Barbecue (Smoked) Brisket and the Perfect Barbecue Sauce

Kansas City Style Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients
2 tablespoons Chili Powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

2 cups ketchup 
1/2 cup yellow mustard 
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup worcestershire sauce 
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup steak sauce
1/4 cup molasses dark 
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon tabasco 
1 cup dark brown sugar 

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 medium cloves garlic

 If you are cooking indoors, or if your meat does not have a lot of smoke flavor, or if you just want more smoke flavor, you can add 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke

1) In a small bowl, mix the chili powder, black pepper, and salt. In a large bowl, mix the ketchup, mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire, lemon juice, steak sauce, molasses, honey, hot sauce, and brown sugar. 

2) Over medium heat, warm the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and saute until limp and translucent, about 5 minutes. Crush the garlic, add it, and cook for another minute. Add the dry spices and stir for about 2 minutes to extract their oil-soluble flavors. Add the wet ingredients. Simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes with the lid off to thicken it a bit.

3) Taste and adjust. Add more of anything that you want a little bit at a time. It may taste a bit vinegary at first, but that will be less obvious when you use it. Remember, it is going on meat and will be cooked once again. You can use it immediately, but I think it's better when aged overnight. You can store it into clean bottles in the refrigerator for a month or two.