Award-Winning Homemade BBQ Sauce

Why this homemade BBQ sauce recipe

There are a lot of barbecue sauce recipes out there, so it’s hard to know which one is the best BBQ sauce. There are four primary reasons why you should try this recipe:

• It’s a perfect balance of sweet and tang
• It’s an extremely easy recipe to make
• It has a smooth, non-gritty texture
• It’s award-winning

This recipe resembles a Kansas City-style sauce. It’s ketchup based and includes sugar and molasses, so it leans on the sweeter side. But it’s very balanced because of the vinegar and spices that are used.

Many recipes are made with sauteed onions and garlic. While those add flavor, it takes more time, creates a chunkier texture and adds fat, which isn’t needed in barbecue sauce.

Some recipes out there have a gritty texture. That’s because the spices aren’t introduced properly. Great barbecue sauce should be smooth and not gritty.

With this recipe, my award-winning Pork Rub is steeped in vinegar. This allows the rub’s onion, peppers, chiles and spices to dissolve, making the sauce smoother than others.

I have entered this sauce into multiple competitions. In 2023, it received first place in the Nevada BBQ Association Get Sauced for Summer contest. It also received second place at the Starbase BBQ Battle in Las Vegas in 2021.

Once you master the base of this sauce, you can adapt it to your personal taste by adding a splash of whisky, hot sauce or other flavors or sweeteners.

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• Apple Cider Vinegar: This type of vinegar provides tang and a little sweetness because it’s made by fermenting apples.
• Rub: I use my award-winning Pork Rub in my sauce because it’s sweet with chiles and spices.
• Ketchup: The tomato base for red BBQ sauce is ketchup. Use your favorite brand.
• Brown Sugar: I use dark brown sugar for added sweetness and richness, but you can also use light brown sugar.
• Molasses: Blackstrap molasses is a rich dark sugar-based syrup that is more tart than honey or maple syrup.
• Honey: For mild, smooth sweetness, add your favorite honey.
• Salt: Finally, to round out the sauce, add a pinch of kosher salt.

See the full recipe card below for servings and a full list of ingredients.

1. STEP ONE: Place the apple cider vinegar and pork rub in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Then, reduce to low and let simmer for 15 minutes. This will allow the spices and herbs in the rub to fully dissolve into the vinegar, which makes the sauce richer.

2. STEP TWO: Add the remaining ingredients to the pot.

3. STEP THREE: Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes, so the sugar fully melts and the flavors cook together.

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How to use homemade BBQ sauce

This homemade barbecue sauce recipe is great on all kinds of barbecued meat. When using sauce, be sure to wait to baste it onto the meat toward the end of cooking.

If you brush it on too early, the sugars in the sauce will cook to quickly and possibly burn before the meat has finished cooking.

You’ll notice this recipe doesn’t include liquid smoke. That’s because it will get its smoky flavor naturally when you use it on your grill or smoker.

The sauce can also be served on the side as a dipping sauce or spread onto BBQ chicken pizza instead of pizza sauce with shredded cheese, pulled chicken, bacon and red onions.

This barbecue sauce is both sweet and tangy. It’s great on smoked ribs, whole chicken and pulled pork.

Storage

After making your barbecue sauce, either use it right away or let it cool to room temperature. Then, you can store it in a mason jar, squeeze bottle or other airtight container in the refrigerator. It will last in the refrigerator for 2-3 months.

If you’re into canning, you can also can barbecue sauce in a water canner to preserve it. Unopened properly canned sauce will last in the pantry for 9-12 months.

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Great recipes that use this homemade sauce

• Quick & Juicy Grilled Pork Tenderloin
• Perfectly Smoked Chicken Wings
• Pulled Pork Sliders on a Ninja Grill