Saturday, May 20, 2006

sports, sweats & sauce

PING'S BBQ CHICKEN


This guy I know (Andrew) writes for the Dig and the Improper Bostonian, and he did this great piece on "things to do while your girlfriend is away". It's true, a guy's got choices. Some guys watch basketball. Some dust off the old XBox from college. The more proactive types might invest in a kegerator. My friend Ping - he makes BBQ sauce.

I don't have too much back story for the making of Ping's BBQ sauce. All I know is that it involved a 4-hour shopping trip that covered 5 different grocery stores - Super 88, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Russo's, and Costco, and that the yield was massive. Ping used a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa.

Ina Garten's Barbecue Sauce
from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Prep Time: 55 minutes
Yield: 1 1/2 quarts

1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (1 large onion)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup tomato paste (10 ounces)
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup honey
1/2 cup worcestershire sauce
1 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

In a large saucepan on low heat, saute the onions and garlic with the vegetable oil for 10 to 15 minutes, until the onions are translucent but not browned.

Add the tomato paste, vinegar, honey, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chili powder, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Simmer uncovered on low heat for 30 minutes. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator.



Ping marinated his chicken overnight, and the result was tender, sweet, with just a touch of spice. I was impressed.

I later found out that Ping has considered that kegerator as well, but, after playing out the scenario in his head, realized that drinking unlimited beer every night might not coincide well with the beginning of his rotations schedule (he's a med student).

5 comments:

FooDcrazEE said...

thtas good thinking of him but thats a lot of sauce....man

wheresmymind said...

I appreciated that article stating that the only meats that should be eaten cannot be identified by name ;)

shaz said...

I recently planned a family bbq at my parent's apt. and I was so sick from a tummy upset i couldnt eat a thing that nite. It was terrbly upsetting

Genevieve said...

shaz - that's so sad! i can totally understand. the worst is when you have planned a great event and can barely enjoy the results of all your work. :(

Anonymous said...

sounds dreamy!!