Barbecue isn’t part of my DNA; as a Trinidadian, my heart beats more seawater than smoke. But I’ve fully embraced summer by the grill in my North Carolina home, cooking fish, poultry, pork, and hefty vegetables on the grates while I sip the easiest possible drink. Mine is a simple and straightforward approach to grilling, and the sauce formula I’ve used for years reflects that simplicity.
The other ingredients—grated sweet onion, minced garlic, a heavy squirt of tomato ketchup, salt, pepper, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and smoky, tropical ground allspice—layer onto that sweet, dark, fiery base to produce a sauce that is unapologetically lively. My other barbecue sauce, made with ginger ale, shares a similar composition but embodies contrasting flavors.