From the Far East to the Deep South

Ok, so I’m not sure exactly how deep south from whence BBQ supposedly originated, and I understand that “BBQ” means totally different things depending on where you land. My boyfriend is from Maryland, and I’m from Pennsylvania, so I categorize him as “southern” even though he usually objects. Anyways, the idea for this recipe is this: in my second attempt at making this version of “easy” Sweet and Sour Chicken from Made It. Ate It. Loved It., I think I stumbled upon a pretty good BBQ sauce recipe.

The first time I tried making this Sweet and Sour Chicken, the recipe kind of tanked. First off, my family doesn't like Chinese food—yeah, even American Chinese. But when I’m home from college, I like to, uh, experiment on them. I've gotten them to eat chicken and fried rice so far, and this was my next attempt. However, I ended up using way too much vinegar, and the sauce was thin, sour, and just all-around gross. Needless to say, the family wasn't thrilled.

So . . . round two! Right now, I’m taking an intercession (two-week, three-credit) course at college before the real semester kicks off. I've been staying off-campus to save a bit of cash, and I've gotten used to making my own one-person meals for the last week and a half since I'm not on my regular cafeteria plan. I figured, since it's just me this time, I’d give the recipe another go. After looking down through the comments on the original recipe post, I saw that a lot of people substituted brown sugar for white. Also, I like to spice things up a bit, so I threw in a bit of this and that. What I ended up with wasn't so much sweet and sour sauce as it was good old ‘MURICAN barbecue. Go figure, though. All of the ingredients are the same as other BBQ sauces, and the sugar proportions are in line for the standard of American cuisine. Anyways, I’d make the sauce again just for grilling up some chicken.

So, here ya go! Let me know if you like it, or what you decided to change. Feel free to mess with the measurements yourself to get it just right. My basic strategy is dump-and-cook, so the measurements given are approximate. Also, the amounts listed are good for one personal-size chicken portion (two chicken tenders or one breast), so you'll have to scale it up if you're cooking for a crowd.

Ingredients:

4 tbsp Ketchup

1 tbsp Vinegar

1 ½ tbsp Brown Sugar

½ tsp Chili Powder

½ tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Minced Onion (I used the McCormick stuff my hostess had in her pantry.)

Salt and Pepper if you roll like that

Instructions:

Mix it all up, and add a bit more ketchup if the sauce looks too thin. Take it easy on the vinegar unless you like your BBQ extra tangy.

Slather it on your chicken, grill it, bake it, whatever. Enjoy!


Update (3/4/14): I'm trying the BBQ sauce on slow cooked spare ribs tonight. Looking good!