Known for his acclaimed late-night burgers, his ability to transform historical recipes into trend-setting delicacies, and his love of French-influenced Southern U.S. cuisine, James Beard Award-Winning Chef Linton Hopkins of Atlanta’s Restaurant Eugene and Holeman & Finch Public House takes us through what he describes as “Georgia on a plate.”

A proponent of farm-to-table cooking, everything in Hopkins’ Georgia BBQ sauce is grown or raised locally in Georgia—including the incorporation of Atlanta’s hometown beverage, Coca-Cola. In this cooking demonstration, Hopkins takes us through his step-by-step process for making, “a true BBQ sauce.” And according to Hopkins that’s accomplished by building layers of flavor with your ingredients.

For this recipe, you will need a French black-steel, thick-bottomed pan (or cast iron skillet) and pickled, brandied or fresh peaches, Vidalia onions, bacon, pecans, sorghum syrup, pickled tomatoes, garlic and a bottle of Coca-Cola.

This peach BBQ sauce sizzles from the start with bacon (cut lardon style), chopped onions, pecans and a touch of chili peppers to add heat. With a little sorghum syrup and Coke to add sweetness and tomatoes for the acid, the only piece missing from this video is the fragrance! As Hopkins laments, “I wish you could smell this… absolutely wonderful.”

And that’s Georgia layered into a pan.

What's on Your Plate?

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