Saucy BBClue

Baby back ribs with Saucy BBClue and Popeye Pancakes

Menu Notes:

• This is my version of, and not very different from The Prudent Wife recipe for Barbecue Sauce with Stevia.
• If the sauce is not all used within a week or so, it can be frozen, and thawed for later use. (I have not yet done the freeze-thaw, so cannot vouch for the taste or consistency of the sauce after freezing.)

The Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, weighing approximately 225 g (or 8 oz)
• one 3 to 5-cm (or 1 to 2-inch) piece of ginger, weighing approximately 20 g (or ¾ oz)
• 2 to 4 cloves of garlic, weighing approximately 15 g (or ½ oz)
• 8 g (or 1 teaspoon) of salt
• 6 g (or 2 teaspoons) of ground cumin
• 1.5 g (or ½ teaspoon) of ground Cayenne pepper
• 350 ml (or 1½ cups) of chicken broth
• 1 can (170 g or 6 oz) of tomato paste, preferably Muir Glen brand
• 1  lime
• 60 ml (or ¼ cup) of sherry
• stevia equivalent of 12 g (or 1 tablespoon) of sugar
• 3 sprigs of fresh basil, weighing approximately 15 g (or ½ oz)
• 1 small handful of fresh oregano, weighing approximately 12 g (or ⅓ oz)
• cooking grade olive oil

The Method:

1. Peel and dice the onion.
2. Grind the garlic and ginger together or grate them finely.
3. Squeeze the lime and reserve the juice.
4. Heat a saucepan over medium heat and add enough olive oil to lightly cover the bottom of the pan.
5. Place the diced onion into the pan and sauté until all of the pieces are translucent.
6. Add the garlic and ginger, stir briefly, and reduce the heat to low. 
7. Cover the pan and allow the aromatics to simmer for 15 minutes.
8. Add the salt, cumin, and Cayenne pepper to the pan.
9. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
   
10. Add the tomato paste and stir vigorously.
11. Add the chicken broth and stir gently but thoroughly.
12. Add the sherry, stevia, and lime, stir briefly, then turn the heat to low.
13. Cover the pan and simmer the sauce mixture for 15 minutes.
14. Strip the basil leaves from the stems and chop them finely with the oregano.
15. Add the basil and oregano (or substitute dried equivalents) to the sauce mixture and simmer, covered, for a further 15 minutes.

The Story:

Although we don't barbecue very often, our daughter and son-in-law love to smoke baby back ribs. Whenever they do, my husband always has to ask for dry-rub ribs because barbecue sauces are usually heavily sugared. So I cast about the internet for ideas for a sugar-free version and found someone who had already used stevia as a sweetener in a light, but spicy sauce. Even the nondiabetics in the family like it.