Friend Fridays: Stephen Bly's Matador Cowboy Barbecue Sauce

A Recipe For the Cowboy in Your Life

The Matador Hotel in Albuqerque, New Mexico, became a  sort of "old folks home" rental for seniors of all sorts, including 5 cowboys featured in the fiction novel,Cowboy For A Rainy Afternoon (to be released June 2010). The menus at the restaurant ranged from fair to middlin', but anything tasted good when dunked with the cook's special barbecue sauce. Quirt Payton watched the cook make it one time and told my grandpa about the ingredients. My grandma often made it after that. Since then, I've taught my wife, Janet, a secret: when you're stuck with a lot of leftovers, get your gang to eat whatever you pull out of the frig, by letting them dunk it or smother it with Cowboy Barbecue Sauce.

Matador Cowboy Barbecue Sauce

 

2 teaspoons bacon grease

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup ketchup

1 cup chili sauce

½ cup packed light brown sugar

½ cup lemon juice

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

Hot pepper sauce, to taste

In a large saucepan, heat the bacon grease over low heat. Add the onion, garlic and cook, stirring, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ketchup, chili sauce, sugar, lemon juice, and Worcestershire. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often to prevent sticking, until slightly thickened, about 45 minutes. Season with hot sauce.

NOTES: I left out the ½ cup of Jack Daniels, but I hear that can zip it up. :-) For those on special diets, you might try some substitutes for the recipe above, such as virgin cold-pressed olive oil for the bacon grease, plus honey or molasses or Splenda® instead of brown sugar. I've used 1/2 the artificial sweetner and 1/2 brown sugar before with fine results.

Conversation Starter: Do you know any real cowboys? What kind of food would you expect cowboys to eat?

On the trail,

Stephen Bly

http://www.BlyBooks.com
Stephen's 2009 release: Creede of Old Montana (hardback)
Coming June 2010: Cowboy For A Rainy Afternoon (hardback)
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