Saucing it up this BBQ season

Krysta Anderson, Lifestyle Writer

Summer is finally here and 'tis the season for sizzling barbecues. A barbecue, in its truest form, would just not be complete without the incorporation of sweet and savoury sauces.

The key to any great barbecue sauce, according to barbecue connoisseur and caterer Robin Rickhi, is the sauce.

"BBQ is all about the sauce, slow cooking and low heat. The critical thing is the glaze and you want that to be sweet, so we use maple syrup," he explained to Food. "Sauces are all about creating it from what you love, so don't be afraid to experiment. You never know what you can come up with."

The other key to barbecues and sauces, he noted, is once the food comes off the grill, it must be put into a container and sealed so that the juices are redistributed and remain tender. If it is not sealed, the food will become dry.

For this Barbecue Edition, Food has provided barbecue lovers with a few recipes to sauce things up with at home.

Blue Mountain Coffee-infused BBQ Sauce

'Stuttering Chef' Conroy Arnold

Ingredients

1 cup of vegetable oil

5 white onions (medium diced)

10 cloves of garlic

15 pieces of lemon grass leaf

15 pieces of ginger

5oz Scotch bonnet pepper

2tbs nutmeg

2tbs cinnamon

2lb brown sugar

2 pieces star anise

1tbs paprika

1 quart vinegar

1 quart coffee

1 cup ketchup

Directions

1. In a sauce pot, add vegetable oil and make warm.

2.
Add white onions, garlic, ginger, Scotch bonnet pepper and saute until
tender and aromatic is evident. Then add sugar and cook until sugar
dissolve, at the same time resolve with vinegar.

3. Add rest of
ingredients and bring to a complete boil, reduce heat and allow to
simmer for just under one hour. When ready remove from heat and stop in
place in an ice bath.

Asian Vegetable Kebabs with a Jackfruit Calypso Sauce

Chef Christian Sweeney

Ingredients

12 medium length bamboo skewers

1 cup zucchini (medium cubes)

1 cup squash (medium cubes)

1 sweet pepper

¹/² cup fresh mushrooms

For the sauce

1 cup jackfruit pulp (fresh is best)

2 cups orange juice (fresh squeezed is best)

Juice of 1 lime

Half cup mustard

1 clove garlic

¹/⁴ cup hot pepper sauce (siracha or crushed Scotch bonnet is most ideal)

2tbsp brown sugar

Dash of salt

Method

1. Lay out all ingredients on table and preheat oven to 350F.

2. Place each ingredient on each kebab until 3 inches away from the top. Place kebabs in a preheated oven or on a hot grill left at medium heat. Let sit for five minutes on each side, keep turning until cooked through.

3. Combine in a medium saucepan orange juice and jackfruit. Let simmer at medium heat until jackfruit softens (approximately 40 minutes). Once soft remove from heat and let cool.

4. Place jackfruit and liquid in a blender and blend until smooth. Reintroduce mixture into saucepan. Add all remaining ingredients and let simmer for 20 minutes. Serve up skewers and drizzle sauce.

Pineapple Char Sui Chicken Skewers

Chef Christian Sweeney

Ingredients

12 medium-length bamboo skewers

1 Caribbean Passion chicken chub ham (cut into large cubes)

1 onion

1 sweet pepper

Half of a medium-size pineapple (cut into chunks)

For the Sauce

1 cup pineapple juice

Juice of one lime

1 clove of garlic

3tbs char SIU sauce

2 heaping tablespoons of brown sugar

Directions

1. Lay out all ingredients on table and preheat oven to 350F. Place each ingredient on the skewer piece by piece until each skewer is filled.

2. Place skewers in a preheated oven or on a hot grill left at medium heat. Let sit for seven minutes on each side, keep turning until cooked through.

3. Put all the ingredients for the sauce in a saucepan, leave on low heat and allow the sauce to reduce until it reaches desired thickness (about 20 minutes). Serve up skewers and drizzle sauce. Enjoy!

SAUCE Directions

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan on medium heat