For pork and ham……its fabulous on chicken too..
This is my version of the Monongahela River Valley style sauce. If you like thick,
sweet, sticky, smoky sauce, go away.
If you try this you may rediscover what sauce is all about.
I try to improve it each time I make it. The recipe tends to change.
Compliments the meat, does not smother it.
Neither sweet nor too sour, its very unassuming. Slightly acidic.
This all started around 1980 when my brother brought home some sauce from the river.
I decided I would try to copy it so we could enjoy it anytime.
As far as I know, this style has been around for at least 50 years.
Its stood the test of time. Its a Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania thing up the Monongahela river..
The following formula is my latest version using standard ingredients, instead of V8.
48 oz. cannned tomatoes in water.
1 can 15 oz whole beets
4 celery stalks
2 carrots
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 teas. ground cloves
3 teas. marjoram
1 Handfull Spinach leaves.
1/3 teas Cinamon
1 1/2 teas. Oregano
1/3 teas. Celery seed.
3 to 4 teas. sea salt.
1 1/2 tbls. black pepper
1 lemon, zest taken off then squeezed without seeds.
I used a juicer to pulverize veggies and used all the pulp.
Some garlic can be added as needed. I can use some garlic powder, but not garlic salt.
Lightly boil about 1 hour to reduce, or as necessary.
I still use a large enamled pot.
Makes about 2 quarts.
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OLD
Large batch recipee.
6 quarts regular V8 juice (620 mg sodium ea.) or therabouts. You can add salt to the heathly low salt stuff.
3 teas ground cloves
2 teas ground cinnamon
2 cups red wine vinegar
4-8 garlic cloves, Hey I lost count.
10-12 teas Mrs. Dash regular blend, Use twice X2 for extra spicy.
3 teas black pepper, add red pepper to taste or just wait til its served.
1 zest from lemon and the juice from that lemon(Optional)
6 teas celery seed
3-6 teas Marjoram
lightly Boil for three hours to thicken or to about 1/2 liquid. Do not burn.
For this quantity I use two large enameled lined pots. Stainless or Aluminum not recommended.
I have been thinking, why not add the spices after the V8 is redced. All you do is fill the air
with scent. its wonderfull to smell, but you may have to change amounts.
Also use a wooden or ceramic spatula.
The actual recipe is fairly mild.
I just add Habanero pepper if needed when served.
Habenero pepper will do it, but to make it simple just add drops, one at a time, of Dave's Insanity sauce.
You can get that at in Elizabeth, "on the Mon", Decarlo's Fruit Market
They also have Habenero pepper
This will bring it up to the danger zone
Use Mrs. Dash to RUB down the meat. Use the regular style, NOT fine ground table blend. I like the garlic & herb
For effective carmelization, add brown sugar.
Just keep out the sweetness in the sauce please !!!!
I have been thinking of adding a thickner like flour. That might be OK but I don't want to change the flavor.
I tried adding corn startch. Seems to work to thicken, maybe 3-4 tbls.
The sauce is too thin for great pulled pork sandwiches currently, but it good to mix it in anyway.
I think you need a sweeter sauce for pulled pork.
Of all the grocery sauces I tried, Open Pit is far ahead of he others. I can tolerate its sweetness. The others are TOO sweet.
The basic esscence of the sauce is the V8, the cinamon, and the cloves,celery, pepper.
The celery essense in the V8 is VERY important. You might even add some celery seed, not celery salt..
The other stuff is just to buffer it up.(I added it)
HERE IS A SMALL V8 BATCH VERSION FOR YOU.
1 QT V8 Juice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/3 tsp cinimon
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 + crushed garlic cloves
3-4 tsp Mrs. Dash orginal blend
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 + lemon zest and juice.
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp Marjoram
Greg recommends this place in Monongahela Pa. for the best cookin!!!! The Rib Cage