As many of you know Anna is winterized and sitting out in the middle of a field. It would literally require a tractor to get it out for the ground is as wet as can be. Central Maryland is definitely not lacking in precipitation. So what does a guy with a seriously itchy foot do? He goes on a trip to someplace else. Well, not this time around, maybe in a few weeks, but travel can happen in the mind and also on the dining room table. My buddy Marcus keeps inviting me to come down to Austin where it is nice and warm. I did the next best thing and brought Austin to Baltimore. Through careful and detailed instructions I was able to fix up a little slice of Texas for some dinner guests. Even in Maryland we can have a tasty meal of BBQ. I know BBQ has been discussed on this blog before. I also know I have thanked Marcus at least three time previously for his help at re creating a national treasure in my own home.
What you are looking at is the best ribs I have ever served. Marcus's coaching paid off in spades for sure. The meat just fell off the bones. On the side is pinto beans cooked up in the slow cooker, old fashion baked macaroni and cheese, creamed spinage, and white bread to soak up the sauce. It is the sauce I want to focus on. A true Texan always has sauce with his BBQ, but never on the meat. The meat is always so lovingly prepared that it can stand alone. Sauce is eaten with the meat, but it gets to the mouth via some white bread. Sounds like a strange way to do it, but I would never question how they do it in the Republic. It works, it tastes great that way and I just do it. But the sauce.... Marcus shared with me his Fathers recipe. I have made it a number of times and this is the finest BBQ sauce you will ever try. Funny thing is that for Marcus's family it is no family secret. They give it out freely and encourage others to do the same. I believe in giving credit where it is due, so Mr Moyer, thank you for sharing your killer sauce with me. There is more to the sauce story though. My hard drive crashed a few months back and the recipe was lost to the hard drive goblins. Marcus emailed me a new copy. While typing the email he left off one important ingredient and I took that as an opportunity to make the sauce my own thing. Good thing I make the sauce in double or triple batches so we can keep it in the fridge because my dinner guest all went home with a jar. I am going to pass on the recipe to all of you. However you will need to make it your own too. My 1 1/2tsp of unknown ingredient was Penzey's chipolte powder. That made the sauce a wee bit on the fiery side. So here you all go...
1 pint ketchup
1 1/2 pints water
1/3 cup flour
1 tablespoon salt
4 teaspoons sugar (I usually omit this because the ketchup has a lot of sugar in it)
2 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons Liquid Smoke
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
Combine ketchup and water in large pot. Bring to a boil. Mix dry ingredients together. Add mustard, Liquid Smoke, and half of the Worcestershire sauce. Stir into a paste, then add remainder of Worcestershire. Pour this into heated mixture and boil slowly for 20 minutes. Refrigerate any unused portion. Keeps for several weeks. Sauce recipe makes approximately one quart.
