Recipe #8 - BBQ Sauce - Pomegranate Carolina Sweet

I am in awe of food bloggers.

I have been playing around with my blog for a month. I use it as a means to an end. An announced set of goals are easier to meet when results are measured. I use my blog as a way to measure my progress from burgers and dogs on a grill to someone that is not afraid of anything on a grill. I have miles and miles to go, but I can envision that day of whole hog BBQ and rotisserie whole lamb.

But I digress, I am watching a few food bloggers. I am getting a feel for the people who are committed and the ones that are simply toying. I love the idea of Tuesdays with Dorie (and am planning on playing along at one point, probably over the cooler months when the grill is less active). Whisk: A Food Blog is amazing. The knowledge she lays out is amazing. The type of cooking she tackles does not translate to my grilling goal much, but the basic cooking knowledge she discusses certainly has made me a better cook. I have one favorite grilling blog, The Grilling Fools that I have stolen many great ideas from. Love them!

That is all to preface this post, yesterday, Retorte (another favorite) posted a blog asking for advice on what to do with some freebies she received. I spent 7 seconds being very jealous, and wondering how I can get on the freebie bandwagon (are you listening George Killian's Irish red Beer?) ... Well, maybe a bit more than 7 seconds, but I am digressing again.

Retorte had received some coupons for free POM Pomegranate Juice. This reminded me of a very early experiment that I did for my wife. Her current passion was Pomegranate Martinis. I wanted to pair a course with her drink, and used POM as a base for a marinade for a couple racks of ribs. The pairing worked well, and one day soon, I may repeat so I can blog about them. But, (and finally, I am getting to the point of the blog) Retorte got me thinking about what I would do if Pom dropped in my lap.

I am still sitting on a few pounds of Pulled Pork from a few days ago. I have enjoyed sandwiches, entertained the neighbors and created my soon to be legendary Redneck Cake. Now it is time to work on something for Mrs. MYotG (My Year on the Grill). She is a big fan of Pomegranate juice. So, I have been pondering starting to work on creating my own BBQ sauce, so today I decided to experiment with a Pomegranate based sauce.

I wanted to use just what was in the house, and avoid a trip to the store. So I started with this...

1 Cup Cranberry Pomegranate Juice
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Woody's Cookin' Sauce Base
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tablespoon Chili Powder

I got all of these ingredients to a soft boil. It was pretty runny, so I reduced for about 45 minutes til I got a nice thick BBQ sauce consistency. This was my first attempt at creating my own sauce. Making a BBQ sauce is not difficult, provides lots of satisfaction. But it also makes your kitchen smell marvelous.

OK, if I was going to the store for fresh ingredients, I would have gotten a bottle of Pom, instead of using the bastardised Cran-Pom juice that I had in the fridge. But for the experiment, the juice I had on hand worked fine. the taste of the juice very much came through. I use Woody's Sauce as a base. Many people will use ketchup, but Woody's works better. It is a thickening sauce.

I WILL be making this again. Next time, I will add some very finely minced garlic, onions and a small amount of chipotle peppers. I want this to stay a sweet sauce, so I will not over power the sweet, but layering some heat will add to the total.

But, this was a sauce I made for my wife (I prefer a bit more heat... OK, a lot more heat). She likes a sweet sauce, and I am always looking for that combination that we both like. when she got home, we reheated the leftover pork, added the sauce and ...

GOOD EATIN!

Oh yeah, a Martini was planned to cap her evening!