My Mother’s Barbecue Sauce – Pork Chops and Sauerkraut

Last week I was chatting with my friend Donna. She was telling me that her mother made barbecue sauerkraut for her when she was a kid. Afterward, I couldn’t stop thinking about my own mother’s barbecue sauce and sauerkraut. I just got a real hankering for it, so I asked my mother to send me her recipe.

When I was a child, one of my favorite dishes was barbecue spare ribs. My mother would ask her butcher to leave a little more meat on the ribs than usual. To prepare the ribs for barbecuing, she would first boil the ribs in a pan with a little water and covered with a lid. This would render out some of the fat and keep the ribs from drying out once they were on the grill. Not only were the ribs moist, the meat would fall right off the bone. I still prepare ribs the same way today.

My mother’s barbecue sauce is also good for pork chops or chicken prepared in the oven. Brown the meat on top of the stove and season with salt and pepper. Lay chops or chicken in the bottom of a baking dish and pour sauce over the meat. Bake at 375F (190C) for one hour. Turn over the chops after 30 minutes. Cover with more sauce if needed.

My Mother’s Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

2 cups canned tomatoes
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ cup vinegar
1 cup beef bullion (If you are preparing ribs use the broth after boiling ribs.)
1 cup sugar
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Yield: Makes about 1 quart (litre).

Barbecue Pork Chops and Sauerkraut

Sweet, sour and tangy goodness.  You won’t be able to resist having a second portion.   This dish is particularly good with mashed potatoes.

Ingredients:

4 cups sauerkraut
1 cup brown sugar
8 pork chops
1 quart Mother’s barbecue Sauce
Salt and pepper

Instructions:

Rinse 4 cups of sauerkraut and drain. Spread the kraut over bottom of a large baking dish with lid. Sprinkle brown sugar over the sauerkraut. Brown pork chops in a fry pan. Lay the chops on top of the kraut and cover with one quart of Mother’s barbecue Sauce. Cover with lid and bake at 350 F (175 C) for 1 hour. Remove lid and turn up the heat to 400F (200C) for 15 minutes to brown chops.

Yield: 8 servings

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes