There is a thread over on Mike's rub about rubs, etc.

I wanted to post a topic to try to generate some discussions. I'll post another one in a couple of days about "spices".

The first:

What's your favorite Home Made Sauce?

There is a lot of experience in this forum and one of the things I think the more you get into this is the opportunity to create some of your own sauce?

• Tell us how you do it?
  
  
• From a book?
  
  
• Scratch?
  
  
• What ingredients work?
  
  
• Which ones don't?
  
  

Come on, speak up Forum Nation!

Smokin Okie

Smokin',

Am slowly developing a sauce of our own. Main ingredients to date are:

strong black coffee
apple cider vinegar
Worcestershire sauce
brown sugar
tomato puree
black pepper
cayenne pepper
salt
fresh garlic cloves
minced onions

Keep changing the amounts of each. So far, have been adding a cup of each of the first five ingredients as a base.

Frankly, I'm stumped. Been working on this for over a year. Like each different batch of it. Yet, I keep experimenting.

All suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Regards, Mike

Perfect post, thanks. maybe we can help.

So what don't you like about this blend? I've got some ideas, but I'm curious about what you like or don't like about this and what you're wanting to use this for?

Smokin'

Smokin',

I like it. It's just that I keep seeking something I can't describe. (How's that for an answer).

Sometimes I feel it's too tart. Other times I feel it's too sweet. Sometimes it just doesn't hit me right.

Creating a sauce is work. And, as said before, I'm alergic to work. I enjoy thinking things out and then applying them.

In the case of a sauce, it just isn't that simple. Adding a smide of this and a smidge of that while the sauce is simmering, is inaccurate, at best. At worst, making a batch causes me fits, because in spite of keeping notes, the recipe is invariably off.

But, that's supposed to be half the fun of it, eh?

Regards, Mike

Hey,Mike ....Here is a recipe I found awhile back....If not Smokin' will have to save me again.LOL....Scroll down to coffee glazed spareribs.

Coffee Glazed Campfire Spareribs.

Hope this is useful.

So, you hate work...yeah, but this is FUN work.

It's difficult to work on the recipe if your getting different tastes. Why don't we start with your last one and go from there?

Are you heating the ingredients? (I know, obvious question, but some don't require it)

Your ingredients:
1 cup each of:
strong black coffee
apple cider vinegar
Worcestershire sauce
brown sugar
tomato puree

The worcestershire might be overpowering, as well as the coffee. Also, how about t.sauce instead of puree?

Other ingredients:
black pepper
cayenne pepper
salt
fresh garlic cloves
minced onions

As for the other ingredients, these will be your key once you get a good base. What amounts are you using?

What kind of flavor do you want to end up with? sweet, hot, savory, sweet & savory, etc etc?

Be glad to help, it's always fun experimenting.

Smokin'

" Are you heating the ingredients? (I know, obvious question, but some don't require it) "

Smokin', Yes, heating at simmer for 25 mins. Cool on counter, then fridge.

Your ingredients:
1 cup each of:
strong black coffee
apple cider vinegar
Worcestershire sauce
brown sugar
tomato puree

" The worcestershire might be overpowering, as well as the coffee. Also, how about t.sauce instead of puree? "

Good ideas. Shall reduce Worchetershire and switch to tomato sauce. Love coffee. We roast our own beans.

Other ingredients:
black pepper
cayenne pepper
salt
fresh garlic cloves
minced onions

" As for the other ingredients, these will be your key once you get a good base. What amounts are you using? "

Various amounts...
2 tsp black p.
1 tsp cayenne p.
1/2 tsp salt
5 cloves
1 med onion

" What kind of flavor do you want to end up with? sweet, hot, savory, sweet & savory, etc etc? "

sweet and hot with coffee overtones.

Thanx, Mike

Hey folks...foodtv.com is haveing a contest on home made sauce. If ya hvae a good one ya might want to enter!

I've already entered a few.

here's the link:

FoodTV BBQ Sauce Contest


contest ends 7/15

quote:

Good ideas. Shall reduce Worchetershire and switch to tomato sauce. Love coffee. We roast our own beans.

Are you using the same coffee & amount each time? It will matter.

quote:

sweet and hot with coffee overtones.

A suggestion. Build up a good "base" that has some flavor that you like, taste it and test just the base and be happy with that.

Now add the "sweet & hot". My personal preference on Cayenne is that it's not as good in Q sauces (works on rubs) but I don't like it as much in sauces. I can get some different flavors with Paprika (Hungarian, Sweet, etc). Also, it might not be as savory/hot. Look into things like some of the Cajun Spices (Tony Chachere's, Emeril's Essence, etc). Then there are the pepper flakes & bottled sauces.

Hey Tom, you're the pepper man, speak up here. What are some good ways to add heat to a sauce?

As for sweet, there is molasses, brown sugar, turbinado sugar, corn syrup, cane syrup..and on.

Just 'ole Smokin Okie

quote:

Are you using the same coffee & amount each time? It will matter.

Yes, and yes; Costa Rican La Minita.

quote:

A suggestion. Build up a good "base" that has some flavor that you like, taste it and test just the base and be happy with that.

Good advice. Shall quit messing with the base. Cutting back a bit on the Worcestershire sauce.

quote:

Now add the "sweet & hot". My personal preference on Cayenne is that it's not as good in Q sauces (works on rubs) but I don't like it as much in sauces. [QUOTE]

Ok, shall sub for the Cayenne. More black; maybe some white. Always liked Chipolte. Not strong, but good flavor.

quote:

I can get some different flavors with Paprika (Hungarian, Sweet, etc). Also, it might not be as savory/hot. Look into things like some of the Cajun Spices (Tony Chachere's, Emeril's Essence, etc). Then there are the pepper flakes & bottled sauces.

Love Hungarian Paprika. Maybe will try some hot next time..and, some sweet.

quote:

As for sweet, there is molasses, brown sugar, turbinado sugar, corn syrup, cane syrup..and on.

So far, that's the easy part. I like them all.

Regards,Mike

Interesting discussion. You could build a rocket ship like this. I have a question: How many kinds of "bases" are there? Major classifications, if you will. For example, what Mike has going would be a tomato based sauce, yes? That "tomato X sugar" seems to be common. I think another one is the eastern Carolina vinegar based sauce. Just vinegar soaked in hot peppers.
Are there others? BBQ sauces, of course. There must be. SweetXsour,perhaps, no tomato? acarriii

Hey,guys.....Acarriii,being down here you should be used to the citrus and other tropical fruits which add acid as well as a base by concentrating them:

• Those folks over in central and north ALA think you are suppose to use one of Smokin's favorites ,Mayo as the base....
  
  
• The S. Car. folks think everything starts with Sauer's yellow prepared salad mustard....
  
  
• The orientals think bean paste and fish sauce is where it all begins.....
  
  
• The Cajuns would like a classic white sauce or a roux...
  
  
• That's a few that are making me hungry right now.
  
  

Now to my all time favorite:

PEPPERS

I used to be a devout member of the "If you can stand it ,it ain't hot enough club"...I have learned that while I might enjoy the experience,many of my friends turned away from anything I prepared,even vanilla icecream. ....I have won many of them back by trying to stimulate taste rather than overwhelm it.....And we all know the reason you drown good Q in sauce.

If I am using powders ,I like a blend of red,white and fresh ground black peppers because they stimulate different areas of the mouth. IMHO you can achieve as much stimulation with a smaller quanity and not risk hammering any one area...I have found also that the many different strengths of peppers off the same bush will produce vastly different heat levels.....To tag onto Smokin',I'm reluctant to put measured amounts of pepper powder into sauces because the true results may not be attained until hours or days later....I like them in rubs or pastes, because IMHO they break down and do not achieve unusable pain levels.....I like bottled sauces because they achieve an instant taste change that you can taste for and adjust.....Tabasco and LA Gold pepper sauces are chef favorites because they don't alter other flavors ,IMHO.....Chipotle pepper[smoked jalapeno] is good to give that smoke flavor we enjoy without too much heat or the artificial taste of liquid smoke....Once again -canned chipotles in adobo sauce is easy to find and use and Bufalo brand chipotle sauce is inexpensive and adds a lot of smokiness............A little fresh grated horseradish stimulates yet another area of the mouth and olfactory sensation. ....Hot curry powder will add a complexity and heat as will fresh grated ginger....But be sure you like those flavors....A little curry can go a long,long way..........Now,on to fresh peppers....which I grow lots of year round....Yes,you can leave the seeds and memmranes [ where most of the heat is found] but if you are more about taste and complimenting flavors IMHO use mostly the flesh of the pepper....An example is our scotch bonnet[from the islands] or the habanero[Cuba or the Yucatan] has a smokey apricot flavor.....I prefer to add more flavored flesh and less painful seed and membrane.....Which is not to say I don't go crazy for pesonal taste at times. Well after this post,I won't be able to kid Smokin' anymore.

Wow, Tom, that's an encyclopedia! Ought to give Smokin something to work with. This will be a thread with chapters. You bring several things to mind, but I'll comment on just one (if I can stop salivating on the keyboard.) Do you know the story about Melinda? She's a lady in Belize. She invented a hot sauce a few years back made with habanero peppers and carrot juice. Then, so it is said, someone in this country stole her sauce and her name! So, she gave her sauce a new name, and still sells it. But, the point is, carrot juice. I was surprised that it would work. Carrots have a little bit of a bite. Do you see it used often in the world of sauce? acarriii

Tom, I knew you had it in you to make a "smokin'" post...finally found the subject.

Now quite teasing me

acarii, good questions. I'm actually working on a map for my website (still NOT up, you guys keep my busy, and golf, and work, and.and.and.) that has the regions and their sauces. But we've pointed to the website that has good info about that and we can continue the discussion here, but now the thread is talking about sauces and spices and pepper....all great topics.

Keep 'em coming.

TOM
Appreciate the information, you're hereby crowned the Pepper King of the CS Forum. With that title comes an awesome responsibility to answer any/all questions about peppers.

do you accept this most sacred of positions?

quote:

Do you know the story about Melinda? She's a lady in Belize. She invented a hot sauce a few years back made with habanero peppers and carrot juice. Then, so it is said, someone in this country stole her sauce and her name! So, she gave her sauce a new name, and still sells it.

Acariii,

Actually, she sold the rights to 3(?) of her sauces to a US based company, who have expanded the line. Personally, I'm not in love with her new stuff.

quote:

But, the point is, carrot juice. I was surprised that it would work. Carrots have a little bit of a bite. Do you see it used often in the world of sauce?

Carrots are used in many hot sauces. They seem to blend well with habenero peppers.

Regards, Mike

Hey,Smokin' and acarriii.....Nothing real scientific in my process.....I can point to 30 years of failed attempts ,but enough successes to keep it interesting...Plus,I loooove to eat. ...Kinda like Q, huh. .....I know Melinda's products well....Her company is making others as well....I believe they moved over to Costa Rica now....The carrots they used were a natural sweetner and gave color without being artificial....Hope this helps a little.