Guinness Barbecue Sauce -- The Sauce I Made Because Larry Was Coming and Everything Had to Be Right

Fourth of July week and Larry is coming. He called Monday and said he would be there, and the called-ahead part is new because Larry usually just shows up, and the calling-ahead feels like a concession to something I do not want to name. He is sixty-five. He has been driving for forty-two years. He sounds tired on the phone in a way that is beyond sleep, beyond rest, in the marrow kind of way that tells you the body has been doing this too long and the body has started its own conversation about quitting, even if the mind has not.

I am making the full Fourth of July spread: hamburgers, hot dogs, corn, potato salad, baked beans, watermelon, and the chocolate sheet cake. The same menu as every year. The same people. The same traditions. And this year I am holding every tradition tighter, the way you hold something you suspect might slip, because Larry is coming and Larry looks thin and Larry hands shake and I am frightened in a way I have not been frightened since 2012, when the phone rang and the world changed.

I made the baked beans early, Gayle recipe, because I want them to be perfect. Brown sugar, mustard, ketchup, bacon, onion. Baked low and slow until the top caramelizes. The smell of these beans is the smell of every cookout I have attended since childhood, the smell of Larry standing at the grill, the smell of Darla sneaking bites from the pan, the smell of a family that is smaller now but still here, still cooking, still eating the same beans from the same recipe in the same Nebraska July.

I made a double batch of the potato salad because more people means more potato salad and I would rather have too much than too little. The mustardy kind. Yellow mustard, hard-boiled eggs, celery, just enough mayo. Gayle will judge it. I will pretend not to notice. The judgment is part of the recipe now.

Tomorrow Larry will pull into the driveway and I will see him and I will assess him the way I assess road conditions: quickly, thoroughly, noting every change, preparing for whatever comes next. I hope he looks better. I hope the tiredness was temporary. I hope the trembling was the cold and not something else. I hope. That is what I do. I cook and I hope and I feed the people I love, and the feeding is the hoping made visible.

I wanted everything on that table to be the best version of itself, because when you’re cooking for someone whose hands are shaking and whose voice sounds tired in the marrow, the food becomes the only thing you can actually control. The Guinness barbecue sauce was new this year — I needed something for the burgers and hot dogs that felt worthy of the occasion, something with depth and a little sweetness, something that tasted like I had put real thought and real care into it, because I had. Larry deserves the good sauce. He always has.

Guinness Barbecue Sauce

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 12 (about 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients

• 1 cup Guinness stout (or any dark stout beer)
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine ingredients. Add the Guinness, ketchup, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard to a medium saucepan. Whisk together until fully combined.
2. Add seasonings. Stir in the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper if using. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
3. Simmer. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 20—25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and reduces by about a third.
4. Taste and adjust. Remove from heat and taste. Add more brown sugar for sweetness, vinegar for tang, or cayenne for heat as desired.
5. Cool and serve. Allow the sauce to cool slightly before serving. Use immediately as a dipping or basting sauce, or transfer to a jar and refrigerate for up to two weeks.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 42 | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 9g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 210mg