Barbecue sauce and mayonnaise are two things that are SO worth making homemade — they are entirely different and so much better fresh than the store-bought stuff.  Yes…of course…I have those on my shelves too because sometimes the perfect cannot be the enemy of the good.  The mock hollandaise sauce in a later post is an attempt to make store-bought mayo more like homemade because hollandaise is a bit tougher in a galley.  Not so BBQ sauce…try it!

Homemade BBQ Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely minced onion
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 cup water

Sautee the onion in olive oil for 5 or 6 minutes.  Notice how finely this lazy pirate has diced the onion in this case…I’m willing to think outside the box, but BBQ sauce isn’t supposed to be chunky.

Add all the remaining ingredients, bring to a low boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes.

You can put the sauce on meat to marinate while still warm, though it will thicken a bit as it cools.  Here, I let it simmer while I made made maque choux, then poured it right over the chicken breasts and handed them up to the Captain for grilling.  Kept in an airtight jar In the icebox this will last easily a week–totally worth the effort!