No-Salt-Added Backyard BBQ Sauce

Bottled BBQ sauce is a sugar-and-salt delivery system. A popular bottled sauce runs about 340mg of sodium in 2 tablespoons — and nobody in the history of cookouts has put just 2 tablespoons on their ribs.

Mine runs 23mg per 2 tablespoons, and it still tastes like a cookout.

I created this sauce for a dinner at my friend Michelle's. It had to be good on ribs, and it had to be low sodium — no pressure. It was a hit with everybody at the table, including the guest who has a BBQ product in stores. When the person who sells sauce goes back for more of yours, you write the recipe down.

A lot of barbecue sauce recipes start with ketchup, and ketchup can be a sodium bomb all by itself. Mine starts with plain tomato paste instead — the regular kind runs only about 15–20mg of sodium in 2 tablespoons, and I buy Hunt's or the Walmart brand, whichever label reads lowest that day — with a little lower-sodium Worcestershire for depth. Honestly, that Worcestershire is where most of the 23mg lives. One batch makes about 1½ cups, which is a lot of cookouts.

It's the sauce in my Backyard BBQ Beef Bow-Tie Skillet — and it has plans. Pulled chicken is coming.

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