Below is a recipe I came up with for a half-rack of ribs I was going to do on the grill. I didn’t feel like firing up the meat smoker for such a small amount of meat but I wanted something smoky, and I needed to use up some honey crisp apples we had. We had them sitting out on our dining room table and they were so fragrant, just begging me to do something with them. Pork and apples are a wonderful marriage and this is the end result of that BBQ sauce experiment. Words don’t do justice to how awesome it was on that half-rack of ribs. Sweet from the apple, smoke and spice from the chipotle pepper, crazy good. This would also pair well with chicken or turkey.
Apple Chipotle BBQ Sauce
Author: Bear In The Pantry
Recipe type: Misc. Entree
Cuisine: American
This recipe makes 3-4 cups.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- 3 apples, peeled, cored & roughly chopped (I used Honey Crisp)
- 1 can mild Rotel tomatoes
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup molasses
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 lemon juiced
- 4 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 chipotle in adobo (optional)
- 1 tsp liquid smoke (use as an option to the chipotle)
- 1 tsp coriander
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- 1 tsp salt
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.
- Add onions and saute until they become translucent, 8-10 minutes.
- Add the garlic and apples, stir well. Continue to cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients, stir well and cover. If you choose not to use the chipotle, use 1 tsp of liquid smoke instead. Simmer for 30 minutes, until apples are soft and flavors have had time to marry.
- Carefully transfer to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, you can also also use a hand/stick blender.
- Taste and adjust seasonings before serving. Feel free to add a kick with your favorite hot sauce.