Tomato Casual » Smoked Tomato Barbecue Sauce

barbeque-sauce_28 By David Harbilas

In my last post I noted how smoking tomatoes lends a barbecue flavor, so why not enhance a regular barbecue sauce with smoked tomatoes?

This is essentially a regular, coffee-based barbecue sauce with the addition of pureed smoked tomatoes.

Some of the sweeteners, like molasses, have been omitted, as the tomatoes will take care of that. But slow simmering always improves a barbecue sauce

Makes about ½ gallon

6 cups tomato ketchup
1 cup strong brewed coffee
1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon dried ginger
1 tablespoon ground coriander
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon red pepper flake
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 smoked tomatoes, pureed
olive oil
salt and pepper

In a large saucepan, sauté the onion in olive oil over medium-high heat until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes. Add the cumin, ginger, coriander, brown sugar, cayenne, red pepper flake, and Dijon and stir and cook for 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and Worcestershire and stir.

Add the ketchup and pureed smoked tomatoes and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer the sauce for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until thick and the flavors have come together. If needed, add a little water to the sauce to the desired consistency. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.