The Barbecue

Plum, Late Summer

Sweet first, tart behind it, then the smoke, with a savory hum underneath.

What it is

Ripe plums cooked down with cider vinegar and brown sugar over just enough tomato paste to lay a savory floor under the fruit, fried dark first so it loses the taste of the tube. The fruit does the job molasses and vinegar split between them in a Kansas City bottle, since a ripe plum brings its own sugar and its own acid in the same bite. The spices come off a pork rub rather than out of a sauce pot: toasted fennel, smoked paprika, and ground ancho.

In the order it arrives

  1. 1Plum, sweet and then tart
  2. 2Smoke, from the paprika
  3. 3A savory hum underneath, from the Worcestershire

Put it on

  • A smoked pork shoulder, which is what it was built for
  • Thick-cut pork chops off a grill
  • Duck, where the plum has the older claim
  • Grilled chicken thighs
Heat
Mild. Spooned rather than dotted.
Body
Thick. Clings to the back of a spoon and still pours.

Contains fish, mustard. May contain wheat/gluten, depending on brand.

Batches

Every jar, on the record

No batch of this one has been bottled yet. It is a recipe and an intention, and the first jar is the next step.