Polynesian BBQ Sauce

This is a recipe that I first made with an old gentleman who'd lived most of his life in Hawaii. Growing up during the Second World War left me with a very romantic idea of anything to do with the islands, so clothing, art, and especially the music and food was very appealing to me. This recipe is really about the sauce which is good on any chicken or cut of pork that you'd put on the grill. I've never used it on beef, but I don't see why it wouldn't be good on a nice steak or hamburger.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 4 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups ketchup
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 cup crushed pineapple, undrained
• 1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp. celery salt
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. Chinese 5-spice powder

Directions:

Mix the first five ingredients together in a medium size saucepan. Stir and heat on low until sugar is completely melted. Add crushed pineapple and onion; mix thoroughly while still heating on LOW.

Add seasonings, taste, and adjust. We like a bit of hot sauce in ours if no children are going to be eating with us. We prefer the taste of Tapatio if you have it, but you can use use tabasco or one of your choice. I've made it with with the green tabasco suace and it was very good.

Cover the sauce pan and allow the sauce to cook until the onions are done, about 15 minutes.

To save grill time, I will often bake the meat in the oven until it is almost done, then drain, and brush on the sauce before placing meat on the preheated grill for a much shorter time of standing over a hot grill. Make sure your grill is preheated and then turned to LOW.

The sauce has sugar and ketchup, so it will burn if left on too long or if the heat is too high, If you like, you can brush on more sauce when you turn the meat and when you take it off the grill.

Recipe makes about 4 cups of sauce.

Note: I double or triple the recipe and keep some in a quart jar in the refrigerator to eat with rotisserie chicken purchased at the supermarket.

Source: My adopted "Uncle" Lee, who was a gentleman and a sweetheart.

By Julia from Boca Raton, FL