Chipotle maple BBQ sauce

Forget Oh Canada, I'll be singing "Ole Canada" on July 1st over this sweet and smoky barbecue sauce! This grilling and serving sauce combines a Canadian favourite - sweet and sticky maple syrup - with a fiery favourite from south of the border (very south of Canada's border) - chipotle. The result is fireworks for the tastebuds and worthy of going without napkins and just licking it right off your fingers.

Like my other barbecue sauce recipes, I like to divide the sauce into two amounts, using half for grilling then warming through the other half on the stove to toss with the grilled meat before serving. With just five ingredients it's a snap to prepare and can be made well ahead of time, which is great when you just want to get back to the festivities.

Here's how I made it:

makes enough to coat about 2 lbs of grilled meat

3/4 cup pure maple syrup

1 156 ml/5.5 fl oz can tomato paste

1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

All the ingredients were stirred together in a small mixing bowl. Half was used to fully coat the meat before grilling and the other half was warmed through on the stove then tossed with the meat when it came off the grill. Easy.

We used chicken with this sauce, slicing the grilled breasts and tossing the pieces in the sauce for BBQ chicken sandwiches. But this sauce could just as easily go with beef or pork on the grill. Mmm! Saucy goodness.

What are you cooking up for Canada Day or the 4th of July? Is grilling going to be a part of your festivities? Share your recipes and ideas!