Barbecue sauce and comfort

Sometimes, the “wrong” way is the comfort-food way.

I know better to call last night’s dinner barbecued chicken. It didn’t come anywhere near charcoal or a low, slow, tender-rib-making fire. But it’s what we called “barbecued” when I was a kid—that is, baked with barbecue sauce.

So… “barbecued” chicken it is. James asked for it for dinner—it’s one of his comfort foods, too.

These days, I’ve been making my own barbecue sauce, and I’ve finally made something that all three of us really really like, so I thought I’d share it with you. Last night, I baked chicken thighs at 400F until they were almost done, then dipped them into this sauce and finished them up for about 15 minutes. My mom’s barbecued chicken used to be basted with sauce throughout its cooking, but I like that nearly-burnt-sauce thing more than my family does, so I do it this way now. (This sauce is also wonderful on barbecued tofu, and I’ll do that some day soon and show you.)

James and the kid both raved about the sauce. James liked the little “vinegary kick that shows up now and then” and the kid said the spiciness was just perfect. I thought the texture was really homemade, rather than the slick stickiness of store-bought, but that’s not a complaint, and it’s certainly cheaper and more nutritious than store-bought.

I forgot to take photos, but we had this with crash hot potatoes, which everyone always loves.

Enjoy!

Spicy Honey Barbecue Sauce
Makes about a cup, which is more than enough to coat 8 chicken thighs

1 six-ounce can tomato paste
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon each liquid smoke, salt, granulated garlic, prepared mustard, and paprika
2 teaspoons hot sauce (I used Tapatia), or to taste

In a small saucepan, whisk all ingredients with one tomato-paste can of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer, stirring often, for about 15 minutes. Use right away, or keep for up to a week in the fridge. You can thin it with water if it seems too thick to you, but we like it thick.

(p.s.: Thanks to Yummy Chunklet for checking in with me and giving me the impetus to write a new post. Having bloggy friends rocks.)