West Coast Comics, LLC

Howdy there, delicious humans. This here’s the Wendigo comin’ at ya, but my family calls me Big Fuzz. I’ve been at this cooking game for a little while, so I thought I’d throw some ideas your ways. Enjoy.

Barbecue Sauce

Most people think the best way to add barbecue sauce to something is to just buy some from the store and slather it up and presto…done. Nope. Make your own. It’s not so difficult, and it lets you be creative and cater to everyone else’s tastes as well. I won’t go into ingredient amounts because that’ll be up to your own personal tastes, but here’s how I goes about it:

I start out with ketchup. Any ketchup really, but if you have a preference, go for it. You’re gonna use this as the main ingredient, so don’t be too shy with it. I generally fill a large bowl about 3/4 of the way full with the red stuff. Now for the sweet part. There’s a couple of ways of doing this. You could add soda, a brown soda like a cola, but for me it tends to make the sauce a bit thin. I prefer using good old fashioned maple syrup and a bit of honey. You’re gonna want to taste it as you go. Go ahead and add it till the bowl is all the way full. Oh and when you’re throwing things together in a recipe, remember to add little by little. I know that sounds like “Duh”, but you can ALWAYS add more of an ingredient to something. It’s impossible to take away an ingredient once it’s in the mix. I prefer sauce to be spicy…actually I like it hot as hell, so I chop up a Habanero nice and fine and add it in. Take out the seeds and DEFINITELY take out the white membrane that the seeds are attached to (THAT’S where the spiciness is) if you don’t want to cause a 3 Alarm fire in someone’s mouth. If you want to use a different pepper, I’d go with a Serrano. They aren’t as hot as a Habanero, but they have a bit more kick than a Jalapeno. As far as spices go, I like dried mustard and ginger. These add a bit more heat, but in a mild amount. Other spices that could work are Cayenne pepper (a bit hot, not crazy), Cumin (gives it an “Earthy” taste),  Chinese Five Spice (not available in every store, but you should be able to find it in an Asian market, has a licorice flavor), or just make it crazy sweet and add some cinnamon sugar to it (I think the name implies what that one is…if not, it’s cinnamon and sugar rolled into one).

Stir the hell outta this thing. Stir till you can’t stir no more. Then stir some more. KEEP TASTING it. Have a little spoon or something on the side for it, and keep adding to it as you go. If you’re just making something for yourself, then great, add whatever in however much you want. If you have someone with you, ask them to taste it as well. Everyone has a different set of taste buds, so don’t be so selfish there.

Anywho…I just wanted this first one to be easy. I’ll put up some more intricate recipes as time goes by. Happy feasting.