Homemade Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce.

We just completed our ‘Secret Santa Week’ at work and wrapped it up with a fabulous party on Saturday night.  I say this often, but not often enough.  I work with the most amazing group of passionate people.  Plan a Tacky Sweater Party and watch a room of adults transform and embrace the theme.  WOW!!

Secret Santa, for those of you who may not be familiar, is when a group of people each choose a name and then acting as Santa hide gifts for their person throughout the week.  It’s a long standing tradition at Delaney.  To make it a little easier on Santa, we each fill out a questionnaire about ourselves….listing our favorites and any special items we would enjoy receiving.

We play for three days leading up to the big revealing at the Christmas Party. Day #1 is a gift of words. I wrote a playful poem for my person (who is conveniently named Nick) to go with his new dancing Santa Hat….he’s such a good sport!  On Day #2 we give the gift of sweets.  You may recall last year, when I spread JOY with Homemade Chocolate Covered Almond Coconut Candy Bars.  This year I gave Nick his favorite snack…..Pickles.  On the 3rd day we give a gift that is a clue about us.  Since Nick listed Rum & Dr. Pepper as his ‘drinks’ of choice….that seemed like the perfect stocking stuffer.  And that is where I got the idea to make him Homemade Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce.

Since Nick also likes to cook I knew he’d appreciate this homemade gift.  I Googled around the web in search of the perfect recipe and decided to incorporate bits of this RECIPE and parts of this RECIPE and then add a bit of my own to the mix.

I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to make Homemade Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce.  I sautéed the onion in butter until it was translucent, added in the minced garlic for a quick stir, then in went the remaining ingredients.  I brought the mixture to a boil and allowed a slow boil for about 10 minutes before reducing to a simmer.  From there I let her go, only stirring occasionally until the mixture had thickened and reduced by almost half, 35 – 40 minutes.  I allowed it to cool before blending until smooth.

I think Nick was pleased with his gift.  It went nicely with the basting brush and ‘Virtual’ Boston Butt Pork Roast I wrapped along with it.  It seemed a bit strange to bring a real Boston Butt Roast to the Christmas Party so I improvised.

‘Virtual’ Boston Butt Roast you say?  Take a picture of a Boston Butt Roast and print it in color.  Wrap it over a Styrofoam meat tray stuffed with tissue paper, then seal in plastic wrap.  Attach a grocery store gift card to the bottom.  Voila!

I’d like to give a special shout out to my Secret Santa whose ‘words’ touched my heart on the first day of giving and her thoughtfulness continued throughout the week.  xo TM

“Make Thyme to Live, Laugh and Love.”

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Homemade Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 2 Tbl. butter
• 1 onion minced
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 16.9 ounces Dr. Pepper
• 2 cups or 1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 Tbl. Worcestershire
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

• Sauté onion in butter until translucent. Add in minced garlic and sauté another minutes. Add in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Continue cooking with a low boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Reduce heat to a simmer and continue cooking 35 – 40 minutes until mixture has thickened and is reduced by almost half. Allow to cool slightly.
• Blend mixture until smooth. Cool completely. Store in air tight jar in refrigerator for up to two weeks.
• Yield: about 3 cups

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