As the weather warms up, only one thing has been on my mind- Grilling. I may need a coat still, but it is more than bearable to now sit outside as I smell that charbroiled goodness getting ready to hit my stomach.

Now here at Farmhouse, we have a wide variety of award-winning sauces and marinades, but nothing quite tickles my fancy like the magical mix of strawberries and balsamic vinegar. I make it into one of my favorite jams all the time! But today, we are merging this classic pairing with the barbecue I’ve been looking forward to.

This recipe is really good for the beginning sauce maker, given that the hardest part about the recipe is chopping the strawberries and removing the stems. When you are getting to the blending portion of this lovely recipe, you can of course move it to a blender or food processor, but an immersion blender is your best bet. If you put this sauce in a food processor while it’s hot, there’s a strong chance that you will pop the top off of the thing thanks to the built-up pressure inside and you will have strawberry and balsamic stains all over your walls, clothing, and countertops.

The two most interesting parts of this sauce, flavor wise, are the balsamic vinegar and the teaspoon of Ancho Powder we’ve added. If you are not super fond of chile powders, you could eliminate that part, but you will really be taking away one of the absolute stars of this recipe. Try it with the Ancho Powder even if chiles aren’t your thing and you may find yourself converted to a baby chile-head.

I’m doing this Balsamic BBQ sauce on some roasted chicken tonight, which is pretty darn good, but my absolute favorite thing to use this sauce on is pork. The sweetness of the strawberries and tart vinegar meld seamlessly with a mellow, pit roasted picnic roast or loin (see about cuts of meat here). Pork always lends itself beautifully to fruit flavors. This sauce would also be excellent on rice, or even some roasted vegetables. Use it pretty much anywhere you would use your standard barbeque sauce.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 Vidalia onion, small dice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups strawberries, stems removed and roughly chopped
• 1 Cup ketchup
• 1/3 Cup brown sugar
• 1/3 Cup Granulated Molasses
• 1/3 Cup Balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp. Ground Yellow Mustard
• ½ tsp. Black Pepper
• 1 tsp. Ancho Powder (or chili powder)

Instructions:

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil to medium –high. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. If you have a food processor or a blender, process mixture until smooth. If you have an immersion blender, blend until smooth right in the pot.
4. Place mixture back into the pot, and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Makes 24 servings.