Magic Barbecue Sauce

I call this sauce ‘magic’ because, when used as dip, it transforms any barbecue meat – from chicken to pork to beef – into something amazing. Sweet with a nice little edge, I have been keeping this a secret for years, but it’s so moreish, it seems unfair not to share it…

Makes 2 jars

Ingredients

• 1 jar of honey
• 1 jar of plum jam
• 4 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons of wine vinegar
• 1 dessert spoon of tomato ketchup
• 1 dessert spoon of mustard
• 1 dessert spoon of Worcester sauce
• A dash of lemon juice
• 8-9 drops of Tabasco sauce

Method

1. In a saucepan, heat (but don’t boil) the honey, jam, soy sauce and vinegar. Stir well.
2. Meanwhile, blend the rest of the ingredients in a bowl until smooth.
3. When the pan is on the brink of boiling, take 2 tablespoons of the mixture out, spoon into the bowl and blend well. Do this a further 3 times.
4. Add the contents of the bowl to the saucepan (using a spatula to ensure that you get all of the mixture) and heat gently for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Pour into jars, and cap immediately.

Plum jam is notoriously difficult to source (unless, like me, you grow your own plums and make your own jam), so blackberry, or almost any wild berry jam will suffice as a substitute. (Damson also works really well, but can be difficult to find too).