Memphis-Style Finishing Sauce

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

This is the sauce that is traditionally served over smoked ribs in 
Memphis and other parts of Tennessee. Some cooks add prepared yellow 
mustard to the recipe. It can be converted into a basting sauce by 
adding more beer and a little more vinegar. Add more hot sauce to taste, 
or substitute red chile or cayenne powder.

Ingredients

1 cup tomato sauce, preferably freshly made
1 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Louisiana-style hot sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup light beer

Instructions

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring 
constantly. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
Remove from the heat, but serve warm over smoked meats.
Yield: 2 1/2 cups

Salsa Colorada (Spanish Red Sauce)

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

Here is a standard Spanish hot sauce would probably be prepared with the 
small, hot guindilla (“little cherry”) chiles. Serve this tasty sauce 
over steamed vegetables, roasted meats, or fish prepared by any method.

Ingredients

3 tomatoes
1 head of garlic
3 piquin, Thai, or de Arbol chiles, stems removed, crushed
2 hard-boiled egg yolks
12 almonds, peeled and toasted
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup wine vinegar
Salt to taste

Instructions

Roast the unpeeled tomatoes and garlic on a baking pan at 350 degrees 
until the tomatoes are very soft, then remove and peel them. Place the 
tomatoes and garlic cloves in a food processor or blender, add the 
crushed chile and pulse until coarsely puréed. Add the egg yolks and 
almonds and pulse several times until the almonds are broken up. Purée 
again, gradually adding the oil and vinegar, until a smooth sauce is 
formed. Add salt to taste, and keep warm over low heat until serving.

Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

The smoked red jalapeño, known as the chipotle chile, has gained such 
popularity that there's even a couple of cookbooks devoted to it! It 
particularly works well with barbecuing and grilling, both of which have 
considerable smoke associated with them.

Ingredients

3 dried chipotle chiles
1 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 red bell peppers, quartered, seeds removed
2 onions, sliced thickly
3 tomatoes, cut in half
2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar

Instructions

In a bowl, combine the chipotle chiles with very hot water and soak for 
60 minutes or more to soften. Chop the chipotles finely. In a medium 
saucepan, heat the oil and saute the onion. After the onion is 
translucent, add the garlic and continue to saute for 2 minutes.
To roast the bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes, place them on the grill 
over a medium fire and grill until they are soft and slightly blackened. 
Remove, peel, and chop the vegetables.
In a large sauce pan, combine all the ingredients and bring the mixture 
to a low boil over a medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 
minutes. Let the mixture cool and puree in a blender or food processor 
until smooth. You can thin the mixture with water if you so desire.

Dave’s Fresh Red Chile Sauce

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

This method of making chile sauce differs from others using fresh New 
Mexican chiles because these chiles aren't roasted and peeled first. 
Because of the high sugar content of fresh red chiles, this sauce is 
sweeter than most. I harvested some chiles from his garden one late 
summer day, made a batch of this sauce, and ate every drop as a soup! It 
makes a tasty enchilada sauce, too.

Ingredients

1/4 cup vegetable oil
8 fresh red New Mexican chiles, seeds and stems removed, chopped (or 
more, to taste)
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
4 cups water
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano leaves
Salt to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute the chiles, onion, and garlic 
until the onion is soft, about 7 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and 
simmer for 1 hour, uncovered.
In a blender, puree the sauce in batches and return it to the saucepan. 
Cook until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency. Add salt to taste.

Asher Sauce

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

Island legend holds that the name of this sauce is a corruption of 
“Limes Ashore!”, the phrase called out by British sailors who found 
limes growing on the Virgin Islands. The limes, originally planted by 
the Spanish, would save them from scurvy. I guess that the bird peppers 
would save them from bland food. Add this sauce to seafood chowders or 
grilled fish. Note: This recipes requires advance preparation.

Ingredients

15 limes, Key limes preferred
1 cup salt
10 whole bird peppers such as piquins or chiltepíns or 2 habaneros, halved
3 cups water
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
2 cardamom pods
1 tablespoon whole cloves
5 allspice berries
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 bunch green onions, white part only, chopped

Instructions

Quarter the limes but do not cut all the way through. Open up each lime 
and rub them with salt. Place the limes on cutting boards, cover them 
with cheesecloth, and set them in the sun for about a week. Protect them 
from rain.
The limes will shrink and their skins will turn brown. Rinse the limes 
to remove as much salt as possible. Place the limes in a large pan, 
cover with water, and add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, 
reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 1 hour. Cool and strain the 
sauce. It will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.