Chocolate BBQ Sauce

This past weekend I was in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Before coming home I made a side trip to Hershey, PA to visit Hershey's Chocolate World. This small place, just outside of Hershey Park is a chocolate lover's utopia! All things chocolate and all things Hershey exist in this little slice of heaven. After doing a little chocolate shopping, I decided to grab a bite to eat before hitting the road for the 90 mile drive home. I got a simple chicken sandwich but what made that sandwich pop was CHOCOLATE BBQ SAUCE! It was amazing, delicious, and like nothing I've ever had before. Yesterday, I fooled around with a bbq sauce recipe a little bit and came up with this concoction and it's pretty close to what I tasted when I was in Hershey.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp prepared mustard
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce 

Directions

In a sauce pan saute onions and garlic in olive oil, cooking until tender. Stir in lemon juice, salt, pepper, paprika and hot sauce. Simmer for 5 to 6 minutes and reduce heat. Stir in ketchup, vinegar and Hershey’s Syrup. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. This is great on chicken or pork as a marinade and I may even give it a try on a turkey burger. This is easy to make and has a great chocolate flavor.

If you like things a little less sweet then try melting down 1/2 cups worth of Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate. The dark chocolate has a less sugary taste.