Yes you read that right.
There’s coffee. In this. BBQ Sauce. You never have to choose between the two again! And it’s perfect for just about anything this 4th of July and beyond.
The idea came about last year when I went to a press event at Mohawk Bend up in LA and they had bbq chicken that had a hint of coffee flavor to it and I was like wait what’s going on why have I never put coffee in my BBQ sauce.
The good news for those of you that don’t like coffee (witches) is that it doesn’t taste like you’re putting coffee on your ribs, there’s just a really great richness that you get from using the coffee. I mean when you think about it, the characteristics we find in coffee are the same ones we look for in a good BBQ sauce. The smoky notes, the acidity, even certain berry notes make up the perfect base.
And I’ve even gone ahead and made it ketchup free for those of you that are emoji girl crossing her arms to having it in your BBQ sauce. I’m not 100% opposed to it but in this case it was covering up more of the coffee and just making it all taste like sad watery ketchup, not the kind of BBQ sauce I want. We’re taking the tomato paste highway and getting to use more coffee. Win Win Win.
Be a strong person and sacrifice a cup of coffee from your morning pot to make this because girl, it’s worth it.
Black Coffee BBQ Sauce
Makes 1 1/2 cups, can be doubled or even tripled just use a larger pot to cook it in so the evaporation rate is the same.
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 1/4 cup coffee, medium/dark roast
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon worstechire
1 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
**if you like your bbq sauce to have that smokey flavor that so many store bought sauces have then you’ll need 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke. It’s totally optional and not necessary but that’s how we get dat smokey flavor. I usually add it when I’m not grilling the meat or if I’m using it on something like pizza or tossed with shredded chicken.
In a medium size saucepan over medium heat cook the tomato paste for a minute or so to wake it up then add everything else (I like to sort of measure it all out in a large measuring cup so I’m not scrambling to get everything in there).
Bring the sauce to a simmer then turn the heat down to low, make sure it maintains a simmer, then cook it for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can serve it on whatever you want now but if you give it a day or two in the fridge it’ll just be that much better.
Oh! and the method I used to actually cook the chicken up there is here and it’s v aces
