Healthy Kansas Barbeque

There is actually a Kansas City Barbeque Society. Note the spelling of barbeque. The Society was developed by a group of cooks networked extensively in the barbeque market for cook-offs.  Kansas City Barbeque Society endorses and referees BBQ competitions across the U.S., and promotes barbeque as America's gastronomy fare.

Kansas City barbecue is a dry rub-spiced, slow roasted for hours over a pit of hickory. The sauce is a combination of traditional Carolina and Texas blend according to history. Kansas City sauce is supposed to be the best of both worlds.  The sauce is a thick mixture of peppers, tomato base with Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and molasses.  The way the story is told, those ingredients was the basis for KC Masterpiece.  Kansas City area is populated by hickory, oak, pecan, apple, and other flavoring woods. Great for true barbecue that is slow cooked smoked, and not hot grilled. Kansas City will barbecue any type of meat - smoked sausage, beef brisket, beef ribs, smoked/grilled chicken, and smoked turkey. The Carolinas specialized in pork and Texas leans toward beef, mostly brisket.

Kansas style Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients

3 cups tomatoes puree If possible, use oven fired tomatoes.

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup molasses

½ cup water

½ cup apple cider vinegar if possible organic and unfiltered vinegar

½ cup tomato paste

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

2 tablespoons pure chili powder

1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper

½ teaspoon salt

1 pureed onion 

1-2 garlic minced

½ teaspoon ground ginger or fresh ginger minced

Dash Worcestershire sauce

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine all of the ingredients over moderate heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the sauce for 15 minutes, stirring often to prevent scorching. Heating tomatoes too long makes them bitter. The sauce should be thick and spicy, alittle sweet and tangy.

Health Benefits

A recent study showed that less than one clove a day may cut prostate-cancer risk in half, and other research links garlic to a lowered incidence of stomach, colon and possibly breast cancer.

Ginger roots therapeutic properties include antioxidant effects, an ability to inhibit the formation of inflammatory compounds, and direct anti-inflammatory effects.

The vinegar contains a multitude of vitamins, beta-carotene, pectin and vital minerals such as potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, chlorine, sulphur, iron, and fluorine. Pectin in the vinegar is a fiber that helps cut LDH and regulating blood pressure. Vinegar helps extract calcium from the fruits, vegetables and meat in which it is mixed. Read up on what organic and unfiltered vinegar looks like. It is not clear and may have a web like substance floating in it.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agreed a qualified health claim regarding tomatoes and the threat of prostate cancer in November 2005. It advises that weekly eating of ½ cup to 1 cup of tomatoes or tomato sauce may help lessen the risk of prostate cancer. According to the FDA  there is little scientific research to sustain this claim.

According to the National Onion Association, onions are major dietary sources of quercetin that helps to eliminate free radicals in the body, to inhibit low-density lipoprotein oxidation, protects against atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. That’s just a few of the recognized health benefits.