I worked for a long time to develop a good barbecue sauce that did not list ketchup as one of the ingredients. Ketchup is a cop-out. It's full of high-fructose corn syrup and FD&C Red #3, and it has no place in good food. The sauce recipe here is my own, and it does contain tomatoes, and it keeps to an even ratio of sugar to vinegar. I have made this many times, and I have given the recipe away almost as many times, but feel free to experiment. The only thing I would keep constant is the sugar to vinegar ratio. Also this sauce is quite chunky with tomatoes, and usually I love it just like that, but you can puree it with a food processor or stick blender just prior to the final cook-down.
1/2 large sweet onion or red onion, small dice
1/2 stick butter or 4 T clarified
28-oz can whole peeled Roma tomatoes in juice (pomodori pelati), seeded, large dice for chunky sauce or small dice for less chunky
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1/4 c dark fruit-infused vinegar, blackberry or raspberry is best; I make my own
3/4 c dark brown sugar or white sugar mixed with molasses
finely minced chipotle pepper or 2 canned chipotles en adobo--important for smoky heat
Cook the onions in the butter with periodic stirring until well caramelized; this will take some time. Add diced tomatoes and stir for a minute. Add the vinegars and sugar and stir well. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer. Add the chipotles. At this point you can puree the mixture until smooth and return to the saucepan. Cook down to about 1/2 volume over low heat. You can let this go for quite a while and it will get very concentrated. If too thick, dilute with a little water and bring back to the boil. Taste by dipping a freshly charred flour tortilla into the sauce; this will approximate the taste of the sauce on the meat.
