barbeque sauce

oh heavens, jamie oliver's barbeque sauce is divine! even being sick, i could taste the dimensional flavors. i made myself have an appetite for it. joe made these ribs the other night, rubbing the sauce all over the meat, par-baking them for an hour first, and then bbq-ing them till perfectly done. (well, actually they were a bit crispier than they maybe should have been, but the flavor certainly wasn't compromised). we were disappointed in only one thing - the ribs themselves were too fatty. but we served with them simple red mashed potatoes and fresh peas in the pod.

we stuck the extra un-used sauce in a mason jar, and barbequed chicken with it tonight, the same way (par-bake then grill). let me tell you, folks, this sauce is worth learning!! it's slightly unorthodox, rustic, and earthy - we've never tasted anything quite like it.

we scribbled the recipe off jamie's current tv series, "jamie at home". his cooking is down-to-earth, so don't get frustrated with the less-than-exact measurements you'll find in the recipe. just go with the flow. it'll be the kind of recipe you just memorize...a handful of this, a pinch of that, etc. also, jamie's love of the mortar and pestle (which he uses for this recipe, and hundreds of others) may seem a bit outdated, but trust me, i think that's why his stuff is so good. the smooshing and rubbing and smashing that happens in the bowl makes the spices come alive, and turns the whole recipe into something larger than itself. :)

make it, love it, pass it down to your children and your children's children. it's God-glorifying, incarnational eating.

jamie oliver's barbeque sauce

in a large mortar and pestle, grind:

4-5 whole cloves
1 heaped tsp cumin
2 Tbl fennel seeds
1 Tbl black pepper corns
2-3 Tbl salt (sea or rough)

on a large cutting board, chop finely with a large knife:

handful of fresh rosemary
10 bay leaves
small bunch of fresh tyme
1 whole garlic head (traditionally unpeeled, but whatever floats your boat)
zest of 1 orange

in a large bowl, combine the mortar and pestle ingredients with the cutting board ingredients. make sure to take in all divine aromas. next, to the bowl add:

4 Tbl paprika
half a bottle of balsamic vinegar
the juice of that zested orange
1 whole bottle of ketchup
6-8 Tbl olive oil

mix everything together well and begin to drool. take your choice of meat, rub sauce all over, generously covering every square inch, par-bake in oven for an appropriate time, and then grill or barbeque till crispy and juicy.

this is what you chop finely with a knife, stems and skins all.

these are the spices from the mortar and pestle.

we made a quick kale salad with apple, toasted almond, fresh goat cheese, and my poppyseed dressing. and, having wrongly assumed we had potatoes, the plan B came out surprisingly delicious - simple whole wheat couscous with butter and fresh grated parmesan.