Mel's Kitchen Cafe: The Best Barbecue Sauce
Here's the beauty – barbecue sauce freezes remarkably well. I doubled this batch, froze it in 1 cup increments in freezer ziploc bags and have been able to pull it out for use in all sorts of delicious applications. The flavors of this sauce are exactly what we've been looking for and while I may continue to make, say, 50 more chocolate chip cookie recipes before the end of the world, barbecue sauce is one of those things where once I've found it, I've found it. Thanks, Liz! You've saved us from a lot of future pain and agony over too-sweet, too-vinegary, too-watery, too-tomatoey barbecue sauces.
Here's the beauty – barbecue sauce freezes remarkably well. I doubled this batch, froze it in 1 cup increments in freezer ziploc bags and have been able to pull it out for use in all sorts of delicious applications. The flavors of this sauce are exactly what we've been looking for and while I may continue to make, say, 50 more chocolate chip cookie recipes before the end of the world, barbecue sauce is one of those things where once I've found it, I've found it. Thanks, Liz! You've saved us from a lot of future pain and agony over too-sweet, too-vinegary, too-watery, too-tomatoey barbecue sauces.
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 cups ketchup
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar granulated
- 1 1/4 cups vinegar red wine
- 1/2 cup molasses, blackstraped unsolphured
- 2 tbsp butter cut in small pieces
- 4 tsp flavored smoke hickory flavor
- 1/2 rsp celery seed
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt iodized
- 1 tsp black pepper pure ground
- Carbohydrate 442.920268333333 g
- Cholesterol 61.06 mg
- Fat 24.74413 g
- Fiber 9.50785002136231 g
- Protein 8.179325 g
- Saturated Fat 14.802535 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (1740g)
- Sodium 10264.9067 mg
- Sugar 433.412418311971 g
- Trans Fat 2.133926 g
- Calories 2029 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large saucepan, over medium heat, mix together all the wet ingredients and then add the seasonings.
- Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- The sauce will thicken as it simmers (and then as it cools).
- I try to plan ahead and simmer for at least an hour.
- Use the sauce to brush onto meats the last ten minutes of grilling or for any other recipe where barbecue sauce is used.
- Once cooled, the sauce can be frozen.
- Thaw in the refrigerator and use as needed.
Commercial ketchups and mustards rely heavily on synthetic stabilizers, but a scratch-made barbecue sauce achieves its body through precise reduction. Simmering the mixture for twenty minutes drives off excess moisture. This thermal energy concentrates the natural pectin in the tomato sauce and thickens the molasses.
Balancing Sugar, Acid, and Smoke
Acids from red wine vinegar cut through the dense sweetness of brown sugar and blackstrap molasses. Maillard reactions develop deep caramel notes as the sugars heat alongside the spices. Adding butter at the final stage emulsifies the fats, creating a glossy sheen and a rounded mouthfeel that traps volatile aromatic compounds from the hickory smoke.
- If the sauce tastes too sharp, increase the simmering time to allow more acetic acid to evaporate.
- Substitute cider vinegar for red wine vinegar using a strict one-to-one ratio without altering the final pH balance.
- Store the cooled sauce in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to three weeks, or freeze in portions for longer preservation.
