Many Canadians living abroad make a point of buying BBQ Sauce when visiting home. This Replica Diana BBQ Sauce recipe lets you make it anywhere!
Back when I was writing More Than Poutine: Favourite Foods from my Home and Native Land, I polled a ton of Canadian Expats on what all they wanted to see in the book.
Obviously, there would be the traditional national - and regional - dishes that we all know and love.
... but where’s the fun on being able to replicate things from taste, if I didn’t unleash that whole thing on the book?
Replicating Retail Foods
As I’ve mentioned before (Chicken Shahi Korma), my particular “flavour” (Hah!) of autism comes with an interesting skill: I can taste something and know what’s in it. Ingredients, proportions, etc.
Depending on the item, sometimes I ballpark it and have to make minor adjustments, sometimes I can taste something, write out a recipe for it, and have it be bang on.
Other times, I’ll need to look at the nutritional info to solve some questions I’m left with - this can be the case when more “industrial” sweeteners and additives are involved.
In those cases, I’m not only replicating a recipe, but doing so in a way that’s converting it to one that can be made at home, with readily available ingredients. This was the case with my Honey Garlic Sauce Recipe, for instance.
Anyway, it’s a handy skill to have when you’re a Canadian living away from Canada, and all of the best comfort foods are out of reach!
It was something I put to use often, when I was still living in Minnesota. Living away can be stressful, having a bit of home on the dinner table is... well, it’s good for mental health. (You can check out many of my Canadian Recipes right here on the blog, btw)
Diana Sauce
Anyway, as I was saying, I polled a bunch of Canadians living away, when planning the recipes for More Than Poutine...
... and “Diana Sauce” was one of THE most requested recipes.
I shouldn’t have been surprised - Diana Sauce was always a popular item in the frequent “look what I brought back!” brag posts on Canadian expat forums.
See, I was far from alone in my need for foods from back home. People who would vacation home would take photos of MASSIVE hauls of food - sauces, candy, chips, etc - and excitedly post them for all to see.
Food is a great unifier. 🙂
Anyway, Diana Sauce is a line of BBQ sauces that are very popular in Canada. It may be GOLD to some expats, but it retails for about $2-3 / bottle.
My original plan was to just do the original version, which is what I was most used to before moving to the USA.
... then I decided to do 5... and then I ended up doing all 7!
These are very simple BBQ sauces, using very basic ingredients, and only taking minutes to prepare!
Diana BBQ Sauce Recipe Variations
The main recipe in the recipe card (end of the post) is for “Original” sauce... but here is how you can make any of the variation flavours!
Diana Chicken and Rib Sauce Recipe
Add ½ teaspoon dried sage and a pinch of thyme, along with the other spices.
Diana Gourmet Spicy Sauce Recipe
Increase cayenne powder to ½ tsp.
Add ½ teaspoon chili powder.
Diana Honey Dijon Sauce Recipe
Decrease granulated sugar to ½ cup, and turmeric to ¼ tsp.
Omit white vinegar.
Add ½ cup liquid honey and ½ cup cider vinegar.
Increase Dijon mustard to ¼ cup.
Diana Honey Garlic Sauce Recipe
Decrease granulated sugar to ½ cup, and turmeric to ¼ tsp.
Add ½ cup liquid honey.
Increase garlic powder to 2 tsp, and salt to ¾ tsp.
Diana Maple Sauce Recipe
Decrease granulated sugar to ¼ cup, and turmeric to ¼ tsp.
Add 1 cup dark or B grade (if available) maple syrup.
Diana Smokehouse Sauce Recipe
Increase molasses to ¼ cup, and salt to ¾ tsp.
Decrease turmeric to ¼ tsp.
Add 5 teaspoon liquid smoke and ¼ teaspoon chili powder.
This recipe is one of many fantastic Canadian recipes in my cookbook, "More Than Poutine: Favourite Foods from my Home and Native Land”. "More than Poutine" is a Canadian cookbook like no other - written by a Canadian living away, it includes both traditional home cooking recipes, as well as accurate homemade versions of many of the snacks, sauces, convenience foods, and other food items that are hard to come by outside of Canada! Order your copy here on this site, through Amazon, or through any major bookseller!
More Grilling & Smoker Recipes!
Looking for an excuse to fire up the grill? I've got you...
Apple Chicken Burgers with Basil & Gouda
Cold Smoked Potato Salad
Grilled Jambalaya Skewers
Hop Marinated Chicken & Vegetable Skewers
Hoppy IPA BBQ Sauce
How to Cook Corn on the Cob
Montreal Smoked Meat
Montreal Steak Spice & Marinade
Moroccan Spiced Lamb Burgers
Smoked Cheese Balls
Smoked French Fries
Smoked Jalapeno Poppers
Spinach Feta Salmon Burgers
Tandoori Spiced Chicken Burgers with Mango
Vegetarian Chorizo Burgers with Grilled Poblano & Cilantro Pesto
Share the Love!
Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!
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Well, the published nonsense, anyway!
Replica Diana Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup Canned tomato puree
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- ¾ cup White vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon Molasses
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon Onion powder
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne powder
- ¼ teaspoon Ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together all ingredients.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
- Cool, transfer to storage container, and chill until use.
Paul
Works for me! 😁
Steph
This was good! Similar to Diana... next time I'll add a little less vinegar as it was a bit overpowering