The Secret Sauce: Unlocking the Magic of Homemade BBQ Sauces

Making your own barbecue sauce is definitely something everybody should try. Not only is it simple, it’s very difficult to get wrong. Every recipe is basically just tomatoes, a combination of vinegar, brown sugar, and mustard, and some spices. Various adjuncts are added as desired. You can choose to get far more creative, or you can keep it simple. Once you understand the ratios of vinegar to sugar to mustard, you’ll be able to whip together whatever you need in no time. Like it sweet? Start with the standard recipe, but reduce the vinegar and increase the sugar. Is Carolina style your favorite? Start with the standard recipe again, but reduce the sugar and increase the vinegar. Making your own barbecue sauce is just that easy.

These recipes start with a big bottle of ketchup, so expect to end up with 2 quarts of sauce. That’s enough for a big party, and because they contain vinegar, they can be kept in the refrigerator for a long time.

Types and flavors of BBQ Sauce

There are many different styles of barbecue sauce, depending on either where they were created or how they are used. For my BBQs, I stick to the traditional 6-pack on the picnic table in my favorite BBQ restaurants:

• Standard
• Sweet
• Carolina
• Spicy
• Fruit
• Mustard

Standard BBQ Sauce Recipe

This recipe is the base of all my barbecue sauces and is akin to Bull’s-Eye Original or Sweet Baby Ray’s Original. All the other variations can be created simply by removing an ingredient or two and adding a couple others. You’ll find that transitioning from one style to another is easy once you understand the flavor combinations.

This recipe will make approximately 2 quarts of sauce.

• 64 oz ketchup
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 1/2 T dried mustard
• 1 1/2 T of your favorite rub
• 1 T sea salt

Mix it all together in a sauce pan, bring it to a boil, then turn it down and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. I told you it was easy!

Sweet BBQ Sauce Recipe

This is probably the easiest of the BBQ sauce variations. Again, all we’re going to do is take the standard sauce, increase the sweetness with more sugar, and reduce the tartness with less vinegar. In this case, brown sugar and molasses are both coming front and center, and vinegar is taking a back seat.

This recipe will make approximately 2 quarts of sauce.

• 64 oz ketchup
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 1/2 T dried mustard
• 1 1/2 T of your favorite rub
• 1 T sea salt

Mix it all together in a sauce pan, bring it to a boil, then turn it down and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

Carolina: Carolina Pickle BBQ Sauce Recipe

Carolina is the acidic opposite of the sweet version and also quite thin. Here we’re going to take the standard sauce again, but increase the vinegar and reduce the sugar. In this recipe I wanted the sauce to be true to it’s runny Carolina roots, so I added some pickle juice too. Of the six barbecue sauce recipes outlined here, Carolina is always the crowd favorite. (But, oh my goodness, ketchup is fightin’ words here. Fans of the eastern Carolina version of this sauce would have some strong opinions about this one.)

This recipe will make approximately 2 quarts of sauce.

• 64 oz ketchup
• 3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup pickle juice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/8 cup molasses
• 1 T dried mustard
• 1 1/2 T of your favorite rub
• 1 T sea salt

Mix it all together in a sauce pan, bring it to a boil, then turn it down and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

Spicy: Fire Roasted Habanero BBQ Sauce Recipe

Spicy is a little bit trickier. It’s easy to fill it with all manner of hot peppers to make something incredibly hot, but it might end up inedible. I’m NOT a hot pepper spicy foods kinda guy, so I had a little trouble finding a good balance. In the end it ended up where I wanted it: a slow burn that I didn’t regret. If you like it hotter, add another habanero.

This recipe will make approximately 2 quarts of sauce.

• 64 oz ketchup
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup hot pepper sauce
• 1 habanero pepper, fire roasted then minced
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/8 cup molasses
• 4 T dried mustard
• 1 1/2 T of your favorite rub
• 1 T sea salt

Mix it all together in a sauce pan, bring it to a boil, then turn it down and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. After it comes off the stove, blend it to break up any stray habanero pepper chunks that might lie in waiting, ready to ruin someone’s night.

Fruity: Bourbon Peach BBQ Sauce Recipe

Apple is probably the king of fruity barbecue sauces, but today I felt like peaches deserved some of the spotlight. And what better than to pair with peaches than a nice bourbon. Of the six barbecue sauce recipes, this is my personal favorite.

This recipe will make approximately 2 quarts of sauce.

• 64 oz ketchup
• 4 cups diced peaches
• 1 cup bourbon
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 T dried mustard
• 1 1/2 T of your favorite rub
• 1 T sea salt

Mix it all together in a sauce pan, bring it to a boil, then turn it down and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. The peach chunks will still be pretty significant, so you’ll want to blend it before serving.

Mustard: Maize BBQ Sauce Recipe

This mustard sauce is the outlier of these recipes, namely because it’s not heavily ketchup-based. I also swapped the molasses for honey.

This recipe will make approximately 2 quarts of sauce.

• 6 cups mustard (3/4 of the big bottle)
• 2 cups ketchup (1/4 of the big bottle)
• 3 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup honey
• 12 T dried mustard
• 1 1/2 T of your favorite rub
• 1 T sea salt

Put on a gas mask, mix it all together in a sauce pan, bring it to a boil, then turn it down and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

Making your own BBQ sauces not only allows you to control the quality of ingredients but also gives you the freedom to create signature sauces that reflect your personal style and culinary preferences. It’s a chance to unleash your creativity and impress your family and friends with unique flavors they won’t find in any store-bought bottle.

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