Remember when I shared with that mouth-watering recipe for the Maple Chipotle BBQ Pork Tenderloin made in my cast iron pan? Well I have been holding out on you. See I fell in love with that pork tenderloin as it was so tender but the star of the show was honestly that glaze. There is just something magical about the combination of sweet and heat. Kind of like chocolate and salt, hot salted fries and chocolate ice cream, pretzel rods and frosting, bacon and well… anything – it just makes sense. The day after I made that pork recipe I wanted to make more sauce. I wanted a bbq sauce that I could use an accompaniment to the pork, plus I am a sauce girl. I’m a dipper. I am that one that gets the sauce on the side, extra to boot, only for me to dip my food in it. Dear God you give me a salad with dressing on it and I will immediately turn up my nose. It’s not that I don’t like it; I love dressings but I like it on my terms.
Wha? Don’t judge me. Yes I’m a princess (I have the sign and wand to prove it damn it) so leave me alone. LOL No honestly I’ve always been like this. I love saucy things but I hate foods drowned in sauce. Like for example let’s take pizza. I love sauce on my pizza but I don’t want it weighed down with ladles of sauce. Instead just spread out a thin layer of sauce, top with awesomeness (which normally includes bacon, cheese and pepperoni) and then serve to me with a huge side of warmed thick pizza sauce to dip every single bite in. Seriously there is nothing better than dipping that hot crust into a killer pizza sauce.
So when I made that tenderloin and tasted the caramelized marinade on it I had HAD to make a sauce out of it. It just called to me. It’s so amazingly delicious that my mind was going a million miles an hour on what else I could put this on. Since coming up with that recipe, and ultimately this sauce, I’ve used it on various pieces of chicken, wings, on burgers, IN burgers – yes IN THE MIX people and even pizza.
So as you can see in these pictures I have it ladled (oh-so-professional-like.. haha) over the sliced pork tenderloin however as I said this works on most meats. Now the only thing I haven’t tried this on are grilled steaks. That’s one thing I’d have to say I am not a fan on – bbq sauced steaks. I can remember my Dad making them for us when he would get steaks from the butcher and he always put bbq sauce on them. Do you like that? See for me (and you’re going to cringe at this) but I only like steak with ketchup. Yes, ketchup. Stop it, don’t judge. LOL I don’t make faces at you for eating cucka things like cherries or goat cheese. Well okay I do but that’s only because it’s a natural reaction. Shush.
And while I know bbq sauce is just a more robust version of ketchup, it’s just not the same. I like what I like.
Speaking of pictures, what do you think of these? It’s funny as I was looking back at some of my first posts years ago and dear LORD those pictures. I feel like I should apologize for the quality. I had no clue what I was doing. It was literally “is the image in focus?” and click. Now I still am not 100% sure of what I’m doing picture-wise and I still go by more of “does this look good enough to eat?” and then adjust some settings on the camera then click. Who knows, maybe 4 years from now I’ll be a pro at ’em.
It’s so awesome when I post a picture on here, facebook, twitter, pinterest or instagram and I get responses like “droooool!!!”, “I need a napkin that looks so good!”, “WOW I just want to lick my screen now!” I wish you could see the smile on my face when I read that. It’s comments like that that make my day. If a picture can grab your attention that means you’re most apt to try the recipe. That’s my goal here; sure making money is a great but knowing that one of my photos caught your attention to go on and make the recipe is what it’s all about. Knowing I can inspire someone to try one of my recipes is priceless and an honor.
So yeah as you can see I kinda went overboard with the pictures here but honestly as I was going through my photo shoot I really had a hard time decided which ones to choose. They all turned out amazing. Plus if you’re here, you’re a foodie and you can appreciate the food porn pics.
It’s funny when you mention that phrase “food porn” as that’s not something you would have ever heard in my generation growing up. Foodies were unheard of and if you used the word ‘porn’ in any context it was thought of dirty some image of a bad 70’s porno movie featuring guys with thick mustaches, boom-chicka-bow-wow music and chicks with glitter eye-shadow (and possible roller skates). LOL
But now, foodies are a real thing and there are people who make a living as not only food stylists but also food porn photographers. And let’s not forget about the Food Porn Props out there. I think I single-handedly am responsible for keeping HomeGoods in business in the Pittsburgh area. I have shelves dedicated solely to items from there that I use in these shots.
Now for this sauce I would recommend doubling this as you will go through this fast. I have made this three times since creating it a few weeks ago. Right now my favorite way to use this sauce is with burgers. This sauce, a grilled burger, bacon, sharp cheddar and an onion ring (yes an onion ring) are epic. Soon I’ll share that recipe… well as soon as I quit eating the food. I’ve made those burgers numerous times however as soon as they got off the grill and went to take a picture something came over me and the camera not got grabbed but instead the burger did and in my mouth it went.
If I could say you had to decide on a single sauce to use this summer it would have to be this one. Of course you can make it spicier by adding more chipotle peppers and adobo sauce but start off with what’s listed first. It has a great heat to sweet ratio that is really well-balanced.
Now go on, wipe that drool from your chin. Your secret is safe with me!
Chipotle Maple BBQ Sauce
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3/4 cup yellow onions, rough chopped
- 1 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups ketchup
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 3 whole chilies in adobo sauce
- 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 cup cubed pineapple
Instructions
- In a medium pot over medium heat add in the olive oil.
- When the oil starts to shimmer, add in the onions.
- After 1 minute, add in the salt and stir to combine.
- Continue cooking the onions for 5-9 minutes or until translucent.
- Add in the garlic, stir and cook for 1 minute.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir.
- Reduce the heat and cook on low for 25 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Remove the pan from the heat and using an immersion blender, blend the ingredients until smooth and thick. If you do not have an immersion blender, pour the hot ingredients in a blender, cover but vent to allow the steam escape. You can cover the open lid with a kitchen towel as you start to blend on low to help avoid splattering.
- Taste for seasoning and store in a glass jar in the fridge.
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