Barbecue Sauce

Recipe No. 500 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Sauces. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

Onions, chopped — 1 pound (1 No. 56 dipper)

• Fat, bacon or ham, melted — 4 pounds (2 No. 56 dippers)
• Vinegar — 2 quarts (2 No. 56 dippers)
• Water — 1 quart (1 No. 56 dipper)
• Mustard, prepared — 1 pint (½ No. 56 dipper)
• Catsup — 1½ quarts (1½ No. 56 dippers)
• Sugar, brown — 4 ounces (⅛ No. 56 dipper)
• Salt — as needed
• Pepper, red — as needed

Chili powder (optional) — as needed

• Worcestershire sauce (optional) — 2 ounces (4 mess kit spoons)

Directions

Key ingredients

Bacon Grease · Mustard · Worcestershire Sauce

1. Fry onions in melted fat until tender and slightly brown.
2. Add remaining ingredients; mix thoroughly.
3. Refrigerate until ready for use.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Onions, chopped — 1¼ oz Fat, bacon or ham, melted — 5 oz Vinegar — 10¼ tbsp Water — 5 tbsp Mustard, prepared — 2½ tbsp Catsup — 7⅔ tbsp Sugar, brown — about 2 tsp Salt — to taste Pepper, red — to taste Chili powder (optional) — to taste Worcestershire sauce (optional) — about 1 tsp

Serve on all kinds of meat.

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 500, Sauces. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.