A Bright and Citrus forward BBQ Sauce!

Barbeque Sauce, Vidal Blanc Style

Blog Posts / 7.2.25

The beauty of cooking is how recipes held close in a family can evolve to be almost unrecognizable, yet the inherent need that the recipe fills might stay mostly the same. The flavor profiles shift based on the moods and desires of the new generations, but the original recipe stands tall in everyone’s minds, this inviolate creation that everything else is just a pale imitation of.

I would argue, however, that the very Ship of Theseus that these family recipes ultimately become IS the point. My grandfather’s favorite BBQ sauce is delicious and much loved in the family but to say that my mother and uncle’s versions of this sauce are not also delicious, arguably more so depending on what they are trying to do with them, would be absurd and insulting to their own skills as cooks.

This Vidal “Maull’s” is an example of this in action! The recipe had its start from my Grandfather Bradley, or “Grandpa Beard” as my young and impressionable mind instantly labeled him due to his huge bushy beard that I couldn’t keep my grubby little fingers from latching onto whenever I saw him. Thankfully for him, as I got older that instinctive need faded, though the name stuck. He wanted to recreate his favorite BBQ sauce, a brand called Maull’s that has its roots in Saint Louis but has had an increasingly difficult time producing their signature sauce (as of the time of writing, they are currently still in existence but have not produced any BBQ sauce that I could find in at least a decade).

Once my mother got her hands on it, she made her own changes to the recipe that made it a bit more citrusy, a bit more tart and used orange juice to smooth out the edges. My Uncle took it in a slightly different direction, adding butter to it during the cooking process (and especially adding butter during the Smoking/grilling stages) and leaning back on the orange and letting the rich butter flavors take over.

My version of the recipe tries to split the difference; I sub out the originals Apple Cider Vinegar for Stone Hill Vidal Blanc while easing back on the orange and adding a bit more lemon zest. I wanted to pull the unique minerality and lemon flavors out of the Vidal and give the BBQ sauce a brighter, cleaner flavor that cuts through the sweetness a bit more and adds some endnote complexity to the whole experience.

Is this better than my grandfather’s BBQ Sauce? Probably not, but it is my version of it and that has an importance in and of itself that I think makes it special.

Vidal BBQ Sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

5 tb Stone Hill Vidal Blanc

2 tb orange juice

Lemon zest

1.5 Tb brown sugar

A few drops Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Granulated garlic

3/4 tsp Onion Powder

1 or 2 tsp Black Pepper

Splash of liquid smoke

1 tb Chicken Boullion

1 tb Soy sauce

2 tb Honey

Pinch of cloves

1 tb Butter

Combine ingredients in a large deep heavy nonreactive saucepan over medium-high heat. Gradually bring to a boil, stirring often.

Reduce the heat to medium and let the sauce simmer until thick and richly flavored, 6 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or pepper as necessary.

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Michael Haggerty is the Shipping Coordinator at Stone Hill Winery and handles all DTC wine shipments.
You can reach him for shipping inquiries via email at shipping@stonehillwinery.com or by phone at 573-486-2221.