Super Easy And Amazing Keto Ribs

 

It has been two months since the tornado came through and destroyed our home. Two weeks ago we finally moved into the new place, but it is definitely a work in progress. Today is July 3rd and I decided that we would make some keto friendly ribs to celebrate Independence day. Primarily because they are on sale for $1.99/lb, which is about 50% off there regular price. Usually, I like to cook my ribs in the smoker or on the grill, but both of these are either MIA or out of commission at this time due to the tornado. That's Ok, even if you do not have a grill or a smoker, you can make delicious keto friendly ribs in your oven that you and your family will love, I promise!

In this article, I wil be talking about cooking baby back ribs. You may notice in the picture the packages are labeled 'loin ribs', which is the actual butcher's term for this cut of meat. Loin ribs are cut from where the rib meets the spine or backbone of the animal after the loin has been removed. Because they are a smaller cut than the 'St. Louis style (aka spare rib)' they have acquired the more common name “baby back ribs”.

The Ribs

When a pig is butchered, the complete rib cage (just below the spine to the ends) can be broken down into several options depending on the butcher or processor. When breaking down the rib cage to be sold as ribs, the most common cuts are back loin (baby back's) spare ribs, and rib tips. As previously mentioned, loin or back ribs are cut from where the rib cage meets the spine after the loin is removed. This upper portion of the ribs are more commonly called baby back ribs, not because they come from a baby pig, but because they are a smaller cut and are located closer to the spine or back. The larger portion or middle of rib, those that come in the big cryopack packages in your supermarkets meat department are spare ribs. Rib tips, are the small portions, or tips of the ribs that are cut from the lower part or bottom of the rib cage. When I worked in the restaurant, we purchased whole slabs of pork ribs and seperated the racks ourselves. These days, the ability of the home cook to purchase a complete rack of pork ribs (loin, spare, and rib tips) is pretty rare. So there you go, a small lesson in the way that pork ribs are cut and processed. Believe it or not, no baby pigs were hurt in the making of these ribs. Having said that roast suckling pig is quite a delicious dish if you ever have he opportunity to try it, I highly recommend that you do. Anyway, let's go cook some amazing ribs in the oven!

The Rub

As with my article 'Ketofied Texas Brisket' I will be using my all-purpose barbecue rub. I no longer add any sugar to my barbecue rubs, but if you can if you wish, just remember you have to account for the sugar in the nutritional information. If you like you can add a zero calorie sugar substitute such as erythoil (¼ – ½ cup) which is popular in the LCHF /Keto community, but I personally do not like the cooling effect that erythoil has on the palate. The following recipe yields about 1 1/3 cups of rub.

5 tablespoons chili powder

4 tablespoons garlic powder

4 tablespoons onion powder

4 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

2 teaspoons red pepper

2 teaspoons cumin, ground

1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground

In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Place the baby back ribs in a heavy-duty baking pan and sprinkle each side generously with the dry rub making sure to rub the spice mixture into the meat. Cover the pan with plastic and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Whole Recipe (1 1/3 cups)

Calories – 445, protein 19.4 grams, fat 10.9 grams, carbohydrates 57.8 grams

Per Serving (¼ cup)

Calories – 89, fat 2.18 grams, protein 3.88 grams, carbohydrates 11.6 grams

The Recipe

2 slabs pork loin (baby back ribs)

½ cup all-purpose barbecue rub

LCHF barbecue sauce of choice (optional)

Place the baby back ribs in a heavy-duty baking pan meat side down. At this point you should be looking at the inside of the rib cage. You will notice that there is a smooth, shiny membrane on the back of the ribs. This membrane is the lining of the pleural cavity (lung cavity) and needs to be removed before your rub is applied. It takes a little practice, but work at picking away the membrane until you can get a finger or two underneath the membrane and simply peel it off. It may take you a few tries until you get it all off, but it needs to be removed before your rub is applied and the ribs are cooked.

Once you have removed the membrane from the inside of the ribs, sprinkle each side generously with the dry rub making sure to rub the spice mixture into the meat. Cover the pan with plastic and place in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, about three hours before you are ready to eat the ribs, remove the pan with the ribs from the refrigerator and place each rack on a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil about four inches longer than the slab of ribs. Wrap the ribs tightly in the aluminum foil making sure to fold the ends tightly to seal the packet. While you are wrapping the ribs, do not forget to pre-heat your oven to 250 degrees.

Once the oven it has reached the desired temperature of 250 degrees, place the foil wrapped ribs on a baking sheet and bake for 3 hours. No muss, no fuss, and no need to baste, as the sealed foil packages will use the meats own moisture to keep the ribs nice and juicy. After three hours, remove the ribs from the oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes before opening the foil packages.

Chef's Note: If you like, once the ribs are done, you can immediately open the foil packages and lightly brush them with your favorite warmed barbecue sauce, increase the heat of your oven to 350 degrees and cook the ribs for an additional 15 more minutes to slightly thicken and carmalize the sauce. Just be careful as the steam released from the foil packets when opened is very hot and you can burn yourself easily. Usually, I let the foil packages cool for about 10 minutes before opening and brush them with warmed barbecue sauce and serve as is.

Nutritional Data

Determining the exact nutritional data for baby back ribs is somewhat an art form rather than a science as each slab of ribs will have a slightly different amount of fat on the rib cage. I have done my best to give you a general idea of the amount of fat and protein that you can typically expect in one pound of uncooked ribs. By adding this to our all purpose rub, I have come as close as possible to providing you with the most accurate information that I can. The average size of a cryopack loin or baby back ribs before cooking is 2.5 pounds, which is what the following nutritional values are based on. I use about ¼ cup of rub per rack of ribs.

Whole Rack Baby Back Ribs (2.5 lbs, no rub)

Calories – 2025, fat 163 grams, protein 133 grams, carbohydrates 0 grams

Whole Rack Baby Back Ribs (2.5 lbs, with rub)

Calories – 2114, fat 165.18 grams, protein 136.88 grams, carbohydrates 11.6 grams

Half Rack A Of Ribs (1.25 lbs, with rub)

Calories – 1057, fat 82.6 grams, protein 68.44 grams, carbohydrates 5.8 grams

Third Of A Rack Of Ribs (0.83 lbs, with rub)

Calories – 704, fat 55 grams, protein 45.6 grams, carbohydrates 3.8 grams

Conclusion

That's all there is to making delicious, tender, and juicy baby back ribs that you and your family will enjoy. Best of all you did not have to pay restaurant prices for this fabulous meal. So go ahead and sing to your hearts content “I want my baby back, baby back, baby back ribs” with the satisfaction of knowing you saved a ton of money by making them yourself without having to leave the comfort of your home. If you need a good LCHF / Keto barbecue sauce to pair with your ribs, check out the variety of barbecue sauces from our blog by clicking on one of the links below. As always if you and your family have enjoyed this LCHF / Keto recipe and you have found the information useful, we ask that you share it with your friends on Facebook, Pintrest, and Google+. Don't forget to follow us on Facebook, or add us to your circle of friends on Google+.

Related Article On Our Blog:

Condiments, The Diet Killers: Making Your Own LCHF Condiments (This article contains recipes for making Texas and Carolina Style LCHF / Keto barbecue sauces).

LCHF Jerk Barbecue Sauce

LCHF Kansas City Style Barbecue Sauce (Sweety Q)

Texas Ketofied Brisket

Texas Style Brisket

This article was originally from a section in the book I am currently writing called 'The Barbecue Smoker Cookbook'. The primary emphasis was on how to properly smoke a brisket. Not everyone has access to a smoker, and to be honest, smoking a brisket takes a lot of time and attention. So I wanted to write an article so that the average home cook could make a delicious brisket without having to stay up all night to tend the fire of the smoker. Having said all of that, smoking a brisket is still my preferred method of cooking, however this brisket comes out nice and tender and it takes almost no effort on the cooks part once it goes in the oven.

Brisket can be a great low carb high fat (LCHF) and Ketogenic (Keto) protein source if prepared and cooked properly. What I mean by that is, by using the proper rub (minimal, or no sugar) eliminates most of the carbohydrates that are typically found in commercial barbecue rubs. Now, I do not propose the use of erythritol or other sugar substitutes in the use of my barbecue rub. They may work great, but I am not a big fan of the cooling effect (after taste) that some of them have. To be honest, I have not wanted to try using erythritol in place of sugar simply because I do not want to waste a brisket just in case it comes out tasting like crap. Erythritol may be a good brown sugar substitute, but I have simply not used it.

So as a LCHF eater, I now make my rub with either 2 tablespoons of sugar, or simply omit it altogether. Using 2 tablespoons of brown sugar makes the rub 9 grams of carbohydrates per pound of cooked meat (for the whole recipe), while the rub without the sugar is 8 grams of carbohydrates per pound (for the whole recipe). The other carbohydrates come from the spices which are used in the rub. Remember, if you have read any of my other articles, then you know spices contain small amounts of carbohydrates that many LCHF and Keto eaters forgot to account for. So in this article I have listed the nutritional values for making the rub with and without brown sugar so that you can make an informed decision as to the way you want to make your barbecue rub.

Selecting A Brisket

A brisket is essentially two types of meat, the skirt and the lifter. The large piece of meat that runs along the bottom of the brisket is called the skirt or flat. The meat towards the top side (fat side) is called the lifter or point. The skirt of the brisket is the leaner portion of the cut with almost no fat. The lifter on the other hand is the opposite having a large amount of fat or marbling. There is a distinct layer of fat in the middle of the brisket that separates the skirt from the lifter. In addition the grain of these two cuts of meat run in different directions and should be separated before carving (See Serving Your Brisket).

When choosing a brisket, you want a whole, untrimmed beef brisket. This is going to weigh in at between 10 and 20 pounds depending on how it is cut and where you get it. Buy your brisket based on the number of people you wish to feed, a typical portion being about 6 to 8 ounces of cooked brisket per person. On average, a smoked brisket is going to give you about half the weight in meat of the original piece of meat, meaning if you bought a 12 pound brisket you will get about 6 to 8 pounds of meat when you are done (based on the 8 ounce rule, enough brisket for 10 to 12 people as there is some wastage). This is due to two factors, first because there is is so much fat in a typical untrimmed brisket, about 10 to 15% of total weight. Second, because of shrinkage during cooking process, although the low and slow process of cooking does inhibit this somewhat.

You do not need to spend a fortune on brisket. In fact, the brisket we purchased for this article was $1.76 per pound at my local Walmart. Last week, Walmart was out of brisket and my local Brookshires supermarket had them for $4.99 per pound (a 12lb brisket was $59.88) that's just ridiculous. No matter what you my have read or seen on YouTube, even the cheapest brisket when cooked long and slow will be tender and juicy, that's the benefit of long, slow, low heat cooking.

Trimming The Brisket

As mentioned earlier a whole brisket can run anywhere from 10 to 20 pounds, and if you are planning on cooking a brisket it is best (in my humble opinion) to buy an untrimmed brisket as this gives you more control on what you want to trim. To prepare your brisket for cooking you need to trim away some of the excess fat. For lack of a better term, we will call the fat side of the brisket the top and the non-fat or meat side the bottom. The top side of an untrimmed brisket has a thick layer of fat that runs the entire length of the brisket with the fat layer being thicker over the lifter. When trimming your brisket the key is not to remove too much fat as this will help keep the brisket from drying out as well as add flavor to the meat during the cooking process. So let’s get trimming.

First, you will want to remove any excess fat or loose pieces of meat that may be hanging from the side of the brisket. Now, I'm not suggesting that you carve off all the fat or cut it up, but I find it easier to work with if you get it prepared just right. Second, remove some of the fat layer of the lifter or fatty cap of the brisket. Removing about 30% of the fat layer should be sufficient. Remember, you do not want to cut all the way down to the meat, you just want to remove some of the excess fat.

Once you have trimmed the brisket, I suggest that you weigh the fat and subtract that amount from the initial weight of the brisket before cooking in order to arrive at a proper expected cook time. Remember you only want to smoke your brisket for 1 to 1 ½ hours per pound of meat. Cooking the meat any longer than this will cause it to dry out and become tough. Don’t be surprised if your trim job reduces the total weight of the brisket by 1, 2 or even 3 pounds, anymore than this and you have probably trimmed off too much fat. Once you have completed trimming the fat and loose pieces off the brisket you are ready to prepare the brisket for cooking. 

Preparing the Brisket (The Rub)

It takes a long time to properly cook a beef brisket and applying a good barbecue rub to the meat and placing it in the refrigerator to rest overnight, is essential to cooking a great brisket. When applying your BBQ rub to the brisket you want to cover the entire brisket even the fat. You need to make sure you cover the entire brisket so that it can take on the flavor of the rub and this is what you are going to be eating. So why season the fat? Well the fat is going to help keep your brisket moist, and fat is an integral portion of the meat (lifter) used when making chopped beef sandwiches. So do yourself a favor and coat the entire brisket fat and all.

When I rub a brisket I place it on several sheets of plastic wrap laid on top of sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil (the 20 inch side stuff is the best) so I can simply wrap the brisket first in the plastic wrap and then the foil after liberally applying my rub. The brisket is then placed in the refrigerator overnight or up to 24 hours before being cooked. The moisture from the wrapped brisket is going to turn the rub into a paste that will help it stick to the meat and help the meat absorb the flavor. You can skip this resting period, but your brisket will not be as flavorful.

5 tablespoons chili powder

4 tablespoons garlic powder

4 tablespoons onion powder

4 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

2 teaspoons red pepper

2 teaspoons cumin, ground

1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground

Mix all ingredients together and apply generously to brisket. This rub recipe makes about 1 ¼ cups of rub and should be enough to liberally cover a 10 to 12 pound brisket.

Whole Recipe (with ¼ cup brown sugar)

Calories – 654, protein 19.4 grams, fat 10.9 grams, carbohydrates 112.3 grams

Whole Recipe (with 2 tablespoons brown sugar)

Calories – 479, protein 19.4 grams, fat 10.9 grams, carbohydrates 66.8 grams

Whole Recipe (with no brown sugar)

Calories – 445, protein 19.4 grams, fat 10.9 grams, carbohydrates 57.8 grams

Chef's Note: The brown sugar in a traditional barbecue rub helps your brisket develop that nice dark caramelized coating known as 'bark'. However, sugar is extremely high in carbohydrates and is therefore not ketogenic. I have included three nutritional values for this rub it you wish to use a small amount of brown sugar in your rub. This particular 12 pound brisket yielded about 7.5 pounds of meat (about 63% yield). So if you used ¼ cup brown sugar that would be about 15 grams of carbs per pound, 2 tablespoons brown sugar about 9 grams of carbs per pound, and without brown sugar about 8 grams of carbs per pound. Granted a lot of this will be lost in the carving process, I just wanted you to have the information.

Cooking Your Brisket

Preheat your oven to 225 degrees F (107 degrees C) for the whole cooking time. Remember that your brisket is going to need to cook for somewhere between 1 ½ to 1 hour per pound. Not all briskets are created equally so the cooking time is going to vary, but I have found that in our oven a 12 pound brisket (before trimming) is nice and tender when cooked for 12 hours.

If you placed your brisket in the refrigerator overnight, then remove it about two hours before you want to place it in the oven. I unwrap my brisket and place it in a large disposable aluminum roasting pan as we do not have a large enough regular pan to accommodate a 10 – 12 pound brisket. BTW, if you cover it with plastic wrap and foil, you want to remove this before placing the brisket in the oven. I put my brisket in the oven before we go to bed and cook it for 12 hours. No need to turn or flip the brisket, just let it sit in the oven undisturbed for 12 hours (make sure to put it fat side up in the pan).

Once your brisket has cooked for the estimated time based on it's trimmed weight, it's time to check the temperature. Because a brisket is composed of two different types of meat as mentioned earlier (lifter and the skirt) taking the final temperature of this mixed meat and fat structure of isn't as straightforward as you might think, however it's not rocket science either. Fat heats faster than meat so you will find that the internal temperature of your brisket is very different depending on where you take your reading. In order to ascertain the proper temperature of the brisket, you will need to take the temperature in several places, aiming for a thick piece of meat. By this point the fat is about as solid as warm butter. The meat on the other hand should give you some resistance as you insert the probe. You are ultimately shooting for an internal temperature about 185 to 190 degrees.

Carving and Serving The Brisket

Carving a brisket is more art than a science, and an art that requires experience more than technique. If you go slow, and watch what you are cutting, however, you shouldn't have much trouble getting a large number of good slices that are perfect for serving. Start by cutting back or trimming the fat layer on the top of the brisket to expose the meat. Then working from the thin, square end of the brisket (the skirt), cut long thin slices about the thickness of a pencil. If you find that the brisket is a little tough, cut it thinner. If the brisket starts to fall apart cut the slices thicker. As you work your way along you can trim off any large pieces of fat. Once you get to the point end of the brisket you will find a second layer of meat on the top of the skirt known as the lifter. You should now be able to see the strip of fat that divides these two cuts of meat. Cut through this fat separating the lifter from the skirt. The grain of the lifter runs differently from the skirt so you will want to cut it in the other direction.

Like anything, the more brisket you cook, the better your slicing technique will become, and soon you won't have any trouble carving up a perfect brisket. Remember, you are cooking for friends and family so relax, enjoy yourself, besides your friends and family won't care about your carving as your brisket will be so tender and delicious.

In many restaurants the lifter which has a high fat content is chopped with any trimmed portions from the skirt to make chopped beef sandwiches, while the leaner skirt is used for sliced brisket sandwiches or plated entrées (which is what I do). The skirt can be used for chopped sandwiches, but the moisture, seasoning and fat content of the lifter make it the perfect meat for this technique; whereas the skirt easily becomes dried when chopped and is often layered in a heavy amount of sauce to overcome this. In my opinion this defeats the purpose of cooking and or smoking the brisket if it is hidden under the flavor of the sauce, rather a good barbecue sauce should accentuate the flavor of the brisket not overpower it.

Conclusion

Do I prefer a smoked brisket over one cooked in the oven, well duh… But let's face it, we all do not have the time to stay up all night and tend the fire of a smoker to keep the temperature in the sweet spot (225 – 250 degrees). However, placing a brisket in the oven overnight to cook is just about as easy as it gets, and the results are quite phenomenal given the fact that you do not have to mess with the brisket once you throw it in the oven. This recipe is quite literally a set it and forget it type of recipe.

Remember a brisket is going to yield about 60 – 65% of it's cooked weight. Our 11.58 pound brisket yielded just a little over 7 pounds of meat after trimming and cooking, making our final cost $2.81 per pound of edible meat. Had I purchased the brisket from Brookshires at $4.99 per pound instead of $1.76 per pound the final cost would have been $7.97 per pound. Yes, my family loves brisket, but I am not paying eight dollars a pound for brisket (BTW, that's about what you pay at the restaurant).

If you need a good 'Texas Style' barbecue sauce check out my article 'Condiments The Diet Killers' for my version of LCHF/Keto barbecue sauce that is only 1 gram of carbohydrate per tablespoon. There are several other LCHF/Keto barbecue sauce options listed below that you can access from our blog by simply clicking on the article heading. As always, I hope that you have found this article informative and beneficial for you and your family, if so please take the time to share it with your friends so that they can benefit as well. Don't forget to follow us on out Facebook Page 'CulinaryYouLCHF' or add us to your circle Google+.

Similar Articles On Our Blog:

Arthur Bryants Original Barbecue Sauce (Regular and LCHF options)

Condiments The Diet Killers, Make Your Own LCHF Condiments

LCHF Kansas City Style Barbecue Sauce

LCHF Jamaican Style Jerk Barbecue Sauce

References:

Gamel, Todd, The Barbecue Smoker Cookbook, Currently in Editing

My LCHF Jamacian Barbecue Sauce

This is the barbecue sauce that I use when I want to add the flavor of Jamaica to my meals. This sauce is not a high fat sauce, but you could add 1 - 2 tablespoons of butter to not only increase the fat content, but to give the sauce an even smoother taste and greater “mouth feel”. I use this sauce primarily on grilled chicken (yes with the skin on) when I do not have the time to marinate the chicken overnight in my jerk marinade. I also use it on hamburger patties whenever we cook them on the grill. In addition, it is a great sauce for ribs and other meats as well.

Traditionally jerk sauce is made with scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, in this recipe I use cayenne pepper giving it a milder tastes so that my wife can enjoy the sauce as well since she is not quite the chili head that I am. If you like your sauce to have a little more kick, then please use a scotch bonnet or habanero pepper, or you can increase the cayenne pepper to suit your tastes. For a milder kick add a minced jalapeño or two (0.9 carbs for a medium to large jalapeño) in place of the habanero or scotch bonnet pepper.

LCHF Jerk BBQ Sauce Yield (23 tablespoons)

8 ounces tomato sauce

2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon Jerk Seasoning

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or ½ scotch bonnet pepper

1 drop liquid sucralose or 1 teaspoon granulated sweetener of choice (optional)

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

In a medium saucepan combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until sauce is thick and coats the back of a spoon. Remove sauce from heat and cool before bottling in jar or plastic bottle.

Total Recipe – Calories 120.8, protein 2.57, fat 0.36 grams, carbohydrates 17.8 grams

Per Tablespoon – Calories 5.25, protein 0.11 grams fat 0.01 grams, carbs 0.76 grams

Jerk Seasoning

You can make your own Jerk seasoning or purchase a ready made variety. Just make sure that if you use a ready made Jerk seasoning that you check the ingredient list. Some may contain sugar with will increase the carbohydrate count. If you are watching your sodium, you can omit the salt, from this recipe and simply adjust the seasoning of the sauce just before bottling. This recipe is my variation of the Jerk Seasoning that I originally found in a Helen Willinsky's cookbook 'Jerk: Barbecue From Jamaica'. Not only is this recipe an important part of this barbecue sauce, but you can use it as a seasoning on grilled meats and fish.

Jerk Seasoning (3 tablespoons)

1 tablespoon onion powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon allspice, ground

1 teaspoon thyme, ground

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ground

¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ground

Mix all ingredients in a small plastic container and store in your cupboard with all your other spices.

Total Recipe – Calories 44.5, protein 0.96 grams, fat 0.4 grams, 17.84 carbohydrates

Per Tablespoon – Calories 14.8, protein 0.32 grams, fat 0.13 grams, carbs 0.99 grams

Conclusion

One of the milestones in my life was meeting my soul mate and getting married on a beach in Jamaica. There were a lot of things we experienced on this trip that we will never forgot, one of those being the discovery of Jerk chicken. This fiery, delicious chicken marinated overnight and grilled over pimento wood served with a Jerk style barbecue sauce is simply delicious. Although we have been back to Jamaica several times, when I make Jerk chicken my mind is always flooded with memories of our first trip eleven years ago, and that's a good thing.

I have adapted this barbecue sauce recipe from my original recipe to be low carbohydrate high fat (LCHF) and keto friendly. I know this recipe will not have the same powerful memories for you that it has for us, but I hope that you and your family will enjoy this recipe as much as my family does. As always, we ask that if you have found this recipe informative and enjoyable please share it with your friends. Don't forget to follow use on our Facebook page 'CulinaryYouLCHF' or add us to your circle on Google+.

Other Related Articles On Our Blog:

'Sweety Que' KC Style LCHF Barbecue Sauce

Making Your Own LCHF and Keto Condiments

References:

Willinsky, Helen, Jerk: Barbecue From Jamaica, The Crossing Press, CA, 1990.

LCHF Kansas City BBQ Sauce

With it's bold, sweet, and tangy flavors, Kansas City (KC) style barbecue sauce has become one of the most popular styles of barbecue sauce purchased by Americans. Now there are quite a few different commercially prepared KC style barbecue sauces, but there is only one problem, not one of them is low carb. So what are you supposed to do if you get a hankering for some good old fashioned barbecue, but are diabetic, or are following a low carbohydrate high fat diet? Well, make your own of course. So, if you love the sweet tangy flavors of KC barbecue sauce, then you should love my low carbohydrate high fat (LCHF) version of this popular style sauce that I call 'Sweety Que'.

Kansas City Style barbecue sauces start with a base of tomato sauce, tomato paste, onions, and garlic. The sweetness comes from brown sugar, molasses, and sometimes honey, while it gets it tartness from vinegar or lemon juice, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. It's final flavor component comes from it's spice mix of salt, black pepper, chili powder, dry mustard, allspice, and cayenne pepper. Because Kansas City sauces are bold in flavor and thicker than other barbecue sauces, they are typically used as a finishing sauce which is brushed on just before serving or near the end of the cooking cycle.

In this article I will teaching you how to make my LCHF version of KC barbecue sauce 'Sweety Que'. For this recipe we substitute the brown sugar and molasses with liquid sucralose which contains no carbohydrates, and in place of the traditional ketchup we will be using tomato sauce and tomato paste.

The Recipe

If you love the sweet tangy flavors of Kansas City barbecue sauce, and you have been looking for a low carbohydrate alternative to commercially prepared sauces, then I guarantee you that you will love my LCHF version of KC style barbecue sauce that I call 'Sweety Que'. While tomato sauce and tomato paste have carbohydrates, most of the carbohydrates in commercial KC style barbecue sauces come from brown sugar and molasses. In this recipe we will be substituting liquid sucralose for the sugar and molasses.

KC 'Sweety Que' (Yield 2 ½ cups, 40 tablespoons)

2 (8oz cans) tomato sauce

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup water

8 to 10 drops liquidsucralose (25% concentration)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

½ medium onion, diced

1 whole clove, ground

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dark chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried mustard

1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1 drop liquid smoke (optional)

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onions, garlic, tomato paste, chili powder, paprika, red pepper, allspice, and cloves and cook, stirring, until paste is dark brick red, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and heat just until the sauce simmers, the cook for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to come together. Remove and discard bay leaf. If desired, puree with an immersion blender or add to a table top blender once the sauce has cooled.

Chef's Note – I suggest that you start out with 8 drops of sucralose and then taste the sauce for sweetness, if it is not quite sweet enough then add 2 more. Remember KC style barbecue sauce tends the be sweeter than other styles, but as always adjust the sweetness to suit your personal preferences.

Total Recipe – Calories 399, protein 5.75 grams, fat 14.89 grams, carbohydrates 44 grams

Per Tablespoon – Calories 10, protein 0.14 grams, fat 0.37 grams, carbohydrates 1.1 grams

Just for comparison, I have listed the three most popular commercial KC style barbecue sauces with their nutritional information.

Bull's-Eye Kansas City Style

Per Tablespoon – Calories 25, protein 0 grams, fat 0 grams, carbohydrates 6.5 grams

Heinz Kansas City Style, Sweet and Smokey

Per Tablespoon – Calories 30, protein 0 grams, fat 0 grams, carbohydrates 7.5 grams

KC Masterpiece Original

Per Tablespoon – Calories 29, protein 0.2 grams, fat 0.1 grams, carbohydrates 7 grams

As you can see, all of the commercially prepared KC style barbecue sauces have at a minimum 6 times more carbohydrates than my KC 'Sweety Que' barbecue sauce. That's quite a substantial difference especially for those of us who are diabetic or are following an LCHF diet regimen. And the best part of all my 'Sweety Que' will not cause your blood sugar to spike like all the others mentioned in this article.

Conclusion

This has become one of my families favorite BBQ sauces. It is low carb and will not cause your blood glucose levels to spike. So if you are a diabetic or are eating LCHF you no longer have to worry about the number of carbohydrates in your barbecue sauce as this recipe only has 1.1 grams of net carbohydrates per tablespoon. For information on how to use and where to purchase liquid sucralose check out our article on the subject on our blog.

As always, I hope you have found this article to be informative and helpful and if so we ask that you share it with your friends. Don't forget to send us a friend request on Facebook on our page CulinaryYouLCHF or add us to your groups on Google+.

Similar Articles On Our Blog:

Liquid Sucralose

Making Your Own LCHF Condiments

 

If you have diabetes or are following a low carb high fat (LCHF), Paleo, or Keto eating program, then condiments are those hidden little surprises that can quickly hinder your success. It is amazing how many sauces, dressings and condiments that we consume everyday that have carbohydrates and sugars that many new to such dietary programs fail to think about. If you are following a liberal (50 to 100 carbs) or moderate (20 to 50 carbs) per day carbohydrate eating plan, then 1 or 2 carbohydrates here or there may not mean much, but if you are a diabetic or are following a more strict carbohydrate intake (less than 20 carbohydrates a day) then those 2 to 4 carbohydrates per tablespoon in that mayonnaise in your chicken salad, or barbecue sauce that you just brushed on your grilled chicken can really make a difference.

Believe me, if you are trying to keep your blood sugars under control or your carbohydrate count below 20 carbohydrates a day, making your own condiments is a good way to control those unforeseen carbohydrates that most of us don't think about. The great thing is that most of these recipes only take a few minutes to make and they taste great. In this article I will focus on some of the most common condiments that many of us keep in our refrigerator. In the future I will be writing additional articles on making your own low carbohydrate salad dressings as well as other less common condiments that many of us enjoy.

LCHF Mayonnaise (Yield: 1 ¼ cups 20 tablespoons)

Mayonnaise is the most popular condiment in the United States and is consumed by more Americans than any other beating out both ketchup and salsa. So why make your own mayonnaise? Well if you are on a LCHF diet, then making your own mayonnaise is definitely worth the 10 minutes it takes to make for a number of reasons. While there may not be much difference in the nutritional value between homemade mayonnaise and store bought, the primarily reason to make it is for the taste. After all, making your own gives you total control of the amount and type of ingredients in your mayonnaise and you will definitely taste the difference.

1 egg yolk

1 cup canola, or vegetable oil

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon water
½ teaspoon iodized salt
½ teaspoon dry mustard or ¼ teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
¼ teaspoon Splenda or equal or liquid sweetener of your choice
¼ teaspoon white pepper

Place the egg yolk, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, mustard, salt, and Splenda into a wide mouth pint mason jar, then add the canola oil on top. Take your immersion blender and push it down into the mason far until it touches the bottom and pulse it a few times. As the ingredients in the jar begin to form an emulsion. Once the bottom quarter of the jar is emulsified, slowly raise the blender while it is running until all of the ingredients have become emulsified. Slap a lid on it and place it on the refrigerator to chill.

Total Recipe – Calories 2042, fat 228 grams, protein 2.8 grams, 1.4 grams carbohydrates

Per Tablespoon – Calories 102, fat 11.4 grams, carbohydrates 0.07 grams

Hellman's Mayonnaise

Per Tablespoon – Calories 90, fat 10 grams, carbs 0 grams

LCHF Miracle Whip (Yield: 1 ¼ cups 20 tablespoons)

In my family there always seems to be a few people who prefer Miracle Whip over mayonnaise. I admit I will use mayonnaise, but I prefer the additional sweetness of a Miracle Whip style dressing. Because I am both a diabetic and have shifted my eating regimen to a more LCHF regimen, making my own Miracle Whip is definitely worth the 10 minutes it takes to make for a number of reasons. First, it is essentially a no-carb condiment (it takes 4 tablespoons to make 1 carb, Miracle Whip as 2 carbs per tablespoon). Second, it's higher fat content helps to make you feel sated, and third, homemade Miracle Whip just tastes better.

1 egg yolk

1 cup canola or vegetable oil

4 teaspoons Splenda or liquid sweetener of your choice

4 teaspoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon water
½ teaspoon iodized salt
½ teaspoon dry mustard or ¼ teaspoon prepared yellow mustard

pinch of garlic powder

pinch of paprika

Place the egg yolk, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, mustard, salt, and sugar into a wide mouth pint mason jar, then add the canola oil on top. Take your immersion blender and push it down into the mason far until it touches the bottom and pulse it a few times. As the ingredients in the jar begin to form an emulsion. Once the bottom quarter of the jar is emulsified, slowly raise the blender while it is running until all of the ingredients have become emulsified. Slap a lid on it and place it on the refrigerator to chill. Store in the refrigerator for 10 to 12 days.

Total Recipe – Calories 2049, fat 229 grams, protein 2.8 grams, carbohydrates 2.96 grams

Per Tablespoon – Calories 102, fat 11.4 grams, protein 0.14 carbohydrates 0.15 grams

Kraft Miracle Whip

Per Tablespoon – Calories 40, fat 3.5 grams, carbs 2 grams

Chef's Note: For a in-depth article on making your own mayonnaise or Miracle Whip style dressing, check out my article 'Homemade Mayonnaise, It'sEgg-ceptional' on our blog.

LCHF Ketchup (Yield: 1 ¼ cups, 20 tablespoons)

I have tried a couple LCHF ketchup recipes and this one is hands down the best I have tried. It stores well and tastes as good or better then any of the leading commercial ketchup brands. The best part is that it has no sugar and it only has 0.9 carbohydrates per tablespoon whereas commercial ketchups contain 5 carbohydrates or more per tablespoon. Having a good ketchup recipe is a must as many of the other condiments that we use on a daily basis contain some ketchup as an ingredient (barbecue sauce, tartar sauce, Arby's sauce, salad dressings, as well as many Asian sauces).

8 ounces tomato sauce (12 grams of carbs)

1 tablespoon tomato paste (3 grams carbs)

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon Splenda or liquid sweetener of your choice

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon onion powder

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly just until the sauce begins to boil, then remove the sauce from the heat and cover and allow to cool. Pour into a covered container or squeeze bottle and store in the fridge. Good for 1 – 2 months.

Chef's Note: Spicy ketchups are all the rage now, and an easy way to make this recipe nice and spicy is to add 1 tablespoon of Tabasco to the original recipe. You could add cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes, but adding additional powdered ingredients to the recipe without the addition of some liquid will cause the ketchup to solidify. Another option would be to add one minced pickled jalapeño and then substitute the apple cider vinegar with 2 tablespoons of the pickled jalapeño juice.

Total Recipe – Calories 121.5, fat 0 grams, protein 2.6 grams, 19.8 carbohydrates

Per Tablespoon – Calories 6, fat 0 grams, protein 0.13 grams carbs 1 gram

Hunts Tomato Ketchup

Per Tablespoon – Calories 20, fat 0 grams, carbs 5 grams

Texas Style Barbecue Sauce (Yield: 3 ½ cups, 56 tablespoons)

This is the barbecue sauce that I use most often, it is a bold and slightly spicy Texas style barbecue sauce which goes good with brisket, ribs, pork or chicken. If you like your sauce to have a little more kick, then increase the red pepper flakes or add a minced jalapeño or two (0.9 carbs for a medium to large jalapeño). This sauce has a vinegary twang, if you do not care for that particular flavor simply omit the apple cider vinegar.

2 cups LCHF ketchup (36 grams of carbs)

½ cup water

2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (6.6 grams of carbs)

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon onion powder (5 grams of carbs)

1 tablespoon garlic powder (7 grams of carbs)

2 teaspoons cilantro, dried (optional)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chili powder (1.42 grams of carbs)

½ teaspoon mustard powder

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon red pepper

In a medium saucepan combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until sauce is thick and coats the back of a spoon. Remove sauce from heat and cool before bottling in jar or plastic squeeze bottle.

Total Recipe – Calories 422, fat 12.4 grams, 56.6 carbohydrates

Per Tablespoon – Calories 7.5, fat 0.2 grams, carbs 1 gram

Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce

Per Tablespoon – Calories 30, fat 0 grams, carbs 15 grams

Chef's Note: For a in-depth article on making your own barbecue sauces and how they differ from each region of the country, check out my article 'Sauce-A-Pallooza, A BBQ Sauce Primer' on our blog.

Carolina Style Barbecue Sauce (Yield: 2 ½ cups, 40 tablespoons)

This thin flavorful sauce is more like a vinaigrette than the thick and hearty barbecue sauces of the Midwest. Because of it's low sugar content it is a great basting and mopping sauce as it will not burn like the thicker more sugary sauces we use here in Texas. It is great on pulled pork, shredded chicken, and don't tell anyone I said so but it's also great on chopped brisket.

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup water
½ cup LCHF ketchup (9 grams of carbs)

1 tablespoon onion powder (5 grams of carbs)

1 tablespoon garlic powder (7 grams of carbs)

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons Splenda or liquid sweetener of your choice

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon chili powder (0.71 grams of carbs)

½ teaspoon paprika (0.14 grams of carbs)

In a medium saucepan combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and cool before lacing in a jar or plastic squeeze bottle.

Total Recipe – Calories 121, fat 0.6 grams, 22 carbohydrates

Per Tablespoon – Calories 3, fat 0 grams, carbs 0.55 grams

Heinz Carolina Style Barbecue Sauce

Per Tablespoon – Calories 17.5, fat 0 grams, carbs 4 grams

Picante Sauce (Salsa) (Yield; 3 cups, 48 tablespoons)

If you live in Texas, then you know that picante sauce is a condiment that every kitchen must have. Throw some salsa on eggs and you have Huevos Ranchero. Slather it on a hot dog in place of pickle relish, and of course as a topping for your lettuce wrapped tacos or taco salad. This recipe is a pretty close proximity to Pace's Medium Picante sauce which I happen to like. Not only does this salsa taste great, it has only 0.6 carbohydrates per tablespoon, whereas Pace Picante Sauce has 1.5 grams of carbohydrates per tablespoon.

8 ounces tomato sauce (12 grams of carbs)

6 ounces of water

10 ounces Great Value Tomatoes & Green Chiles (10 grams of carbs)

1 medium (2 ½” diameter) yellow onion (10 grams of carbs)

2 jalapeños, diced, with seeds

2 tablespoons white vinegar

¾ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon Splenda or liquid sweetener of your choice (optional)

Combine all the ingredients into a medium saucepan, do not drain the tomatoes and green chilies. Bring all ingredients to a boil and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, Remove from heat and allow to cool, place in a container with a lid and refrigerate (salsa will thicken some as it cools). Store for up to 4 weeks in the fridge.

Total recipe – Calories 174, fat 0.1 grams, carbs 32 grams

Per Tablespoon – Calories 3.6, fat 0, carbs 0.6 carbs

Pace Picante Sauce Medium

Per Tablespoon – Calories 10, fat 0 grams, carbs 1.5 grams

LCHF Tartar Sauce (Yield: 4 tablespoons)

Fish is an important protein in the LCHF, Paleo, and Keto eating lifestyle, and who doesn't love a good tartar sauce to go with it? After all, making your own tartar sauce gives you total control of the amount and type of ingredients you use and you will definitely taste the difference. I use dill pickle relish in my recipe and add Splenda to give it a slightly sweet taste as using sweet pickle relish increases the overall carbohydrate count of the recipe by 1.6 carbs, making the tartar sauce 0.7 carbs per tablespoon. Again this is not a lot, but if you are on a strict carbohydrate plan, it adds up.

4 tablespoons LCHF mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dill pickle relish

½ teaspoon Splenda or liquid sweetener of your choice (optional)

¼ teaspoon LCHF ketchup (0.08 grams of carbs)
¼ teaspoon onion powder (0.5 grams of carbs)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder (0.6 grams of carbs)

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and you are ready to go. I do not mix my tartar sauce up until I am ready to use it.

Total Recipe – Calories 333, fat 36 grams, 1.1 carbohydrates

Per Tablespoon – Calories 83, fat 9 grams, carbs 0.3 grams

Kraft Tarter Sauce

Per Tablespoon – Calories 30, fat 2.5 grams, carbs 2 grams

Measuring Is They Key To Success

Measuring the ingredients that you add to any recipe is extremely important when you are following a LCHF diet or any diet in which you need to keep track of the total amount of carbohydrates that you consume in one day. This is especially true if you want to add additional vegetables and or other items to any of the condiments listed in this article. For example bell peppers would be a nice addition to the picante sauce recipe, however care must be taken as one medium green bell pepper contain 6 grams of carbohydrates. While that would only increase the carb count for one tablespoon from 0.6 to 0.8 grams, adding several different ingredients at one time could have an overall substantial effect on the final carbohydrate count.

For that particular reason, I have listed some of the more common measurements used when creating or adjusting your favorite recipes in this section of the article. It is my goal that this will help you to make informed decisions regarding adding additional ingredients, specifically how they impact the overall dietary intake of the recipe.

Measuring Wet Ingredients

1 Cup = 8 ounces, or 16 tablespoons, or 48 teaspoons

¾ Cup = 6 ounces, or 12 tablespoons, or 36 teaspoons

½ Cup = 4 ounces, or 8 tablespoons, or 24 teaspoons

¼ Cup = 2 ounces, or 4 tablespoons, or 12 teaspoons

1 Tablespoon = 3 teaspoons

Measuring Dry Ingredients

1 Cup = 12 ounces, or 16 Tablespoons, or 48 teaspoons, weighs 340 grams

¾ Cup = 9 ounces, or 12 tablespoons, or 36 teaspoons, weighs 255 grams

½ Cup = 6 ounces, or 8 tablespoons, or 24 teaspoons, weighs 170 grams

¼ Cup = 3 ounces, or 4 tablespoons, or 12 teaspoons, weighs 85 grams

1 Tablespoon = 3 teaspoons, weighs 15 grams

1 teaspoon weighs 5 grams

Conclusion

So here are some of the most common condiments that many of us use on a daily basis, and you can see that making your own condiments is a great way to cut back on hidden carbohydrates that most of us never thought about before engaging in the LCHF lifestyle changes. Even though I did not get totally on board with the LCHF lifestyle until my doctor wanted to put me on insulin for my diabetes, I have been making all of these sauces for over a year now, and they all taste great.

They are quick to make and you do not have to keep a lot of extra ingredients or condiments on your pantry shelves to start eating LCHF. In fact, making my own sauces the way I was taught many years ago in culinary school actually frees up my pantry space and saves us money. The best part is, we have total control of the amount of fat and carbohydrates that these condiments contain. As I mentioned earlier, there were be more articles regarding making your own LCHF condiments and salad dressings, but these are the most common ones that people have in their fridge or pantry so I started with these first. As always, if you have enjoyed this article and find the information useful, we ask that you share it with your friends. Don't forget to send us a friend request on Facebook, or add us to your circle on Google+.

References:

America's Most Popular Condiment, The Gothamist, January 30, 2014.

Homemade Mayonnaise, It's Egg-ceptional, October 6, 2015.

Sauce-A-Pallooza, A BBQ Sauce Primer, CulinaryYou, March 19, 2016.

MyFitnessPal.com, accessed September 11, 2016.

Diet Doctor: Revolutionize Your Health, Accessed on June 17, 2016.