yes, i am committing plagiarism by posting this recipe. it is straight from cook’s illustrated (issue 87, july/august 2007). i suppose now i’m actually not plagiarizing since i am citing; though, i am posting without permission. christopher kimball can call my attorney, if i had one, that is.

this sauce is very tasty and super easy to make. it’s a little on the sweet side, so if you like spicier bbq sauce, this might not be for you. though, i am going to try to make my own spicy sauce, using this recipe as my base. if it works, i’ll post it.

bottom line: we like this sauce so much, we will likely never by bottled sauce again.

(for reference, this recipe makes enough to thoroughly baste four butterflied cornish hens or six boneless chicken breasts.)

1/2 cup ketchup (we only use heinz, and if you know me, you know I KNOW ketchup.)

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp yellow mustard (good ol’ french’s to the rescue!)

1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed … you want about a tsp of minced garlic.

mix everything in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sauce reduces a little and thickens. cook’s says it takes about five minutes. i think we usually end up cooking it for closer to 10 minutes.

use this to baste chicken on the grill, or you could cut the recipe, making only about a fourth of it. shred one cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast and add it to the sauce. use the chicken breast to make bbq-chicken pizza … or bbq-chicken nachos … or bbq-chicken burritos … YUM!