It's all about the sauce when it comes to barbecued ribs.
Mary Ann Kruth of Shaler asked for a mustard-based barbecue sauce that was used by Townsend's in the Hill District. "My mouth waters every time I think about the sauce and I've been trying to find it or one like it for years," Mary Ann said.
A few days later we received an e-mail from Rhoda Hickman of Green Tree. "That mustard sauce of Townsend's was the best stuff I ever tasted."
According to Rhoda, Townsend's was a take-out place in the basement of a house in the Hill District. "You would walk up to a Dutch door on the side of the house and order your ribs. It was possible to see the huge barbecue pit on the left. It took up all the space under the front porch of the house. This was not a fancy place, but it was very busy."
Sounds like a fun place. But as we've said before, it's difficult to get a recipe from a restaurant, especially one that hasn't been around for at least 30 years.
We hope today's recipes come close to Townsend's. We certainly enjoyed them.
We know it's probably too late to use them for the Fourth, but we hope you'll tuck them away for Labor Day.
The recipes make enough sauce for 2 or more pounds of ribs, depending on how much sauce you use. Both recipes can be doubled.
The first recipe is a mustard-based barbecue sauce sent in by Eric Binz of Chadds Ford, Delaware County, who writes, "I have a mustard-based sauce recipe that some may want to try. I found it in my Tabasco cookbook. It's excellent on ribs (I marinate in apple cider vinegar and crushed red pepper flakes for 24 to 48 hours)." We did the same with our ribs -- delicious!
Jamaican Barbecue Sauce
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1/3 cup prepared yellow mustard
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2/3 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
Combine all ingredients; whisk together. Refrigerate until ready to use. Use half of the mixture for basting and half for dipping at the table.
Makes about 1 cup barbecue sauce.
"This mustard based sauce is the only barbecue sauce I use," claims Linda Kendal of White Oak. After testing this recipe, we know why.
Mustard Barbecue Sauce
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons minced onion
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon mustard seed or 1 tablespoon mustard (we used brown mustard)
- 1 bay leaf
Place all ingredients in a medium pot on medium heat. Bring to a simmer; remove from heat and chill.
Makes about 2 1/2 cups barbecue sauce.
Letters
Where's Durkee's charcoal seasoning? That's what Geoffrey Keyes of Mt. Lebanon and R. Geer of Bridgewater, Mass., want to know. Both are fans of this seasoning and can't find it in any grocery store.
We called Durkee's 800 number and were told that the company has stopped selling this product.
We wondered if another company might offer a similar product. So we did a little Internet surfing and found www.americanspice.com (The Great American Spice Co.), where we found the charcoal seasoning plus a multitude of other herbs and spices, sauces, condiments and baking mixes -- you name it, it has it. A 6-ounce bottle of charcoal seasoning sells for $4.39, 16-ounce for $8.95 and a mega 30-ounce for $14.98 plus shipping.
We ordered the 6-ounce bottle for a total of $9.34 ($4.95 shipping) and it took only two days to receive our order.
If you would rather order over the phone, call 888-502-8058 Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or write for a catalog: The Great American Spice Co., Attn: Catalog Order, Box 80068, Fort Wayne, IN 46898.
If you want to answer a recipe request from a reader or are looking for a recipe yourself, please write to Kitchen Mailbox, c/o Arlene Burnett, 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh 15222, or e-mail to aburnett@post-gazette.com. Please include a name, neighborhood/city/borough/township and state and a daytime phone number on all correspondence.
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