Kay's Award Winning Sauce

Carl & Kay Depew
 

     1 Cup        Catsup. (I use Heinz)
    1/2 tsp.    Onion powder
    1/2 tsp.   Celery salt
    ¼ Cup       Cider Vinegar
    ¼ Cup       Light Brown Sugar (firmly packed)
    ¼ Cup       Salad Oil
    1 Tbsp.  Worcestershire Sauce
     3-4          dashes of hot red pepper sauce (optional)
        yields about 2 1//4 cups of sauce
 

    Simmer for 8 – 12 minutes (15 to 20, though, will cook it down a bit so it sticks better. I’ve tried to get it a lot thicker but it hasn’t worked out too well, so far)

                    yields about 2  ¼ cups of sauce. I usually double or triple the recipe

Please Note: this sauce is way good! But is isn’t a marinade and it isn’t a dipping sauce. It is best when layered on pork ribs or chicken and when each layer is allowed to caramelize.

MOST IMPORTANT for ribs:

Before cooking take a Phillips screwdriver or a pair of scissors and take off the membrane on the back of the ribs. Going in the direction of the bones, put the screwdriver under the membrane and get your finger or thumb under it. Removing that membrane will make them a lot more tender. (Is "more tender" good English?)

Bar-B-Que ribs over a low fire (about 275º ). The lower heat takes longer but makes them more tender (oops, there it is again). When ribs are about half done, use a brush (or a mop) to paint them with sauce. Turn ribs frequently and paint each time. Frequent turning and layers of sauce will allow the sauce to caramelize as it cooks on the ribs and give it/them a better flavor. I usually increase the temperature towards the end to make sure the sauce cooks in. (Have I mentioned layering and caramelizing?)

I often cook ribs in a pressure cooker to remove fat. Sometimes, in place of water in the pressure cooker, I use soy sauce which gives a little different flavor.

Paint ribs with sauce as they cook, again, on a Bar-B-Que. The second cooking is mainly to heat them and to caramelize the sauce.