Homemade BBQ sauce

[Major Nikon]

Here's a basic recipe. The results are sweet, tangy, with just a little bit of spicy. Naturally you can adjust the recipe based on your own tastes and/or what you have on hand. I always have kitchen bouquet browning sauce. If you don't have it on hand, leave it out. Use whatever vinegar you have. Use regular mustard if you don't have dijon, etc. It makes about 1 pt. I save my 16oz squeeze ketchup bottles and it fits perfectly in one.

3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup molasses (if you don't have molasses, delete white sugar and use 1/2 cup packed brown sugar)
1/8 cup water
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs dijon mustard
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp browning sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne powder

Combine in a blender until smooth.

[JackintheGreen]

1. Just put on a pork butt For pulled pork tonight

And forgot I had no sauce! I’ll try this.

Is it weird I have no bbq sauce but every single one of these ingredients?

[Major Nikon]

2. Then you have bbq sauce!

If you're going to use it for pulled pork, you might want it a bit thinner so use just a bit more water to thin it down.

[flotsam]

10. That is NOT weird

It makes you part of a select group. We have stuff that enhances flavors! If you believe that (and I do) get one more and try it-sazon. It comes in many varieties and ain't a disappointment in the bunch. I believe it adds "umami" which is described as the fifth taste. If I could have only salt and pepper and one more spice sazon would be my choice.

What is the 5th taste?
For many years, there were four recognized basic taste groups: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Umami, or the "fifth taste," is a relatively recent discovery. Officially named as a separate taste in the 1980s, umami is true savoriness.Oct 28, 2019

[JackintheGreen]

14. I used to keep it around before I moved overseas

Alas, it’s not available for love or money where I live now.

[flotsam]

15. Oh yes it is!

https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=sazon

[JackintheGreen]

16. Sadly not in (or to) Pakistan

Which is where I’m based right now.

[flotsam]

17. So sorry!

I can't believe there's a place on earth without Walmart!

[Kali]

20. it is probably from the msg

Ingredients: Monosodium Glutamate, Salt, Dehydrated Garlic, Cumin, Yellow No. 5, Tricalcium Phosphate, Coriander,

[RicROC]

3. add garlic?

This looks like a great recipe, but I would add garlic. Frankly, I add garlic to everything I cook. LOL

[Major Nikon]

4. Next to last ingredient is garlic powder

You can certainly add fresh garlic if you like, but it would probably overpower the sauce even with very little added.

[RicROC]

6. sorry,

I apologize, not to have seen your garlic powder at the end. Had not finished my first cup of coffee this morning.

[Callalily]

5. Yum and I too have all of the ingredients, except

molasses, so thanks for the substitute!

[Kali]

7. we make something similar

and call it browsing the spice cupboard. sometimes use soy sauce and/or chipotle and/or liquid smoke

have never used balsamic vinegar, sounds interesting

just ordered two food-service size containers of ketchup and one of yellow mustard, partly because of BBQ sauce usage - it is high around here for some. I like it but really plain grilled meat with just salt and pepper is usually fine for me.

[Major Nikon]

8. I make it a little differently each time

This time I decided to write down my ingredients.

I have some decent balsamic vinegar which was the best my local supermarket carries which means it's pretty much crap by Italian standards. Still it was far more expensive than the apple cider vinegar and has a stronger taste, so I didn't want to use it full strength. I'm not sure it added much to the recipe, but this batch was better than I've ever made so there's that.

When I make steak, it's almost always just salt and pepper only, but today it was St Louis style smoked ribs, so sauce was in order for glazing.

[Kali]

9. I can even eat pork ribs plain

but sometimes sauce is good on them or chicken. never steak.

with one exception. an organization my Grandparents belonged to used to have a cowboy picnic every August (well, I think they still do). one of the old-timers (back in the 70s, now I probably AM an old timer) had a mustard based sauce that they slathered on those steaks and it was pretty good. it was even published in the Tucson paper once and I may have it somewhere in a deeply filled file cabinet, but I haven't found it in a long time. they would grill 100-200 steaks over mesquite and oak wood, fry potatoes in 4 or 5 REAL dutch ovens (from the old chuckwagon days). beans, desserts and token salads brought pot-luck by the guests.

The group was/is The Pioneer Cowboy Association and they were formed way back I think before the US Forest Service existed -descendants of (European) pioneers to the area. They used to meet at a Forest campground every year. Then sometime in the 90's they couldn't get a permit and were no longer allowed to have groups that big so one of the families dedicated some private property for it. That incident left a bad taste in my mouth for the local Forest jurisdiction. But I can kind of remember the taste of those steaks - the grownups got the t-bones and ribeyes and kids got chuck LOL.

[flotsam]

12. Of course...

They had all their teeth!

[Kali]

13. that is true!

[Major Nikon]

18. I have made mustard based sauces as well

They are not as popular here in Texas as they are farther east. I like using them with pulled pork BBQ.

[flotsam]

11. This

Last edited Mon May 25, 2020, 11:49 PM - Edit history (1)

What is the taste of balsamic vinegar?
Balsamic vinegar is thicker than regular vinegar and sweet-tart. It's a strong fruity but tart taste, similar to black vinegar (though without the smoky flavor) or pomegranate molasses (though not as fruity). It's sweet enough that it tastes good sampled plain.

I use it. It can be reduced to a complex sauce by itself or used in cooking.

Edited for typo...

[Major Nikon]

19. The good stuff is very much that

Most of the stuff you find in the US is not aged that long and is much thinner without the sweetness and complex flavors you get with the good stuff. If I were to use the really good(and expensive) stuff in a recipe like this, I probably wouldn’t use more than a tablespoon and perhaps less.