|
Grilling

Classic Homemade Caribbean BBQ Sauce.

Chris De La Rosa
Chris De La Rosa
Storyteller · Award-Winning Author · TV Personality & Caribbean Culinary Curator.
October 29, 2012
22 comments
Classic Homemade Caribbean BBQ Sauce.

One of the things I like best about having been exposed to traditional Caribbean cooking from day 1, is that it allows me to use basic principles of cooking and apply it to the variety of flavors I grew up enjoying. When you think about grilling on hot coals in the Caribbean, the first thing which comes to mind is “jerk”, but there so much more to grilling in the Caribbean. In this BBQ sauce you’ll obviously see elements of a ‘jerk’ marinade, but I’ve used the basic steps of a tomato based BBQ sauce to merge the two into one of the most delightful bbq sauces I’ve ever tasted.

I no longer have the pleasure of having a cut oil drum filled with coals and meat sizzling away on a metal grate, but I get similar results on the gas grill I use during the summer months.. and during those cold snowy days when I MUST have a good piece of grilled chicken (neighbors must think I’m nuts).

 

You’ll Need…

5 scallions (green onions)
7 sprigs of fresh thyme (about 1 tablespoon chopped)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 scotch bonnet peppers (no seeds)
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion
1/2 cup pineapple juice
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 large onion diced
2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

It does seem like a lot of ingredients, but I assure you you’ll be very pleased once you get a taste of this Caribbean BBQ sauce.  Start off by chopping the onion, scallions, scotch bonnet pepper and thyme. Be sure to wear gloves when handling scotch bonnet peppers and wash your hands immediately after with soap and water.

Heat the oil in a deep pot and add in the chopped ingredients, grate in the ginger and add  the spices (cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice). Turn your heat down to low and allow this to cook for about 4 minutes. We’re building a wicked flavor base at this point.

Basically all you have to do now is add all the other ingredients, turn up the heat to medium and bring it up to a boil.

When it comes up to a boil, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cover the pot. Allow this to cook for 25-35 minutes, but remember to stir very often. You should have a sort of chunky sauce at this point. You can allow it to cook for a further 10 minutes and end up with a rustic/chunky sauce. I used my stick blender to pulse it into a more smooth consistency. You can also pour it into a conventional blender and give it a few pulses until you achieve the consistency you like.

In the pics above you’ll notice I used this wonderful Caribbean style BBQ sauce on some ribs and they were absolutely fabulous. The scotch bonnet peppers gives it a wicked kick and the balance of spices and fresh herbs takes this to a level on it’s own. It’s rich color alone is enough to get your taste buds going! Not only is this a wonderful BBQ sauce, but it acts as a great dining sauce as well. Store in the fridge in a air tight container for up to 3 months.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

 

Similar Recipes

  • Fried Snapper In A Zesty Orange Ginger Sauce.

    With all the requests I usually get this time of the year (Good Friday) for fish recipes, I thought I’d share one of my favorite recipes using fillets of Red Snapper. In my youth days on the islands it was ALWAYS fish on Good Friday (Catholic home) and though mom and dad never went to church they felt it necessary to stick with tradition. Usually it was fried, stewed or curry fish, served with ground provisions (Yam, Dasheen. Eddoes, Cassava and/or green bananas), a salad of some sort and I still recall dad drizzling olive oil (sweet-oil as he would call it) over the boiled ground provisions.

  • |

    Grilled Jamaican Escovitch Fish.

    One of the things I looked forward too the entire trip to Jamaica was the FISH. From the jerk, to them being steamed with okra and crackers to my favorite… escovitch! Red Snapper (or Parrot fish) seasoned, perfectly fried, then topped with the spicy pickled dressing known as escovitch sauce. For most the thin slices of Scotch Bonnet were to be avoided, but they were like little prizes between the sweet peppers, scallions, onions and other ingredients in the vinegar based sauce. Any trip to the Caribbean is more than just a homecoming, it’s a culinary extravaganza for me and Jamaica did not disappoint!

  • |

    Succulent Jerk Rotisserie Chicken.

    This past summer during our annual July Month Of Grilling, I shared this awesome recipe for what I believe is best way to roast a chicken on the grill. The self-basting achieved by having the chicken on a rotisserie, means you’d never have a dry and cardboard-like chicken. And your taste-buds will be excited by the punch the jerk marinade brings to the table. Tender, juicy and that awesome spice kick, means your family and guests will be asking for this jerk chicken for years to come.

  • The Ultimate Island Spicy Fried Chicken.

    I must have been about 10 years old when my aunt and uncle had gone on vacation in Canada and I spent the nights (weekends) with my older cousin. With an entire house to ourselves, you can only imagine the commess (creative trouble) we got into. It was about 11 pm one night when we decided we’d make fried chicken. Beyond the total destruction of the kitchen (oil and flour everywhere), we ended up with bland over-cooked chicken. As with any true Caribbean child, we employed the use of peppersauce, ketchup and mustard to salvage things.

22 Comments

  3. I had some Jerk Chicken with rice and peas and there was a red sauce drizzled over the chicken and rice. I got this off a food truck at a fair. It looked like BBQ sauce but was not. I could definatly taste classic jerk spices in it along with a sweet element. Would this sauce be similar to what is usually served with jerk chicken?

    Thanks in advance

    Reply

  5. Hi, how long will this sauce last if I were to make a big batch and keep it refrigerated?

    Looking forward to trying this!

    Reply

  6. Man, dis sauce was really wicked in truut. On my second batch now. This time I used a can of whole tomatoes instead of ketchup and added some liquid smoke -(1/2 tsp per cup). Boi, leh meh tell yuh. Some people was asking for meh ring size yes.Lol . They want to put meh in house. Lol

    Dude I have been following you for years. Thank you for all the hard work you put in. I am one of your biggest fans and I hope I get to meet you one day. Congratulations on all your successes. The love that you have for what you do, comes through in all of your videos. You make me proud to be a Trini.. You’re truly a WICKED CHEF.

    Tank yuh man.

    Reply

  9. I'm from France and I have just discovered your site, which is now in my favourites 😉
    Everything looks so delicious ! I'm definitely trying your Caribbean BBQ sauce this week-end.
    Thanks for your recipes.

    Reply

  12. hi chris im from guyana can you show me house to bake a guyanese sponge cake for the christmas 2012. and if you can post a few dish for the christas hoilday

    Reply

  13. Where can you find Shado-Beni in the GTA besides growing it yourself? I'm in Oakville and its impossible to find. Need it for a proper peppah sauce!

    Reply

  15. Chris yuh is ah boss! ah put dwn this sauce and man it come out “wicked” as yuh does put it, lol, d only thing i did after was to mince up some Shado-beni and garnish over d top and leave to cool, I just love meh shado-beni!

    Keep up d good work man! Not once have u failed me! d only thing is that my wife does dig ah horrors…………..my pot better dan hers! Haha God Bless

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *