At the art festival I exhibited in, there was a vendor selling pork loin sandwiches. The only options I had for sauce was ketchup and BBQ sauce. The BBQ sauce was so sweet. That got me going to make an alternative sauce at home today. Tonight, I’ll try this recipe out with some grilled chicken. I’m also going to get a can of Great Northern Beans and combine with some of the sauce to make BBQ beans.
I looked on the web for a sugar free recipe, but almost all of them called for a sugar substitute. When I find a recipe that is a no sugar version, that doesn’t mean I want to use the chemical blends of Splenda, diet soda, or Nutrasweet in place of sugar. I just want to eat foods that are naturally sweet. So I created my own recipe with vegetable ingredients that already have sweetness. What did I add to make the recipe sweetend a little? One of my favorite foods that can transform into magic sweetness by carmelizing it is the onion. Onions and tomatoes did well to add the sweet to the sauce.
Here’s a good site for directions on carmelizing an onion. Follow directions without adding the optional sugar. It takes a while to cook, but it’s worth the wait.
Here’s a BBQ Sauce recipe I created. Please try it and let me know what you think:
BBQ Sauce Without Sugar
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2 T tomato paste (adds natural sweetness, too)
- 1 yellow or Vidalia onion, chopped and carmelized (Vidalia is already sweet before cooking, so it carmelizes the best. )
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 T cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- dash of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon tamarind paste (optional, since it may be hard to find. Adds a little tang to the sauce, but ok without)
- 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more if you like some bite to your sauce. (optional)
Carmelize the onions as directed. On low heat, add paprika, cayenne, and water to the pan of onions and stir one minute. Stir in tomato sauce, tomato paste, then rest of the ingredients. Remove from heat, transfer to food processor or blender. Process until onions are pureed, for about one or two minutes. Makes about 1 1/2 cup sauce.
Unrefined 