It’s rhubarb season and it’s a fine day to barbecue. There’s nothing like ribs and sauce. But, ribs and Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce? Well, that’s an adventure in sweet, spicy, and tangy stickiness! (And the good news for me is that, unlike when I came up with this recipe in 2017, I have a barbecue again. I’m back in the grilling business!)
It’s rhubarb season! Yes, I’m always excited to see those crimson stalks popping up in the markets, and then in my food like muffins, crisps and more. I’ve always thought rhubarb is the Cinderella of spring produce: overshadowed by the strawberries and even the asparagus to some extent. Yes, it’s sour, but if you work with that tang you’ll be rewarded with big, belle-of-the ball flavour.
Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce
For my first rhubarb dish of the season, I wanted to come up with something original and out of the ordinary. Then the lightbulb in my mind lit up with a higher wattage idea than usual: rhubarb barbecue sauce! Surely I was the first person of the seven billion or so on the planet to have thought of this. A quick internet search proved otherwise, however.
The first recipe I came across was this one from Julie Rosendaal’s Dinner with Julie blog. Julie is well-known in the Canadian food and food blogging scene. I value her common sense, practical approach to really good food, so I pay attention to what she says. And what Julie said is that if you already have a favourite BBQ sauce you can just add rhubarb to it.
Brilliant!
Making Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce
I do indeed have a favourite sauce. I got the basic recipe from my mother many years ago and jazzed it up with ginger and garlic. It’s definitely a sweet sauce, with lots of honey in it. But adding pureed rhubarb? I could just imagine how good that sauce would taste with a kicky tang complementing its sticky, sweet goodness. And you know what? I was right!
I cooked up four racks of ribs in my Spicy Beer Braising Sauce on the weekend, and froze most of them to use throughout the summer. And then I conjured up some of this rhubarb BBQ sauce. All I did was chop up a bunch of rhubarb, add just a bit of water, and simmered it until soft. A quick whirr with the immersion blender and, voila, I had about a cup of rhubarb puree to add to my usual sauce.
The Ribs and Rhubarb BBQ Sauce Test
I broiled up some of those ribs with this sauce, in great anticipation. And how did they turn out? So. Good. Admittedly, now that I no longer have a barbecue I need to get the knack of finishing off the sauced ribs under the broiler (I had the rack a bit too close this time) but they were still sticky. Still sweet. But — wow! — tangy too, in a Goldilocks kind of way (you know, not too much, not too little, but just right). And yes, I just made Cinderella and Goldilocks references in a single post. What can I say … I spend a lot of time hanging out with little people. Anyhoo, I’d like to try this sauce on pork chops or chicken sometime, too.
I’m really glad I had enough of this rhubarb BBQ sauce left over to freeze the rest in a couple of batches. I’m not sure how it will turn out when thawed, but it’s worth a try. I’ll pop back in to update this post to let you know how that goes.
In the meantime, grab some rhubarb, make some sauce and see if your eaters can guess what the secret ingredient is! Whether they guess or not, they’ll be feeling the love for rhubarb BBQ sauce!
Let’s Make that Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce!
- 6 to 8 stalks of rhubarb or more, trimmed and chopped into 1/2-inch lengths
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed and halved
- an inch or so of ginger, peeled and cut into chunks
- Optional: 1 minced red chile pepper or 1/4 tsp dried red chile flakes
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- pinch kosher salt
-
Place the rhubarb pieces in a saucepan, add a splash of water to cover the bottom of the pan and place over medium high heat, covered. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes. The rhubarb should be very soft at this point. Puree with an immersion blender right in the pot.
-
Measure out roughly a cup of the rhubarb puree (reserve any additional for other uses) and return it to the pot. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Keep an eye on the heat; the sauce will bubble, pop and splatter. Cheeky stuff. When it’s done, remove the ginger and garlic pieces and store whatever you don’t need today in mason jars in the fridge for a week or so, or freeze.
-
Happy saucing!
Looking for Other Rhubarb Ideas?
You’ll probably want a nice cocktail to go along with what you’re grilling, right? How about a Rhubarb and Lime Gin Fizz? This Rhubarb Spice Loaf makes a nice snack. And if you’re looking for classic, rhubarb and strawberries sing in this Sassy Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp.
First published 2017 06 05
Republished 2020 05 31
I will definitely try this! Love rhubarb but it’s time to make something different. Rhubarb cheesecake is mighty yummy but not so great for the waistline – darn…..
Love to hear this, Sharon! I hope you enjoy the BBQ sauce … and it’s not the kind of thing you can eat enough of to affect your waistline 🙂
That is a good receipe and love your wording (cheeky)…. will try that future,,,and freeze it…
[…] And finally, those drinks would go mighty fine with some ribs slathered with this tangy, sweet and spicy Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce. […]
Hi Marlene. I’ve tried your rhubarb bbq sauce in the past And loved it. It’s now my go to sauce recipe for our annual rib fest. Thanks again for sharing. I love rhubarb and have have four patches of it in my garden getting bigger and bigger every year.
Good to hear from you, Anna! I’m honoured that my rhubarb barbecue sauce has a place at your annual rib fest — I hope you’ll be able to hold it this year. I envy you that rhubarb patch. I grow a lot of herbs, but don’t have the garden real estate for rhubarb. Stay safe and healthy!