BBQ Sauce & Basting Stock!

With this wonderful weather upon us and the whole of Ireland pulling out their BBQs to take advantage of the sunny afternoons, I thought that I’d give you a tip that will help turn your Barbecue into something really special!

The first thing to note is that you should not coat your meat (any type) with your Barbecue sauce until it is almost finished cooking. The reason for this is that the sugars and tomatoes in the BBQ sauce will caramelise and burn on the outside of the meat before it is actually cooked on the inside!

Instead you use a Basting Sauce (or stock) while it is cooking to keep it moist and add flavour. Use a 1” paintbrush to coat the basting sauce over the meat as it is cooking. 


When your food is cooked, brush the BBQ Sauce over the meat and give it another few minutes on the grill to glaze and finish the flavouring.

My Basting Sauce Recipe:

500ml apple juice

100ml olive oil

50ml malt vinegar

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Chicken stock cube

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tspn thyme

1 tspn rosemary

½ tspn paprika

½ tspn black pepper

½ tspn salt

Put everything in a pot and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and let it cool completely before using it to moisten your meats as they cook.

My BBQ Sauce Recipe:

1 medium onion finely

5 cloves garlic

1 red chilli (deseeded)

1 small red pepper

100ml water

50g brown sugar

4 tbls honey

50ml soy sauce

50ml olive oil

300ml tomato ketchup

100ml brown sauce

1 tbls English mustard

1 tbls Worchester sauce

juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 tspn Tabasco sauce

½ tspn black pepper

Chop the vegetables finely or blitz them in a food processor. Put them into a large pot and add all the other ingredients. Bring it all to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer the sauce for 30 minutes. You can use this BBQ sauce straight away or, if you have the time, put it in the fridge overnight to help the flavours develop. 

Simply brush the sauce over your meat, when it is cooked to your liking, give it another few minutes on the Barbecue and let it add that tasty, shiny, crispy glaze that will have your guests licking their fingers with delight!

Both sauces can be used for beef, chicken, ribs, lamb, Kebabs, burgers, sausages – everything really except fish (you can if you wish – but I wouldn’t !)


And both sauces can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for up to a week.


Enjoy the Sunshine and insist on locally-sourced Food!


Zack