BBQ Sauce Recipe (Simple & Easy!) (2024)

FAQs

What are the basics of BBQ sauce? ›

Combine brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, water, and Worcestershire sauce in a blender. Season with mustard, paprika, salt, pepper, and hot pepper sauce. Blend until smooth. Enjoy!

The base ingredients of barbecue sauce usually include tomato sauce or ketchup, vinegar, and sweeteners, such as molasses or brown sugar. Other common ingredients include Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic, onion powder, and various spices, which can include paprika, cumin, and chili powder.

Adding garlic or onion powder are standard flavors for barbecue, but get a little creative and try out different chile powders, peppers, cumin, or dried herbs to add body to the sauce.

Key Flavors

Ketchup is the base of the sauce, Worcestershire sauce adds umami, light brown sugar brings sweetness, vinegar brings tang, and two spices, paprika and cayenne pepper, add a smoky flavor and some heat.

Ingredients vary, but most include vinegar or tomato paste (or a combination) as a base, as well as liquid smoke, onion powder, spices such as mustard and black pepper, and sweeteners such as sugar or molasses.

It's all relative, but most pitmasters agree that balance is key to a great barbecue sauce. Most sauces are made with a tomato base, vinegar, some sweetener like honey or molasses and an element of heat. From there, sauces are fine-tuned with spices and flavors, such as mustard, garlic, fruit and smoke.

Eastern Carolina-Style Vinegar Sauce

Found in the eastern half of both North and South Carolina, Eastern-style vinegar sauce has the unique honor of being the oldest barbecue sauce in the country. Given its origin in the 13 colonies, it's literally where American barbecue was born, at the hands of enslaved chefs.

UK brown sauce is more similar to steak sauce in America. American BBQ sauce is basically ketchup with a slightly smoky and sweet flavor. I think it's a mix of ketchup, garlic powder, and molasses.

With a great barbecue sauce, there should be a harmonious interplay between smoky, spicy, and sweet with a dash of vinegar to balance out the flavors.

The problem is that most store-bought barbecue sauces just aren't that stellar. They're off-the-scales sweet, packed with fake "smoke" flavor, or weirdly viscous like butterscotch. If you want to really elevate your barbecue, you're going to have to make your own sauce.

Is it cheaper to make your own barbecue sauce? ›

This sweet-and-savory Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe tastes so much better than store-bought, and it's cheaper too. Best of all, you can make it with better ingredients and fewer preservatives. Watch the video tutorial and see how easy it is.

Early homemade barbecue sauce simply consisted of salt, pepper, and vinegar. Then, in the 1920s, barbeque sauce started having ingredients like sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and ketchup. Nowadays, though, BBQ sauce has so many other ingredients in addition to the original ones.

How Long Does Homemade BBQ Sauce Last In The Fridge. Homemade bbq sauce lasts in the fridge for up to two weeks with proper storage and refrigeration.

Sauces intended for grilling should contain less sweeteners (usually brown sugar or molasses) than barbecue sauces. Sugar will burn over the direct heat and leave you with a bitter taste.

Generally, barbecue sauces is categorized into four varieties: tomato-based sauces, vinegar-based sauces, mustard-based sauces, and mayonnaise-based sauces. Each category can have a range of BBQ sauce styles, ranging from sweet and tangy to hot and spicy.

Tomato base: Most BBQ sauces include a tomato base, which can be in the form of ketchup, tomato sauce, or tomato paste. The tomato base provides the sauce with a rich, tangy flavor. Sweeteners: BBQ sauces commonly contain sweeteners to balance the acidity of the tomatoes and add a touch of sweetness.

One has less sugar

Grilling sauces are typically thinner and contain fewer sweeteners like sugar, molasses, or honey. The high heat of the cooking process of the same name can cause these ingredients to burn and become bitter, which can negatively impact the flavor of the food.