Plum BBQ Sauce

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Quick n simple is the name of the game with this recipe!  Plum season has just come to an end here in Australia but is ramping up in the rest of the world.  So using some delicious juicy plums, I whipped up this 5 spice bourbon plum BBQ sauce.  Yep, you read right – it’s a bit of a mouthful, but boy was it DELISH!!  The beauty of it is you chuck everything into a saucepan and let it simmer away #success

What is 5 spice?

It’s a complicated one, so pay real close attention friends.  5 spice is a blend of, wait for it…………….. 5 different spices!  Mindblown!!  Popular in Asian cuisine, it’s known as Chinese 5 spice powder.  A blend of star anise, cinnamon, Szechuan pepper, cloves, and fennel.  Like most Asian cuisine, it balances sweet, salt, sour, bitter & umami all in one.  Nowadays, you find 5 spice used in vegetable dishes, slathered over a chicken before roasting, in desserts, and OBVIOUSLY in my 5 spice bourbon BBQ sauce.  It’s pretty simple to make yourself if you have the ingredients on hand – you need to toast them in a pan and then grind them using a spice blender and pass through a sieve to ensure it’s a fine powder, but truth be told it’s DEFO one that I’m happy to pick up from my local store!

Can I use rye or whiskey instead of bourbon?

So as mentioned, the Plum bbq sauce contains both 5 spice and bourbon.  So the Q is can I use the others to make the sauce.  Sure can, BUT it will alter the flavour a little.  Bourbon, whilst full-bodied, has sweeter vanilla & caramel notes, which help balance out the spices.  Rye is a little spicier and drier on the palate so it defo still works in the sauce I feel you don’t gain much (other than the hit of alcohol) compared to what bourbon offers.  Whiskey is often a little smokier, so for me, it brings an entirely different dimension to the sauce.  Once again, works GREAT, but for me, when I am going to use this sauce on the BBQ, then no need for extra smokey flavours.

How can I use Plum BBQ Sauce?

On the barbie, right?  Correct.  This bourbon 5 spice plum BBQ sauce is perfect for most BBQ dishes.  Think pork ribs basted in the sauce over and over again that just fall off the bone.  Or what about spatchcocking a chicken, grilling it up and basting the chicken in a sticky, sweet and spicy glaze.  Can’t get a whole chook, then think bone-in thighs, skewered boneless thighs, or in the case of the picture above, I used it with some delicious gamey venison.  Truth is, I didn’t leave the venison rest long enough before cutting into it, but I’m sure you get the point 😉

Other BBQ Sauces

Other sauces that I use on the BBQ that go great with steak, chicken, slow-cooked meats are………………….. so check em out for a little more inspo!

Chimichurri by Yours Truly

Jalapeno Apricot Sauce by Kathy Berget of ‘Beyond The Chicken Coop’

Cherry Chipotle BBQ Sauce by Erica Walton Schwarz of ‘Ericas Recipes’

Homemade BBQ Sauce by Yours Truly

Carolina Gold Sauce by Marianne Lindley Rogers of ‘Basil and Bubbly’

BBQ Peri Peri Chicken by Yours Truly

Paleo BBQ Sauce by Jennifer Bell of ‘A Sweet Alternative’

Blackberry BBQ Sauce by Cynthia McLoud Woodman of ‘What A Girl Eats’

Easy Homemade Apricot BBQ Sauce by Natasha Bull of ‘Salt and Lavender’

Happy Cooking and Happy Eating Friends!