Best Barbecue Sauce

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If you’ve never made your own homemade barbecue sauce before you are about to be very pleasantly surprised! It’s so easy to make, and you can play with the ingredients and proportions to get to your best sauce – or follow the recipe exactly and end up with a serious damn fine sauce. Then you’re ready to make Barbecued Chicken, Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Loin or Oven Pulled Pork, or Chipolte Barbecue Chipotle Burgers whenever the urge strikes! Also, bring a jar to someone’s house as a gift.

First, there are no artificial sweeteners and miscellaneous ingredients with chemically sounding names. in homemade bbq sauce Also, – it bears repeating – it’s ridiculously easy. And finally, it keeps in the fridge for weeks, so it’s just one of those great big batch things to make.

Why should you make your own homemade barbecue sauce? Well, you have a point. There are some quite good barbecue sauces on the market, from some supermarket varieties (K.C. Masterpiece is recognized by many barbecue aficionados as a favorite supermarket brand), and then lots of more gourmet offerings found in specialty food stores and other fancy outlets.

And how much fun to have your very own house barbecue sauce? I’ll tell you, few things make your friends and family look at you with such glowing admiration than passing around a bowl of homemade barbecue sauce, about which you nonchalantly say, “Oh, you like it? I’m so glad.”

Variations

• Use all honey, or all brown sugar instead of a combo.
• Adjust the flavor and heat level to your taste. Spice it up, spice it down, use more chili sauce and less ketchup, add some cumin or lemon juice.
• This makes a hefty quantity, but is also a great recipe to double batch.
• If you want more of a Carolina style sauce, just keep adding apple cider vinegar until it is as thin and tangy as you like it!

How to Make Homemade BBQ Sauce

1. Saute the onions and garlic. In a large saucepan, saute the aromatics in vegetable oil over medium heat for 3 minutes, until slightly tender .

2. Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir in the ketchup, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, cider vinegar, brown sugar and honey.

3. Simmer. Stir well, and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes.

4. Puree, if desired. If you like your sauce a bit chunky, it’s ready to go. If you like it nice and smooth, then allow it to cool a bit, and puree it in a blender or food processor, or use an immersion blender.

Ways to Use Barbecue Sauce

And then you can use it in all sort of ways, from classic grilled chicken (on the grill or in a grill pan).

Storage

It will keep for up to 4 weeks in the fridge. I’ve keep it for a lot longer, but I probably shouldn’t admit that.

Best Barbecue Sauce: Tangy and sweet, perfect for grilled chicken and then some…and it keeps in the fridge for weeks!

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And in recipes like Slow Cooker Barbecue Beer Beef Stew:

or Chipotle Barbecue Turkey Burgers:

or dollop some on a pulled pork sandwich.

Barbecue sauce is literally my husband’s favorite condiment of all time, and if there is something with barbecue sauce on the menu, that’s what he’s having.

Other Barbecue Recipes:

• Barbecued Chicken
• Barbecued Chicken Quesadillas
• Slow Cooker Barbecue Pulled Pork Loin
• Asian Baby Back Ribs

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Best Barbecue Sauce

5 from 2 votes

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

Total: 30 minutes mins

Servings: 24 People

Tangy and sweet, perfect for grilled chicken and then some…and it keeps in the fridge for weeks!

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
• ▢ 1 ½ cups chopped onion
• ▢ 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
• ▢ 4 cups ketchup you can substitute 1 cup Heinz chili sauce for 1 cup of the ketchup if you want a zestier sauce
• ▢ ¼ cup tomato paste
• ▢ 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• ▢ 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ ½ cup cider vinegar
• ▢ ¼ cup honey
• ▢ ¼ cup brown sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chili powder
• ▢ Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions 

• In a large saucepan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes, until slightly tender (don’t let them get more than light golden in color). Add the ketchup, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, cider vinegar, brown sugar and honey. Season with salt and pepper, stir well, and simmer over medium low heat for 15 minutes.
• If you like your sauce a bit chunky, it’s ready to go. If you like it nice and smooth, then allow it to cool a bit, and puree it in a blender or food processor, or use an immersion blender. It will keep for up to 4 weeks in the fridge (I’ve used it after a couple of months but I think I probably shouldn’t admit that).

Notes

Play with this recipe. Use all honey, or all brown sugar, spice it up, spice it down, use more chili sauce and less ketchup, add some cumin or lemon juice.

This makes a hefty quantity, but is also a great recipe to double batch; take out half and put it in one container, then keep punching up the level of heat and spice so you have a version with kick for those who like to be kicked. Label the two containers so you know which is which. Bring a jar to someone’s house as a hostess gift.

Nutrition

Calories: 86kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 426mg, Potassium: 205mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 15g, Vitamin A: 346IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 17mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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