Mango Honey Mustard BBQ Sauce

After posting the Homemade Tamarind BBQ Sauce recipe a while back, I got a message from the Crucian Contessa (a talented Caribbean food blogger) that she had an out-of-this-world mango BBQ sauce and it turns out she was willing to share it with me/us. In the past we’ve been guilty in the Caribbean of not being as creative with the abundance of fresh local ingredients we’re blessed with, but I’m seeing a huge shift in the culinary culture of the islands, which is very positive. The trouble with that is, we’re now seeing a lot of traditional recipes being lost to more modern fusion type cooking. It’s always an interesting balancing act when I try to keep traditional recipes alive and at the same time let my creative side go wild.. but with a Caribbean twist.

I urge you to check out the tasty offerings the Crucian Contessa stirs up on a regular basis on her website at: http://www.cruciancontessa.com/ But please don’t visit when you’re hungry as her creativity in the kitchen, along with her beautiful pictures will surely get the drool on.

This mango bbq sauce is excellent on grilled meats and fish and we quickly found out that it was just amazing as a dipping sauce for chicken strips. I tried to stay as close to the original recipe to show respect for the work CC put into developing such an exciting sauce… but in true Wicked Chef fashion, I tweaked a couple things to give it a sort of personal touch.

You’ll Need…

3 Sweet Seasoning Peppers
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups chopped mango (ripe)
1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
3 green onions
A pinch of allspice
1 Teaspoon of Black Pepper
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
½ cup Lime Juice
¼ cup Dijon Mustard
¼ cup Honey
2 Tablespoons Ground Mustard
¼ cup Light Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Worcester Sauce
1 Tablespoon Molasses
2 Stalks Shado beni (aka culantro)
½ cup Apple Cider Vinegar (organic)
1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
1 cup mango juice
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper (no seeds)

Notes: If you’d like to add a bit of a smoky undertone, you can add some chilli powder or chipotle peppers to the sauce. I used the paprika for the rich colour and I like the smokey element it brings. To add a kick to this mango bbq sauce, use an entire scotch bonnet pepper and include the seeds. If you can’t get shado beni, use about 5 tablespoons of chopped cilantro.

Wash, peel and dice your mango (you can probably use frozen mango chunks as well) and set aside. Then give your green onions (aka scallions or spring onions) and peppers a fine chop. Now heat the butter in a heavy pot (distribute heat better) and start building a flavor base. Add the green onion, peppers, spices, black pepper and grated ginger to the pot and turn your heat down to low so it cooks very slowly. Stir and cook for 4-5 minutes.

Turn up your heat and start adding the mango chunks, give that a stir and add everything else to the pot. It’s important that you stir well and bring up to a boil.

After it comes to a boil, reduce the heat so you have a gentle simmer going and place the lid on the pot and allow to cook for about 25 minutes. You will have to stir every 4-5 minutes as it may start to stick to the bottom of the pot. Your kitchen will have a very intoxicating aroma and your sense of smell will get confused. The same will happen when you taste this mango bbq sauce… you won’t know if it’s the mango, the mustard or the mellowness of the honey that’s attracting all that attention from your taste buds.

After 25 minutes, you should taste for salt and adjust accordingly. Since no 2 mango are the same (can be tart  at times), you may have to add a little more honey or mustard.. the goal is to have a wonderful blend of flavors, but keep the present of mango as the key subject of the sauce. By now your sauce should have started to thicken up and the mango should be dissolving. You can certainly play around with the consistency (if you want it chunky, runny or thick). I then turned off the stove and used a submersion blender to make my mango bbq sauce a bit smooth. You can use a wire whisk or potato masher as well with pretty much the same results. If using a blender as I did, try not to over work it or risk it going frothy.

Crucian Contessa was quite correct when she said that this mango honey mustard bbq sauce is out of this world..as we had it the same night with some Caribbean Style Chicken Fingers and Caron was raving how delicious it was. So delicious, she packed my share for lunch at work the next day.

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