Homemade Applesauce — The Side That Earned Its Place at the Table

Memorial Day weekend. I hosted a cookout. Let the weight of that sentence land: I, DeShawn Carter, hosted a cookout. At my apartment. With my grill. My food. I invited Jerome, Darius and Tanya (seven months pregnant, eating for two with the commitment of an Olympic athlete), Keisha, and a couple of neighbors from Building D. Mama and Dad came. Marc came with yet another girlfriend whose name I registered and immediately forgot, which I feel guilty about but Marc's girlfriends arrive with the frequency of city buses and I cannot be expected to memorize the entire schedule. I grilled: chicken thighs (cajun dry rub, indirect heat), burgers (80/20 chuck, salt pepper garlic, medium), hot dogs for the kids, and — for the first time — ribs. A full rack of spare ribs, dry-rubbed the night before, cooked low and slow on the Weber for four hours with a foil wrap at the halfway mark (the Texas crutch, as the cookbook calls it). The ribs were good. Better than good. The bark was dark and peppery. The meat pulled clean from the bone. The smoke ring was visible — a pink line beneath the surface that means the smoke penetrated properly. I served them with a homemade barbecue sauce (ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire, garlic, a little mustard) that I had tested twice before getting right. Dad ate a rib. One rib, because Mama was monitoring. He ate it slowly, cleaning the bone, and when he finished he said, "You're getting there." Getting there. Not there yet. Getting there. From Ronald Carter, this is a ten-year development plan compressed into three words. I am on the plan. I am getting there. Mama ate two ribs. She did not comment. But she asked for the rub recipe. Cheryl Carter asked me for a recipe. I have been cooking for two years. I never expected her to ask me for anything. I gave her the recipe. She will improve it. That is how knowledge moves between generations: forward, always forward, always better.

The ribs got the headlines that day, and the homemade BBQ sauce got honorable mention — but what I keep thinking about is how every dish on that table was made from scratch, including this applesauce, which I had simmering on the stove while the Weber did its slow work outside. When Mama asked for my rub recipe, I understood something: homemade is its own argument. This applesauce is about as simple as cooking gets, but simple and easy are not the same thing, and making it yourself — peeling the apples, adjusting the cinnamon, tasting it until it’s right — is exactly the kind of quiet, unglamorous effort that separates a real cookout from a trip to the grocery store. It belongs beside ribs. It belongs on the plan.

Homemade Applesauce

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 3 lbs apples (about 6 medium; a mix of Fuji and Granny Smith works well), peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup water or unsweetened apple cider
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (adjust to taste)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Pinch of kosher salt

Instructions

1. Prep the apples. Peel, core, and chop the apples into roughly 1-inch chunks. Uniform sizing helps them cook evenly, but this is a forgiving recipe — don’t stress the geometry.
2. Start the simmer. Add the apples, water (or cider), granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a gentle simmer.
3. Cook until tender. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20–25 minutes, until the apples are completely soft and beginning to fall apart on their own. If the pan looks dry at any point, add water one tablespoon at a time.
4. Mash or blend. For a chunky applesauce, use a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon directly in the pot. For a smoother texture, transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender and process to your preferred consistency.
5. Finish and adjust. Stir in the lemon juice. Taste and adjust: more sugar if it needs sweetness, more cinnamon if it needs warmth, more lemon if it needs brightness. The apples you used will determine how much adjusting is needed — trust your palate.
6. Serve or store. Serve warm alongside ribs or grilled pork, or let cool completely and refrigerate in an airtight container. It keeps well for up to 10 days in the refrigerator and freezes for up to 3 months.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 105 | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 25mg