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BBQ sauce

 

All the keto recipes for a BBQ sauce still had sugar or sweeteners in them and I am not a big fan of sweeteners, I think they indulge your sweet tooth leading to a sugar craving, and a slippery slope back to carb land. Sweeteners  contain no nutritional value either so, in my book they are a waste of money. Also, now 18 months in I don’t miss sweet stuff at all so I have tried to make this sauce without any additional sweetness, I have used onions and red pepper and tomatoes all of which contain natural sugars and are therefore best used in moderation so I think its fine as it is, but if you are at the start of your journey, and still need some then feel free to add a small amount of your preferred sweetener. but bare in mind that in a regular high sugar BBQ sauce recipe the sugar is usually dark to contribute to the sweet stickiness and you won’t get that with stevia.

BBQ sauce

Ingredients

olive oil

small amount of onion/shallot/leek

half a red pepper (optional)

small tin of tomato puree and water or a carton of passata

1 garlic clove

Worcestershire sauce

smoked paprika

salt and peper

chilli flakes (optional)

Ingredients

Lots of keto recipes use dried onion flakes and dried garlic, this is because they contain less carbs for the amount of flavour, but in this recipe you want the sweetness and texture that a real onion and garlic bring.

Finely chop half an onion/a shallot/a leek and half a red pepper, The pepper is optional,it adds bulk and sweetness to the sauce and some nutrients, but it will work without it.

Heat a good glug of olive oil in a pan and heat gently, add your choice of onion and the pepper to the oil. Cook gently until the onion is translucent and the pepper is soft, do not rush this as the onion will caramelise and burn. Add the paprika and garlic and chilli if using and cook out.

I am using a small tin of concentrated tomato puree, it is quite high in carbs but it goes a long way. I could use a carton of passata or tinned tomatoes, but they would require a lot of cooking down.

It needs to be cooked out, so add it to the softened vegetables and allow it to cook for a few minutes.

It will be thick and look a bit like it may have gone wrong.

Add a splash of Worcestershire sauce, and red wine vinegar. About a tablespoon of each. These give it the BBQ flavour, so add more Worcestershire sauce if you want more BBQ taste.

Add water to create a sauce consistency. Start by using the tin or carton your tomatoes came in to get the most flavour.

Bring to a gentle simmer, cover with a screen to stop the slashing if you have one, and cook for about 20 minutes stiring occasionally to avoid burning, until the ingredients are blended together and the sauce has thickened again to a sauce consistency.

The sauce is now ready to use, allow to cool and store in the fridge or bottle it to keep it, if you prefer a thick sauce without lumps you can puree it with a stick blender. You can put this sauce on to ribs or a portion of chicken, before cooking.

I liked this sauce and while it is quite high in carbs,this amount of sauce will easily do 8 portions and can be thinned down if needed. I wouldn’t have it every day or even every week, but it makes a nice change and is ideal for summer entertaining.

 

 

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