Being Texan (Dad was Texan, by marriage and 46 years of continuous residency), they might lynch me from the nearest tree around here if I said out loud I didn’t much like traditional Texas tomato-based BBQ sauce on my smoked pork. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I can eat it, and enjoy it, but my North Carolina side prefers my grilled pork just heavily smoked with butter, vinegar and a little spice. Much richer to me that way. Although the specific spices I might throw into that melted butter will vary, depending on my mood, the following recipe reflects the most frequent candidates. After all, as far as I’m concerned, it’s not the spices but the butter that’s really in the (flavor) driver’s seat here.

Of course, you can use any cut of pork for this, but I used some pork “grilling strips” my husband brought home from the store last week, which were cut from a large pork Boston butt according to the label. God love him, but only my husband can be sent to the store for a Boston Butt that's on sale and come home with a cut of meat I never, EVER heard of. But pig is pig and it’s ALL good smoked, non? And man, does this come out lip-smackin' good! The leftover meat is great reheated the next day, too! This recipe is suitable for Induction if you omit the wine and also suitable for Paleo-Primal eaters if the diet ginger ale is omitted and honey is used in lieu of Stevia (you'll need to recalculate nutritional info if you make those changes). I also like this basting sauce on grilled chicken and all sorts of seafood.

INGREDIENTS:

4 T. unsalted butter
¼ c. diet ginger ale (I use Hansen’s with Splenda) [optional]
2 T. white wine (omit if on Induction)
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 T. Steviva (or honey if Paleo-Primal)
Pinch each salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, dill seed
1 tsp. each minced dehydrated onion and minced dehydrated garlic
½ tsp. ginger root, minced
1 tsp. tomato paste (optional, but calculated below)

DIRECTIONS: Melt butter over low heat in saucepan. Add all other listed ingredients. Baste meat several times while you grill over hot coals. Serve with your favorite sides. I love mine with my Chipotle “Sweet Potatoes” http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/0...sweet-potatoes/ and a green vegetable or salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Numbers below are for the sauce alone and not whatever meat you use this on. Recipe makes enough sauce to baste 1½ lb. meat several times during cooking. Makes approximately 5 servings, each containing:

90.4 calories
9.24 g fat
.94 g carbs, .1 g fiber, .84 g NET CARBS
.2 g protein
36 mg sodium
24 mg potassium