Sweet & Smokey BBQ Sauce

I bought Mike Sr a meat smoker for Christmas.  We finally got around to using it around June of this year, and it has been super fun and yummy around here.  We have tried a number of bbq sauce recipes from scratch, but this one is our VERY favorite... We just love it!  It is sweet, but smokey, and I will take this over any other sauce we have ever bought or made.  It works fabulously on ribs, (just slather on a couple of hours before they are done), but we keep it in the refrigerator to dip anything in!  Here is how he makes it:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup finely diced sweet or yellow onion (we pulsed ours through the ninja chopper so it was just about smooth)
• 2 Tbsp finely minced garlic
• 1-1/2 cups ketchup
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste concentrate (in the tube)
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp prepared Dijon mustard OR 2 tsp ground mustard (the ground mustard gives it a little bit more of a kick)
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 2 Tbsp Applewood seasoning or other BBQ rub

Instructions:

1. In medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.  
2. Add the onion and sauté until translucent,( about 3 mins if you blended it like we did).  
3. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  
4. Add the ketchup, honey, tomato paste, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire, mustard, cayenne, black pepper and liquid smoke and stir well.  
5. Add the Applewood seasoning, stir well and simmer for 4-5 minutes.  
6. If the sauce is too thick for your liking, you can slowly whisk up to ½ cup water in until the sauce reaches the consistency you like, bringing it back to a simmer.  
7. Cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.