One of the biggest elements that elevated a legendary Solana pitmaster into a league of their own, was their Secret BBQ Sauce.

A special blend of butter, vinegar, herbs and spices that they would baste their meats with throughout the grilling process, using a traditional, earthen pit as the grill; and aromatic wood as the coals.

With this authentic, ol' school recipe in hand, you can season your barbecue meats like history's best American pitmasters.

Over time, you can test and perfect your own Secret BBQ Sauce, with a unique blend of herbs and spices known only to you and yours!

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon sea salt, freshly grounded

• 1/4 cup black pepper, freshly grounded

• 1/4 cup fresh red peppers, minced — paprika (mild); or cayenne (spicy)

• 1/4 cup "My Secret Blend" mix (see below)

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.

2. Pour apple cider vinegar into the melted butter. Stir until well-blended.

• Add salt, black pepper and red pepper to the BBQ sauce. Stir until well-blended.

  • If you like it hot and spicy, use cayenne pepper.

  • If you like it medium, use equal parts cayenne pepper and paprika.

  • If you like it mild, use paprika.

4. In a mixing bowl, blend a few of these traditional ingredients to experiment with as you create, test and perfect your unique Secret Blend mix for your signature BBQ sauce: nutmeg, cloves, all-spice, cumin, sage, brown sugar, mustard, garlic, lime.

5. Add your Secret Blend mix to the BBQ sauce. Stir until well blended.

6. Bring the BBQ sauce to a low boil, then turn the burner down to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.

7. While the meat is on the grill, use a barbecue mop to slather the BBQ sauce generously and thoroughly onto the meat. Mix and simmer new batches of mop sauce as needed. Or, multiply the ingredients to prepare a larger batch.

8. Slather on a new layer of mop sauce every 30 to 60 minutes, until the meat is ready.

9. Enjoy. Yum!