about this post…it’s a surprise!