Homemade Barbecue Sauce

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inchrisin

Senior Cook
Joined
Nov 5, 2010
Messages
234
I've only made one homemade barbecue sauce that was worth a darn. I can't remember what went into it, but everything in my cupboard was present. I really like tomato-based sauces with a backbone of cider vinegar. It can be spicy, but mostly it just has to be bold and complex. My favorite store-bought brand is KC masterpiece, but after having that tonight, I'm thinking it needs more spice and needs less sweet.

I'm trying to nail a recipe but need some help getting a perfect 10. This will be for pulled pork. My thoughts so far:

3 parts ketchup
1 part cider vinegar

to taste:
mustard powder/ballpark mustard
cayenne
brown sugar
garlic
salt
pepper
chili powder
paprika
cumin
coffee--for complexity
lemon/lime juice--to round out the acidity
(Italian seasonings?)
can't decide if I want cooked onion in this or not.

Any advice is welcome :)
 
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I should also add that my current soy sauce has a fishy tang to it. It's wonderful for Asian cooking, but wouldn't work well here. I'll just stick to salt.
 
My secret weapon for BBQ sauce is molasses. Have you used cumin in your sauce before? I would think it would tend to take over the flavor or give it more of a chili sauce flavor, but then maybe that is what you are going for. :)
 
I would avoid Italian seasonings, and even the lemon juice. Cider vinegar isn't all that bad, and with a decent amount if brown sugar, I think the lemon would get lost anyways.

If you cook the onion down, and get lots of color on it, you will add a little more depth to the sauce, as well as some more natural sweetness.

A little bit of the adobo that comes in canned chipotles will add heat, and some good smokiness if you want smoke WITH heat.
 
I would use home-made roasted tomato sauce instead of ketchup. And, I'd used maple syrup instead of sugar--roasted garlic, and toasted spices (heated in a bit of EVOO in a CI skillet). For pork, I'd add a star of anise (remove when done) or Chinese 5-spice. A bit of pork stock (or beef or chicken). And, finish with a tsp of butter.
 
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Equal parts ketchup and cider vinegar is the way to go. Add in a little molasses, brown sugar, yellow mustard, salt, cayenne pepper to taste. That's all it needs. It goes so well with all BBQ. I always have some on hand and it holds well due to the shelf life of the ingredients.
 
Your recipe ( to me) is Texas BBQ sauce. Quite sweet, generally served on Beef.

If you like Kansas City sauce, it is totally different. (order a bottle of Gate's Sauce online to see what I mean). I think it has dried orange peel or something in it.

But pulled pork is so rich and fatty, I think it's best with a Vinegar based sauce..

Google South Carolina Sauce for red..

or my fave, Mustard BBQ Sauce.

Eric, Austin Tx.
 
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