This apple butter barbecue sauce is a quick, homemade substitute for store bought versions. Try it on meatloaf or use it to braise meat in the slow cooker.
Back in the Fall, I did a little project with the folks at All-Clad, in which they sent me the NS1 Chef’s Pan from their their new line of NS1 Nonstick Induction cookware and I used it to make a batch of really delicious batch of Kabocha Squash, Coconut, and Wild Rice Stew.
In March, I did it again. That time, they sent me an NS1 Stock Pot and I make a pot of roasted tomato and basil soup to brighten up a cold winter day.
I always enjoy these cookware challenges because they give me opportunities to play with a really fabulous pans and push myself outside my regular culinary patterns. So, when they got in touch again back in April and asked if I might want to do it again, this time with their d5 Stainless Steel All-In-One Pan, I said yes.
The particular challenge with this piece of cookware was to design a recipe that only used five ingredients, to mimic the five layers of metal that makes up the pan. I decided on building a five ingredient barbecue sauce, using a jar of apple butter as the base.
The result was a tasty, tangy, spicy sauce that is perfect for summer cookouts and slow cooker pulled pork. And it’s always useful to be able to make a sauce like this from scratch with pantry ingredients for those times when you don’t have any ready made in the pantry.
To make the sauce, you combine a pint of apple butter with apple cider vinegar, finely chopped onion, honey, and a couple heaping spoonfuls of gochugang in the pan and cook until it is thick and the onion is tender (also, add some salt and pepper to taste).
I like to scrape the finished sauce into a large measuring cup and zap it with an immersion blender to smooth it out, but that’s totally optional.
As you can see, I also used the pan to roast off some chicken legs that I then painted with my tangy sauce. I’d also use this sauce on top of turkey meatloaf, on grilled burgers, and will happily combine it with some chicken thighs in the slow cooker for pulled chicken sandwiches.
Disclosure: All-Clad sent me the pan you see pictured above and they’re provided a giveaway unit, both at no cost to me. No additional compensation was provided.
Apple Butter Barbecue Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pint apple butter
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 small onion finely chopped (I use a mini food processor)
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2-3 heaping tablespoons gochugaru it’s a fermented Korean chili paste
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine the apple butter, vinegar, chopped onion, honey, and gochugaru in a low, wide pan.
- Set the heat to medium and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring regularly, until onions are soft.
- Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Scrape sauce into a deep measuring cup or bowl and puree it with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Funnel into a jar and refrigerate.
The BBQ sauce looks perfect on that chicken, I’d definitely start there! Yum!!
I would try the BBQ sauce on chicken or pork. I’d make meatballs in the pan.
I’d love to try making jam in this pan because of the low sides and wide base. Seems just about perfect.
Would be good for making chili
This pan would be great for stock or jam making. Or perhaps a batch of Marisa’s fantastic pizza sauce??? 🙂
I would love to make risotto in this pan! Also it would be perfect for any type of stir fry!
Caramelized onions.
The apple butter BBQ sauce would be wonderful on a pork loin. The thought of the smell of the apple butter, vinegar and pork slow cooking and wafting through the house is heavenly.
The pan would also be great for making sauces for pasta and a pan sauce for chicken or fish.
Ooh, love recipes with gochujang, and that sounds so tasty along with the apple butter. Must try. That pan looks great from moving from stovetop to oven. Would absolutely use it for duck breasts, and for making various Persian khoreshes! (Peach khoresh time is coming up. Mm!)
Yum! I’d use it on pulled pork!!
Looks like a great pot for making pasta sauces, with room to toss the pasta after it cooks. I love my All-Clad pots and pans, this one looks very versatile!
Love this pan! I’d love to make my red beans recipe, a perfect dish for a BBQ!
I have my original wedding gift pans from 32 years ago…am still doing research. I love BBQ sauce on grilled pork chops.
Oooooh! This sounds like the perfect pan to give my cast iron a bit of a rest. Love, love, love my cast iron, but get concerned when using it for too many tomato based things. We don’t do much fried foods, so our cast iron just doesn’t get seasoned properly during normal use. This would be GREAT for “instead of” foods!
This pan looks like it would be just the right to cook just about anything!
I’d use it to make Indian spiced salmon that starts on the stove top and finished in the oven. Will definitely be trying your bbq sauce recipe in my hubbies smoked pork butt. YUM!
That pan looks amazing I have been yearning for some all clad for a while! I’d use it for everything – and I’d use the apple butter bbq sauce in a brisket sandwich with some vinegar based slaw. Yum!
I’d roast some chicken with a Jezebel Sauce, tangy with horseradish, pineapple and apricot jam.
This looks like the go to pan for almost anything I’d be inclined to cook. Right now some nice cream of asparagus soup sounds good
I agree that the apple in the bbq sauce would be incredible with pork! I would put the pan to work boiling down a big batch of vanilla rhubarb sauce.
I would use the pot for all my canning recipes this summer. It’s so pretty it could just sit on the stove all day. I will use the bbq sauce on a pizza with potatoes and carmelized onions! Yum!
I’d use the BBQ sauce with a pork roast or ribs! Yum.
What wouldn’t I cook in that pan!!! I’d probably start with meatballs and sauce and then move on to something baked. 🙂
I’d use the barbecue sauce on salmon!
I’d use it to make some crispy chicken thighs with mushrooms and onions.
Definitively would use for soup!
I see pork chops finished with the last jar of Italian Plum preserves in my pantry, with a nice side of grilled bok choy.
Susan
Chicken Marsala
I’d use it to make a big batch of beef stroganoff, the All Clad would be perfect for it!
All All-Clad pans or amazing. I would use it to make a frittata.
Yum! I’m thinking this barbeque sauce would be amazing on shredded crock pot pork butt
I think I’d use the sauce to make BBQ tofu to grill.
I would make a grain dish with home grown veggies in it. Lucky you for being given several All Clad pieces!
Ooh, I love homemade barbecue sauce! I’d probably try a one pot dish and see how it does in the oven, or my favorite skillet taco or lasagna recipes, since I don’t have a pan big enough for it that also has a lid! It would be great for making Alfredo sauces too I bet! I’ve never used an All Clad pan before! ?
The BBQ sauce sounds divine! I’d have to try it on some chicken or pork.
I would try the sauce on pulled pork – I usually use ACV-based sauce, this sounds like a nice change up for folks who like a thicker sauce!
BBQ chicken on the grill. Boring, I know. But tasty…
With those dimensions I think it would be great for risotto.
Nice! I have two d5 saute pans and an absolutely smitten. Would use this for mujadarra, as having a large surface for more crispy bits and the ability to control the heat really well would make this perfect for the job.
Mmm. I’d make a big batch of Eating Well’s Pork and Fennel Stew. I always want more, and never had a pot big enough!
I’d use it to make tomato sauce. My husband band 20 tomato plants this year so I’ll be making a ton of sauce to can and freeze.
Planted, not band. Ohhhh, autocorrect!!!!
What would I make? a rice and veggie stew. or jam. or tomato sauce.
Seems perfect for cooking some small Cornish hens and finishing with BBQ sauce (my husband’s favorite condiment)!
Curry! It’s a great shape for it!
Probably large pots of bean and lentil dishes as well.
Just got the grill out and a couple of jars of last year’s apple butter left, so this is the perfect Memorial Day post for me! Oh, and I would love the pot…
I’ve been itching to make some spicy peach mango butter or some such craziness and that pan looks like the perfect place to do it! That said your apple bbq sauce looks like a wings winner. Onomnomnomnom.
Mmmmm! That sauce would be great with pulled pork! Yum!
I would use it for homemade chicken noodle soup. Endless option for barbecue sauce; it would be great for chicken wings for Memorial weekend.
Gorgeous pan!
Definitely I’d use it to make my famous chicken soup.
Most likely it’d never get put away. It’ll always be in use.
Thank you for this opportunity 🙂
To start with, I’d make a huge batch of Lilikoi Butter and give to friends as a Welcome Summer gift!