Summer is not over yet, there is still plenty of sunshine to enjoy a few more tasty barbecues. With a new baby at home we taking advantage of the nice weather and easy meals on the grill. Even since my son started to like ketchup I began experimenting and creating simple tasty homemade condiments without all the junk. My family likes sauces so I try to give them the very best.
Next time you grill out try your hand at making your own barbecue sauce. Skip all the extra sugar, preservatives and gums it’s super simple to make homemade barbecue sauce.
Homemade Barbecue Sauce
Simple Smokey Homemade Barbecue Sauce
1 28oz can, 21/2 cups tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
½ cup honey
¼ cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon paprika
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons coconut aminos
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon natural liquid smoke
½ teaspoon chili powder or cayenne pepper optional for extra heat
Place all ingredients in a deep saucepan over medium-high heat and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes until sauce has thickened and reduced almost by half.
If using crushed tomatoes allow to cool and blend until smooth.
Note, do not put hot liquids in a traditional blender or it may explode.
Store in airtight glass container for best results and refrigerator for later use.
Makes about 4 cups, this sauce can also easily be doubled and frozen. To use thaw overnight in refrigerator.
I love spending time with family and feeding them well but sometimes it can be challenging to maintain healthy eating with visitors. Recently my niece spent a long weekend with us she and although she eats well when she is with us she has her own food preferences too. One being that she loves smothering her scrambled eggs with ketchup. I love a good healthy protein rich breakfast but starting it smothered with highly sugar based tomato sauce is not my idea of a breakfast of champions. Of course my son saw this fun new way of eating eggs and wanted to try as well. He is at the stage where everything is better with a dip and now routinely asks for ketchup with his breakfast. I let it go for a few days but every time I grabbed the bottle and saw the second and third ingredients as variations of corn syrup I knew I had to create a better solution.
I started doing research and testing, this is what I came up with it takes just a few minutes of prep work and this rest it just simmers on the stove. You end up with a rich homemade ketchup full of tomato flavor sweetened naturally with honey and no extra added junk. It’s a condiment I feel good about giving to my family.
Easy Homemade Ketchup
Homemade Ketchup
1 tablespoon coconut oil or butter
1 small onion, diced about ½ cup
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1, 28oz jar tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
¼-1/2 cup honey, more depending on how sweet you like it
¼ cup white vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
Place oil or butter in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 3-5 minutes, until fragrant and slightly soft.
Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes until sauce has thickened and reduced almost by half.
Remove from heat, allow mixture to cool and blend with an immersion blender or carefully in a traditional blender. Note, do not put hot liquids in a traditional blender or it may explode. See here for more on avoiding blender explosions. Blend until smooth store in airtight glass container for best results and refrigerator for later use.
Makes about 2 cups, this sauce can also easily be doubled and frozen. To use thaw overnight in refrigerator.
Here is a tip for introducing this homemade ketchup to your store bought loving friends. Start by mixing half and half your favorite store bought ketchup with the new homemade ketchup and serving it in the same sore bought bottle. Allow them to get used to the new flavor and slowly increase the ratio of homemade ketchup over store bought until it is all the homemade ketchup version still serving it in the store bought bottle. Over time you can adjust their sense of tastes and ween them over the homemade ketchup version. Serving it in the store bought bottle helps with acceptance as the mind is a very powerful source what what we perceive in flavor. Over time you can serve it in a regular bootle or glass jar.
Looking for more like this stay in touch for more homemade condiments like Mustard, Mayonnaise and Barbecue Sauce.
Mustard is one of the worlds oldest condiments, dating back to early Roman cooks, who combined ground mustard seeds with an unfermented grape juice. Mustard is still one of the most-used spices in the United States. All parts of the plant are edible, including seeds, leaves, and flowers allowing it to work well in a variety of ways with all types of meats, pork, poultry, and seafood. Most of us are used to standard yellow prepared mustard, but there are many wonderful varieties of seeds and prepared mustards to experiment with. Here is a simple guide to how to make your own mustard. It is easier than you think to create a homemade mustard blend perfect for your taste.
There are three types of mustard seeds White, that actually look yellow, brown and black. White mustard seeds are milder reaction than the zingier brown and black seeds. Standard American yellow mustard is made with white mustard seed and turmeric, brown mustard seeds are in most of your mid range mustards, and black mustard is used in hot mustards.
Homemade Mustard
Here are some general guidelines to make and control the flavors of your homemade mustard blend.
Cold or hot water makes a difference. What gives mustard its bite is a chemical inside the seeds reacting with cold liquid. You need to break the seeds to get at the fiery chemical. So the more finely ground the seed the more potent and spicy the flavor will be.
For more mild mustard, soak the seeds in water overnight before grinding.
Heat damages this reaction, so to make a hot mustard use cold water, and warm water or cook the mixture for a more mellow mustard.
The water mustard seed reaction is volatile. Left alone, the mustard will lose its bite in a few days, or in some cases even hours. But adding an acid, typically vinegar sets the reaction in place.
Adding salt improves the flavor and helps preserve the mustard, too.
You can grind the seeds with a spice grinder, coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. The finer the seeds the sharper the flavor.
Basic Homemade Mustard
Makes slightly over 1 cup
Ingredients
1/2 cup whole yellow mustard seeds (also called white mustard seeds) or ¼ cup yellow and ¼ cup brown mustard seeds
¼ cup water (more if you like a thinner mustard or plan to cook it)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar , or coconut vinegar
1-2 teaspoons salt
Optional seasonings, I like it will all of these but add and mix to suit your tastes. See Notes below for other variations and successful suggestions.
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
1-2 teaspoons honey
Instructions
Grind the mustard seeds for a few seconds in a spice, coffee grinder or by hand with a mortar and pestle. Remember the finer the seeds are ground the spicier it will be.
Pour the ground seeds into a bowl and add the water. Stir well and allow this sit for 10 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients, vinegar, salt and seasonings and mix well.
Pour into a glass jar and store in the fridge. It will thicken up slightly overnight. Wait at least 12 hours before using.
Add optional seasoning to make it your perfect custom flavor.
For a milder version slightly cook the mixture.
Prepare the mixture as directed above but cook it before storing it in a glass jar.
In a medium saucepan add all recipe ingredients as directed above plus an additional 3-5 tablespoons of water depending on how thick you want your mustard. You can always add more later if needed. Whisk everything until smooth.
Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring regularly.
Once mixture comes to a boil, simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly until mixture begins to thicken. Reduce the heat as necessary to avoid bubbling over. The longer you cook the mixture the thicker and milder it will become. Add more water if needed to reach desired consistency it will dry out as it continues to cook.
Remove from heat source and pour into a glass jar. Allow mustard to cool, cover with lid and store in refrigerator in an airtight container.
Note:
Mustard can be used right away; however the bitterness will dissipate with a little time and mustard flavor will get better. It’s best to make homemade mustard a few days before you plan on serving it.
Store in glass container, the flavor will get better with time.
Mustard is one of the more powerful anti-microbial plants. Once mixed with salt and vinegar, mustard is nearly invulnerable to deterioration. Mustard will very rarely go bad, although it can dry out.
VARIATIONS
Change the liquid you could use water, beer, white wine or apple cider or apple juice.
Change the vinegar I like apple cider vinegar or coconut vinegar because they are less acidic but any type of vinegar can be used to make mustard. You could use also try white wine vinegar, traditional white vinegar or sherry vinegar.
Grind the mustard seeds a lot or a little to you change the texture and spiciness.
Use mustard powder in place of some of all of the seeds
Add more honey or maple syrup for sweetness
Add fresh minced herbs like dill, marjoram, or thyme
