Smoked Vinegar Mop and Sauce with Onion and Garlic – Great with Grilled Chicken
Jul 01, 2015, Updated Jun 14, 2023
Baste this vinegar-based Mop on chicken as you grill… adds flavor and moisture. A wonderful layer of lingering smoky pungency.
Basting Mop Sauces are not sweet. They are slathered over meat, usually a slow-cooking process where a sweet, thick barbecue sauce would burn. You might have read in many BBQ recipes “baste with sauce only at the end of cooking.” Not with a Mop – baste often – this adds flavor and moisture.
Ingredients
- ½ large onion, 1/2" slices, skin on
- 4 very large fresh garlic cloves, cut almost in half, skin on
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon marash pepper, or your favorite ground chili peppers
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ketchup, organic (no high fructose corn syrup!)
- ¼ teaspoon chipolte in adobo, or more for spicier
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 ½ cups apple cider vinegar, organic
Instructions
- Place 1 1/2 T. of your desired smoking chips on the bottom of a Camerons Stove Top Smoker*. In ten minutes, it will be smoking and ready. Smoke the onion and garlic on the rack for 10 - 15 minutes until softened and a nice golden color. Cool. Remove peels, coarsely chop.
- In a 2 quart non-reactive pan, add the oil, the chopped onion and garlic. Sauté over low heat for a minute then add the seasonings: Pepper, marash pepper, salt, ketchup, chipotle and maple syrup. Cook for 1 minute to blend the flavors.
- Add the vinegar, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook uncovered to reduce slightly by a fourth, about 10 minutes. Cool slightly and puree in a blender - leave a little chunky with some texture - just 10 seconds. Place in a clean glass container and refrigerate. Will last a few weeks.
- How to use the Mop: Baste a spatchcocked (flattened) chicken with the mop as it cooks. Use as a side sauce as well. I cook skin side down until lightly charred, over high heat, then turn grill down to low and cook slowly until done - basting with the Mop.
- Marinate chicken breasts in the Mop for up to 6 hours. Oil your grill, and cook until strong grill marks appear on the first side, turn over with tongs - turn heat down to low. Cook on the second side about 10 minutes, depending on the size, until just cooked inside - basting with the mop! Slice the chicken and top with some fresh chopped thyme, and sliced garlic chives, if available.
- Serve some Smoked Vinegar Mop on the side for dipping.
- * I highly recommend this smoker and use it often. Alternatively, sauté onion and garlic in the first step until slightly caramelized, add a pinch of smoked paprika.
This recipe may not be reproduced without the consent of its author, Karen Sheer.
The stovetop Smoker I use:
