The Grill is open! Plus Barbecue sauce recipe

Grilling season. AT LAST. Oh, how I’ve missed you, grilling season, with your amazing flavors and your ALMOST NO DISHES AFTER DINNER. Sorry, I got distracted from talking about the food. But really, isn’t that one of the best parts of grilling season? Throwing stuff on the grill means you don’t have a lot of baked on crud to soak off a pan after dinner is ready, and I’ve had everything from grilled pizza to grilled zucchini to steak that blew me away. (This year I am dying to grill a pineapple!) In other words, no pots and pans… AT ALL. As long as the grill is hot, do your sides out there, too. Veggies on skewers or in grilling baskets are the perfect (in my always hungry opinion) pairing for grilled main courses.

My personal favorite veggies for the grill are:

• Eggplant
• zucchini
• mushrooms (portobello or baby bella)
• asparagus
• baby red potatoes
• corn on the cob

On my list to try this year:

• Grilled artichokes
• Grilled sweet potatoes with lime and cilantro
• Chili Lime Pineapple

I use a garlic press to press about 2 cloves of garlic per 1/3 cup olive oil and use a pastry brush to brush that mixture over the vegetables while they cook. Eggplant grills best when you salt it and press it between cloth or paper towels for a couple hours first. (It gives it a firmer texture.) Then drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar at the table. One of my favorite tricks, as you well know, is to throw my meat in a marinade before I freeze it. This barbeque sauce is easy to make from pantry staples, is inexpensive, and is on the (long, long, LONG) list of things you really shouldn’t eat with a spoon but I do anyway. You can put meats for the grill in here (no uncooked pork bones, as usual- they tend to break down in the marinade and that’s just gross.) before you freeze. You’ll want additional sauce for basting and serving. For meats you’ll cook in the crock pot, I prefer to cook them first, then add the sauce and heat through.

Print

Barbeque sauce

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 minute

Total Time 11 minutes

Servings 8

Author Meghan Gray

Ingredients

• 2.5 cups tomato sauce
• Tbsp ground mustard
• 3/4 cups brown sugar
• 3/4 cups cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients.
2. Mix well.
3. Use like any other bbq sauce.

Recipe Notes

There is something about molasses in a barbecue sauce that is just amazing. I've checked the ingredients on every jarred sauce that makes me go over the moon, and they all have molasses. Hellooooooo secret ingredient!

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