The Best Barbecue Sauce Period

PorkFat's Note:

After being disgusted with super-syrupy bottled sauces full of HFCS I set out to create the greatest tomato-based BBQ sauce the world has ever known. Super tangy and full of meat-enhancing (not covering) flavor, this sauce is loved by everyone who tries it. What's great is that by changing amounts of, adding or omitting ingredients, you can make it your own! Don't even think about that terrible liquid smoke! Try some chipotle powder or one or two chipotles in adobo. It will also add some heat. For a Kansas City style sauce, omit the molasses, reduce the vinegar and add some heat like cayenne. Also, if you prefer you can use fresh garlic and onion. This sauce gets better and mellows once it's had a chance to sit a few days in the fridge and it cans well if you're into preserving. It's great as a finishing sauce for beef, pork or chicken, or as a meatloaf glaze. Of course everyone will rave when you serve it on the side or mixed into baked beans. If you omit the Worcestershire sauce (anchovies) this recipe is vegan. This recipe is easily halved.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 55 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 128

Yield: 2.0 quarts

• 2 (29 ounce) cans unseasoned tomato sauce
• 1 cup unpasteurized unfiltered cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• to taste kosher salt

Directions:

1. Mix everything but the salt in a non-reactive pan and heat on medium low until reduced to desired thickness, anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes.
2. Taste and add salt if needed.

Reviews

[Batgirlsuz]

Lovely homemade BBQ sauce. I love that it's so much cheaper to make. I had Karo syrup and used 1 cup of that instead of molasses, which is harder to come by where I live. Also left out onion powder & paprika, as those got left off the grocery list. :) Still very flavorful. Used for crock pot pulled pork Pulled Pork (Crock Pot). Thanks for a great recipe!

[2Bleu]

This really is a great BBQ sauce recipe. I love that it doesn't use ketchup like so many other recipes do, it makes this one truly authentic. I reduced the recipe serving size to .5 quart which made about 2 cups of sauce after reduction on the stovetop. After tasting, we added 2 Tbsp of honey because we like our sauce on the sweet side. Fantastic recipe that I will be making often. Thanks for sharing!