That's a Tangy Sauce

Any good chunk of meat left to smoke for hours on end will taste great on its own. That fall-apart tenderness and characteristic smoke ring and flavor are why we do this thing called barbecue in the first place. But of course a nice barbecue sauce is always welcome, and I wanted to give a tangy Western Carolina barbecue boost to some smokey ribs. I didn't want the first noticeable taste to be sugar (usually corn syrup in commercial sauces). Here's a rough idea of how it came together. No corn syrup was harmed in the making of this sauce.

"Gonna Make Ya Sweat" Barbecue Sauce

1 small can tomato paste
1/2 cup water, more if the sauce is too thick
3/4 cup vinegar (I used sushi vinegar because it's all I had)
1 T molasses
1 T honey
1 clove garlic
1/2 inch fresh ginger root, sliced
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds, ground
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
a dash of Worcestershire sauce
several dashes of XXX hot sauce
a good shake of cayenne pepper

In retrospect, half the tomato paste would have done the trick, and then the water could have been cut down so that the sauce is more of a tomato-tinged vinegar sauce rather than vice versa. In any case, toss everything into a blender and process until well mixed and smooth. Add a splash of liquid (vinegar or water) if the sauce won't budge in the blender.

Some of the ingredients were just handy and sounded good at the time, like the chili powder and Worcestershire. Omit, substitute or add as you please. The sauce should have a tangy vinegar and chile burn that's eased by the honey and molasses. Makes about 2 cups.

Hot tub! Gonna get ya hot-a!
Gonna make ya sweat! Hey!
Say! Hot tub! Rub a dub in the hot tub!
Rub a dub with me!

--James Brown's Celebrity Hot Tub Party (Eddie Murphy, SNL)