Apple Butter BBQ Sauce


 
It's hard never having tasted it but if no one has a clone and it's available bottled I'd be happy to help you figure it out. I'd need the ingredient list and a close-up pic would help.
 
Kevin - Montana's is a Canadian restaurant chain. There may not be an ingredient list available. I found this description online.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Apple Butter barbeque sauce - description

A unique blend of our Signature Texas Bold BBQ sauce combined with crushed apples, quickly becoming a Montana's favorite.

Texas Bold barbecue sauce - description

Montana's Original Signature sauce and our guest's number one choice. This sauce is famous for its Hickory-smoked flavour. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Colin - I found the recipe for Applebee's Barbeque Sauce online. It contains apple butter. Let us know if it sounds like a match.

Here's a copycat recipe for Apple Butter Barbecue Sauce (not Montana's). Apparently, not what you want.

Jim
 
Colin - I just read what I posted. This sounds simple enough. Start with a good, bold commercial BBQ sauce (K.C. Masterpiece may be a good start). Then blend in apple butter until it tastes like the sauce at Montana's.

I'm interested in hearing if this works.

Jim
 
Seems like a place to start.

I was aware that they were a Canadian chain but was unsure whether they also bottled and sold their sauce where then, of course, the ingredient list would be available.
 
Here's a list of ingredients from the back of a jar of Montana's Apple Butter BBQ Sauce(my favorite!). Apple butter, corn syrup, water, tomato paste, brown sugar, white vinegar, sugar, molasses, cornstarch, salt 7 Spices, concentrated pineapple juice, dehydrated onion and garlic, and concentrated lemon juice. These ingredients are listed in order as given on the label, meaning from the greatest quantity to the least. If anyone out there can come up with a reasonably easy facsimile, I'd love to try it. Montana's sells their sauce for $8.99 for a small jar, which is quite expensive. Good luck.
 
Sue, that is fantastic. We just have to wait until Kevin has a good crack at coming up with a clone, lol.
 
Based on the Bull's Eye Barbecue Sauce Clone recipe, to get some of the measurements,

Bull's Eye Barbecue Sauce Clone

and some guesses and Sue's list of ingredients, here is a possible Montana's clone recipe. I have not tried to make it yet, so it probably needs a lot of tweeking.

Montana's Apple Butter BBQ Sauce possible copycat recipe

1 cup? Apple butter
3/4 cup corn syrup
2 cups water
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup white vinegar
2 Tbs? granulated sugar
3 Tbs molasses
1 Tbs? cornstarch
1 tsp salt

(7 Spices -
1 tsp paprika?
1 tsp chili powder?
1/2 tsp cumin?
1/2 tsp sage?
1/2 tsp dry mustard?
1/8 tsp black pepper?
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper?)

1/4 cup? concentrated pineapple juice
1 tsp dehydrated onion
1/2 tsp dehydrated garlic
2 Tbs? concentrated lemon juice


Make this at your own risk!
icon_smile.gif
 
It's hard never having tasted it but here's another approach based on the likelihood that the ingredient list is masking ketchup (the corn syrup through the sugar) plus extra corn syrup (I'm not sure I'd bother), molasses, extra garlic and onion (other than what's in the ketchup), the starch as a thickener, plus the spices and the juices.

The water is there in the ketchup (probably) but more is likely added to stretch the product (the cornstarch would thicken it) to make it cheaper to produce. I'd skip both the extra water and the starch, at least at first, and shoot for the flavor profile that's closest to the original. If desired, water and a starch slurry can be added to stretch the product but you'll need to adjust seasonings, particularly salt, if you choose to do this.

I'm guessing the spices are simply the spices already contained in most ketchups, possibly boosted, plus a commercial chili powder which likely contains a little cumin and probably a little oregano.

Here's my suggested flow as a starting point:

In a small pot combine 1/2 c pineapple juice with 1 t plain veg oil (I know none appears in the original but trust me on this), 2 t chili powder, 1 t granulated onion, 1/2 t granulated garlic, 1/4 t ground ginger, 1/4 t ground allspice, 1/8 t ground mace, 1/8 t ground mustard, pinch ground white pepper, stir well, then bring to a boil over med-high heat; cook till reduced by half. Off heat, stir in 2 t molasses plus 2 T corn syrup.

Return the pot to medium heat and add 1 c apple butter, 1/2 c ketchup and 1 t fresh lemon juice. Bring to a simmer the cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 min. Add salt to taste. Taste and compare to the original (preferably also heated--you can simply nuke a little). Adjust ketchup quantity based on flavor and color. Adjust vinegar, if needed, by adding very tiny quantities. Adjust sugar if needed.

By tasting as you go and looking at the color you should be able to hone in on the target. If you're in the ballpark, roughly, remove the mixture from the pot to a bowl, allow it to cool, then fridge it for a day to allow flavors to develop/mellow a bit and taste again.
 
Will try this one too, although it doesn't seem as easy as the first one. Bet they're both good. Once BBQ season rolls around again, I'll crtique both recipes and post it. Thanks.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Sue McD.:
Will try this one too, although it doesn't seem as easy as the first one. Bet they're both good. Once BBQ season rolls around again, I'll crtique both recipes and post it. Thanks. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


I have another BBQ sauce recipe that uses applesauce and is somewhat similar to the first one above. It uses fewer ingredients.

Applesauce BBQ Sauce

Applesauce Barbeque Sauce

3/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup ketchup
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
6 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp Franks Red Hot Sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

In a saucepan, add applesauce, ketchup, brown sugar, lemon juice, hot
sauce, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and cinnamon. Bring mixture
to a simmer for several minutes. Cool. This makes a sweet, spicy dipping
BBQ sauce.

I have made the BBQ sauce from this recipe and I really like it. It's very sweet, slightly hot and spicy. Give it a try.

Rusty
 
Hi folks! Well, I finally got around to trying out Kevin's recipe for Apple Butter BBQ Sauce. Had to make some adjustments, and haven't done a second batch yet, so not sure how the final product will taste. Concerning the recipe Kevin came up with, I found the taste of chili powder way too obvious. I'd suggest cutting the 2 tsp. down to 1/2 tsp., or maybe even less. This recipe didn't have any "hot" effect, where the original leaves my lips slightly tingly. So, I added a few shakes of cayenne pepper, and that did the trick. I also identified another missing ingredient at first taste. That was liquid smke. So I added a few drops, not sure how much. So what I ended up with was edible, and quite good, but still has an overpowering taste of chili powder. Not sure if I'll use it, then make another batch with the new, smaller amount of chili powder, or just start all over. Will let you know once I do. Sue McD.
 
Sue, have you thought about adding chipotle's to the recipe instead of the liquid smoke and cayenne? Just an idea - That would kill two birds with one stone.
 
Hmmmm... never thought of that, but now that you mention it, I bet it would do the trick. Thanks!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> I have another BBQ sauce recipe that uses applesauce and is somewhat similar to the first one above. It uses fewer ingredients.

Applesauce BBQ Sauce

I have made the BBQ sauce from this recipe and I really like it. It's very sweet, slightly hot and spicy. Give it a try.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I just made this for a couple racks Im doing tomorrow. I seriously cant wait to try the ribs with this sauce. It tastes very good and seems almost perfect for pork. I might work on the sweetness a bit to knock it down but its definately worth trying.
 
Friend at work told me about a brand new mom and pop small 'company' that puts out a darn good BBQ sauce. I tried it and liked it so much that I orederd a case. It's put out by, "Frawg N' Turtle." I purchased the Hickory Apple Butter BBQ, and the Original Apple BBQ. They're on the net at www.frawgnturtle.com
 
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