Recipe: Barbecue Joint Brisket Sauce and Ancho Barbecue Sauce

BARBECUE JOINT BRISKET SAUCE
Source: Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook: Recipes and Recollections from the Pit Bosses by Robb Walsh
Makes about 3 cups

THE BEST BARBECUE SAUCES 1N TEXAS ALL SHARE A SECRET INGREDIENT.

A rare chile pepper? An exotic herb? No - the secret is meat drippings. Brisket drippings are what makes the sauce so good at Cooper's, the cowboy barbecue joint that's George W. Bush's favorite. Lots of other places I visited used the same technique.

"You collect all the juices that flow out of the meat while you're slicing and add them back to the sauce. Just like you're making a good gravy," Ray Esquivel at Ray's Roundup and QuickStop outside of Falfurrias told me as he sliced a juicy brisket.

You can't save barbecue sauce that has meat drippings in it, it goes bad quickly. The trick is to make up a big batch of basic sauce and keep it in the refrigerator. Then you heat up what you need and add the meat drippings just before serving. It's a good trick for improving bottled sauces too.

2 cups Ancho Barbecue Sauce (recipe follows) or the sauce of your choice
Up to 1 cup meat drippings

Just before serving, heat the barbecue sauce adding fresh meat drippings as you slice your barbecue. Do not store sauce to which meat drippings have been added.

ANCHO BARBECUE SAUCE

Use this as a basic barbecue sauce, and then add meat juices and cut-up scraps of meat left over from carving just before serving time.

3 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups diced onion
7 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons mustard
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

Soak the anchos in hot water for .30 minutes or until soft.

In a large, heavy saucepan. heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes, or until they begin to wilt.

Add the ketchup and anchos and saute for 4 minutes.

Add all of the remaining ingredients and simmer gently for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool.

Place in a blender or food processor and puree. Serve immediately, or store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 3 weeks. Reheat before serving.

Makes about 4 cups