Easy Barbecue Saucefeatured

So here’s a little confession…I never tried barbecue sauce until I was halfway through high school!!! Can you believe it?! When I grew up, grilling meant that we were having a steak – that was pretty much the only thing that ever went on our grill. It was just a simple gas grill and it really didn’t get used that often.

As I got older, I realized that there were a lot of things about cooking that I would have to learn and experiment with myself. Barbecue was definitely going to be one of those things. In those early days of my cooking journey, I had so little confidence and so much to learn. I tried to focus on learning techniques and pairings, but not on how to make every component from scratch. Sauces were definitely one of those things that I relied on large companies to provide for me. I regret this now because sauces truly are the glue that will bring a dish together – without a good sauce you just have separate and disconnected components on the same plate.

So over the last few years I have tried to rectify my lack of sauce-making prowess. Barbecue sauce was always something that I was very disappointed in. The sauces that I had tried were overly thick, sweet, or bland and don’t even try to pronounce half the ingredients on the labels. I wanted a sauce that would accentuate the meat, rather than overwhelm it and I wanted something that you could really taste the flavors in.

I stumbled across this sauce a few years back and have been stuck on it ever since! The consistency is perfect to glaze and caramelize a protein, without turning into a thick, sticky crust. The flavors are very complex, but it all works together. Most importantly, this sauce is so easy to make. It takes less than 60 minutes from start to finish, and in the end you will have an amazing sauce that keeps in the fridge for a month.

First you start by making your sweet-sour base. This will function as the main liquid portion of the sauce and the backbone of all the flavor. It’s as easy as measuring out the sugar, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce into a medium saucepan and bringing it to a boil.

While that is coming to a boil, take all of the dried spices and dump them into your blender. Process them til they become a fine powder.

When the sweet-sour base has come to a boil, remove it from the heat and add in your dried spice powder. Stir to combine and let it rest for 15 minutes off the heat.

Then add the ketchup and corn syrup, return to a low heat and simmer for approximately 30 minutes. Once it’s done simmering, just add in a little of the dry rub I just posted and stir to combine. How easy is that?!

I usually keep a smaller container in my fridge that will last for about a month. The rest of the batch gets divided into similarly sized containers and placed in the freezer. The sauce will last for months in the freezer and it’s very easy to defrost some in the fridge when I need a refill. Hope you enjoy!