Authentic Arawak Bar-B-Q Sauce

  4.5 – 20 reviews  • BBQ Sauce Recipes

These warm cream cheese-topped hotdogs are a local favorite on the streets of Seattle, especially after bars close and during sporting events.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Additional Time: 1 hr
Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
Servings: 2
Yield: 2 cups

Ingredients

  1. 6 green onions, chopped
  2. 3 tablespoons minced shallots
  3. 2 cloves garlic, minced
  4. 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  5. 1 tablespoon ground allspice
  6. 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  7. 2 scotch bonnet chile peppers, chopped
  8. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  9. ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  10. 1 teaspoon salt
  11. 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  12. ½ cup fresh orange juice
  13. ½ cup cider vinegar
  14. ¼ cup red wine
  15. ¼ cup soy sauce
  16. ¼ cup vegetable oil
  17. 1 tablespoon molasses

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, combine the green onions, shallots, garlic, ginger, allspice, ground black pepper, chile peppers, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, brown sugar, orange juice, vinegar, wine, soy sauce, oil, and molasses. Mix well, cover, and allow to sit for one hour. Stir again before using with fish or meat. Discard any remaining sauce.

Reviews

Alexander Logan
I used this to marinade chicken for some Caribbean inspired tacos. The flavor penetrated the meat very well and we enjoyed how the sweet spices played off the acidity.
Emily Garner
this came out delicious even with the substitutions i had to make given what i had on hand and not wanting to make an extra trip to the store.. i cut this in half and used it on a lb of chicken breast cut into four steaks.. i subbed the following: white onion for shallot, a baby jalapeno (seeds, vein and all) for the scotch bonnet, half and half of lemon juice and cran/mango punch for the orange juice, half the amount of marsala cooking wine for the red, and i just left out the molasses all together.. i felt like it could have used just a bit more salt but i think i had used a little less soy sauce than called for.. i’d like to see how it would be with all the exact ingredients in the future.. either way it was tasty.. ty for the recipe.. ~~UPDATE: this time i was able to follow the recipe more closely.. made half the recipe again and used on 6 thin, bone in pork chops that i layered on top of thinly sliced potatoes.. cooked in the oven (350*) for 25 mins.. i still subbed white onion for shallots and a regular sized jalapeno (seeds/vein and all) for the scotch bonnet.. i had fresh orange juice and red wine (pinot noir) this time.. left out the brown sugar and molasses.. added one T more of soy sauce.. and everything came out heavenly.. ty again for the recipe
Raymond Schwartz
Wow. Used this marinade on steelhead trout. So so good. Did not take another reviewers advice and boil leftover marinade for sauce, but wish I had. We used a gas grill smoker box. Amazing. I substituted red onion for green and scallion, and habanero peppers. Not as hot as I expected. Definitely doing the sauce next time. Thank you!
Scott Winters
Loved it! used two Habanero peppers (deseeded) and 1/2 cup of full flavored red wine. This sauce has very complex flavors. Very rich – don’t skip the wine. I put a rack of ribs in the slow cooker with this sauce for six hours. The bones were pulled out and it wound up looking like pulled pork. MMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMM Gooood! Served over brown rice, in a burrito, over noodles.
Robert Gill
Kind of an odd flavor. we did not love it. won’t do it again
Aaron Pitts
Made this sauce to use as a marinade for chicken and it was great. I didn’t use the scotch bonnet (just way too hot) but used chipotle instead. It was wonderful grilled. Next time we make this with poblanoes or similar. Its a keeper!
Stacy Cook
This recipe is ultra-flexible, won’t fall apart if few ingredients are missing or replaced. My family absolutely love this one and have been using the Arawak “secret” ever since I discovered it over 5 years ago.
Suzanne Dorsey
This is a seriously wonderful butt kicking BBQ sauce. The only criticism I have of the recipe is the instruction to “Discard any remaining sauce.” Do Not Do That!!! Instead after marinating the meat or fish, boil the sauce you used to marinade and it will reduce nicely to a spicy kind of sticky BBQ sauce which freezes just fine. BTW the recipe makes enough for at least 2 meals if you’re cooking for 2 so split it in half and freeze the rest. Works great on pork tenderloins and probably anything else you can think of. The London Broil idea was fantastic! We loved it!!!
Catherine Jackson
Perfect as is!!!
Ryan Norton
This was good! Everyone at the bbq liked it. I marinated chicken wings and legs in this overnight. Next time I think I would up the soy sauce. I would like to try this on a pork tenderloin. Mmmm…
Thomas Evans
We lived in Trinidad for 3 years. It was nice to have a recipe that reminded us of there. It was very good and extremely tasty! Next time I’ll try cooking it in the oven, as I’m not that good on the grill. Thanks!
Larry Taylor
Tasty
Benjamin Vaughn
I found this recipe two years ago and have used it more than 10 times for chicken because my family loved it and when I’m BBQing chicken my dad always ask me if I used ‘the Arawak marinade.’ Arawak BBQ sauce is also very forgiving marinade~ once this summer I added diet 7-up soda because nobody would drink it and there was only 1 cup left. The chicken still tasted good! The combination of spices and other ingredients gave chicken slightly sweet, light tang, mouth-watering taste with marvelous aroma! The aroma is almost thearptic. *Breath in, Breath out* 🙂
Thomas Chen
I love the unusual, delicious flavour of this BBQ sauce. It’s unlike any other.
Michael Obrien
I just came back from my honeymoon in Aruba and we had this bbq sauce and this recipe is even better that the sauce we had! It was so flavorful and delicious. My husband and I love it.
Judith Zavala
This recipe is WONDERFUL! I’ve made it twice before. One of those times was for a Father’s Day celebration. I’ll be making it again tomorrow for a Labor Day weekend party. Can’t wait!
Michelle Rivers PhD
I marinated a london broil for 24 hours for a party. I grilled it and served it cold…it was gone before I knew it and everyone was asking for more! Delicious!
Kara Hoffman
Mmmmmmmmmm!! Need I say more?!
Andrew Brady
I loved it. I like the mix of East Indian spices along with the Soy Sauce. My husband is VERY picky about bar-b-q …quite honestly doesn’t care for most of them. This one was a stupendous success in our home this weekend. Thank you so much! NinaLee
Cameron Black
This is an excellent marinade. I marinated chicken over night and BBQ’d it and it was the most juicy and flavorful chicken I have ever had. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! !

 

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