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  • The Main Dish
  • 30 Minutes or Less
  • Fresh from the Bakery
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Easy Homemade Barbecue Sauce

3 Comments

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This easy homemade barbecue sauce is exactly as it says. Easy. Homemade. And it’s delicious and tastes like you slow simmered this sauce for hours. Perfect for any of your barbecue recipes.

 

Barbecue Sauce on a spoon and some in a white bowl

This easy homemade barbecue sauce is exactly that. Easy. Homemade. And delicious . And everyone will think you slow-simmered it for several hours. And they’ll love it. Most good from-scratch barbecue recipes need to allow a lot of time to break down the tomatoes in the recipe. The secret to making this sauce quickly is to start with ketchup and skip the tomatoes. And onion juice. What? That’s right. Making onion juice is the only step in this recipe that requires more than just dump and stir. Make this today and have it on hand for every barbecue need you can think of. Perfect brushed on any meat, thick enough for dipping…

Barbecue Sauce on a spoon an some in a white bowl

And is fabulous when used in this recipe for Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken Wings.
Chicken Wings topped with barbecue sauce on a black plate

barbecue sauce on a ladle
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5 from 3 votes

Easy Homemade Barbecue Sauce

This sauce tastes like you simmered it for hours, when in fact it comes together in less than an hour and will be your favorite sauce for ribs, chicken and pork. Use in any barbecue recipe!
Course Sauce and dips
Cuisine Barbecue
Prep Time 8 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 28 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 150
Author Sally Humeniuk

Ingredients 

  • 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 5 Tablespoons molasses
  • 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 ½ teaspoons liquid smoke
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce, Frank's is excellent
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 medium clove garlic, finely minced (about 1 teaspoon)
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

  • Process 1 onion with ¼ cup water in a food processor until pureed and the mixture resembles slush, about 30 seconds. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a liquid measuring cup, pressing on the solids with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to obtain ½ cup juice. Some solids may seep through, that's okay. Discard remaining solids that remain in strainer.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the onion pulp, 1 cup ketchup, 5 Tablespoons molasses, 2 Tablespoons vinegar, 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire, 2 Tablespoons mustard, 1 ½ teaspoons liquid smoke, 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
  • Heat 2 Tablespoons oil in a large nonreactive saucepan over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add 1 garlic, 1 teaspoon chili powder, and ⅛-¼ teaspoon cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in the ketchup mixture and bring to a boil; reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, uncovered, until the flavors come together and the sauce is thickened, about 20 minutes. Cool the sauce to room temperature before using. The sauce may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week or frozen for up to three months.

Cook's Note:

  • The recipe as written makes what I would call a "thick and spicy" taste with the spicy being just right but not too hot. If you want more of a sweet sauce, substitute 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce with 1 Tablespoon brown sugar. For a very spicy sauce, double the hot pepper sauce and add the full ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper.
Nutrition Facts
Easy Homemade Barbecue Sauce
Amount Per Serving
Calories 150 Calories from Fat 45
% Daily Value*
Fat 5g8%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Sodium 508mg22%
Potassium 455mg13%
Carbohydrates 26g9%
Sugar 22g24%
Vitamin A 305IU6%
Vitamin C 4.2mg5%
Calcium 54mg5%
Iron 1.4mg8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Recipe adapted from How To Grill and America’s Test Kitchen.

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Published on January 27, 2014

Comments

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    Recipe Rating




  1. jaclyn k says

    March 18, 2022 at 7:18 AM

    5 stars
    loved loved loved this sauce! Makes the best pulled pork sandwiches!

    Reply
  2. jenn white says

    March 18, 2022 at 7:16 AM

    5 stars
    Yum! This sauce is great! My husband from N Carolina was really pleased. I put a 2lb pork tenderloin in the crock pot with 2 cups of water and salt and pepper, let it cook for four or five hours, pulled it apart, added some of this awesome sauce and let it warm in the crock pot for another 30 min to an hour. Was perfect! Thank you for sharing Sally!

    Reply
  3. cassi m says

    March 18, 2022 at 7:14 AM

    5 stars
    Really, really easy and so quick to make!! 🙂 We were really happy with it. We used on our slow cooker chicken and it came out great! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

    Reply
About Sally - Good Dinner Mom.

About Good Dinner Mom

My name is Sally and I love to be in the kitchen. Making fresh, unique dishes is my way of showing love for family and friends and I hope that here you’ll find recipes of both healthy and indulgent dishes that will inspire you to cook more at home while sharing some love of your own. more about me

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