RECIPE: Coca-Cola BBQ Sauce

My son has been bragging about this one so much so that I was once obliged to cook up several dozen barbecued-chicken drumsticks for his class picnic. No problem: Any chance to be a hero to your kid is an opportunity not to be missed. Actually, it’s not my recipe. It’s from "Cooking of the South," by Nathalie Dupree, who has done so much to
revitalize the cooking of the American South, in books, classes, and TV, and has graciously given me permission to use it. She can be found at http://www.nathalie.com/, and on bookshelves.

makes about 1-1/2 cups

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bay leaf, crumbled
2 cups ketchup
1 cup Coca-Cola
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons white-wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion, cook for a minute or two. Add garlic, stir well, cook for 4 or 5 minutes, stirring several times; do not allow onions or garlic to brown. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Raise the heat to a boil, then lower it. Simmer the sauce uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

The best method is to let the sauce cool, then place the sauce in a large plastic tub or heavy-duty bag and put chicken pieces or pork in with it and toss vigorously to thoroughly coat the meat. Let it marinate in the fridge for at least 3 hours, or overnight. Remove from the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking (just before you light the coals, or preheat the broiler). Remove the meat from the sauce with tongs, and spoon or brush the surplus sauce over it as the meat cooks. For best results, barbecue covered, over indirect heat, for about 25-30 minutes, then finish briefly over the coals.