Recipe: Smolik's Easy Meat Market Sauce (barbecue sauce)

SMOLIK'S EASY MEAT MARKET SAUCE

"Barbecue sauce is served begrudgingly by some central Texas meat markets. I got the recipe from Bill Smolik, who grew up cooking barbecue at his dad's place, the legendary Smolik's Meat Market in Karnes City (now doing business under different ownership as Market Bar-B-Que and Fresh Meats)."

3 cups ketchup
2 cups water
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
1 dash oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon chile powder (ground chiles)

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the sauce begins to bubble. Serve immediately, or store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 3 weeks. Reheat before serving.

SMOLIK'S MEAT MARKET
William Benedict Smolik is a third generation sausage-maker and barbecue man. His grandfather, a Bohemian Czech, smoked sausage on the family farm near Halletsville in the late 1800s. His father, William Harris Smolik, opened Smolik's Meat Market in Karnes City in 1918. W. B. Smolik's son, Michael, carries the tradition on in the fourth generation; he operates Smolik's in Cuero, a meat market and barbecue joint that specializes in sausage.

Makes about 5 cups
Source: Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook: Recipes and Recollections from the Pit Bosses by Robb Walsh