I haven’t yet found a jar of barbecue sauce that I liked very much. There are the kinds that you could never bear to eat on their own, but that are tolerable smeared thinly across a slab of meat and grilled. There are plenty that are too runny, too sticky, too sweet or too strong to enjoy spread on a breakfast sandwich with a runny egg and a slice of bacon.
This one, a recipe of a friend that I first tried brushed repeatedly and lovingly over barbecued ribs, is just right. Sweet, acidic, spicy; strong enough to be bold even on a piece of deeply flavoured grilled meat, but light enough to drizzle over scrambled eggs or dip your fingers into, this barbecue sauce is a cinch to make and allows me to avoid yet another bottle of processed garbage in my refrigerator door, which, if you read this blog much, you’ll know is one of my favourite things to do.
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup Worchestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon chill powder
- Combine all of the ingredients in a mason jar or other, similar, sealable container. Shake shake shake! Add a bit more sugar for a sweeter sauce and a bit more mustard or chill powder for a spicier one - the beauty of this recipe is that it can be adapted to suit your tastes! Enjoy!
Great recipe! Looks like we might have all the ingredients on hand. Thanks for sharing.
Great! Let me know how you like it!
how long would this last?
i’m not a big bbq fan, though it’s certainly something i reach for when out, as i’d rather dip my fries in it than in plain ketchup.
That is a good question…probably an embarrassingly long time that I shouldn’t discuss openly on this blog, if you’re talking my fridge and my personal practices! But as long as it is sealed and refrigerated, I’d say just do a sniff test and carry on!
Not a BBQ fan? Uh oh.
Hi –
Apologies in advance .. but when I read “scratch” and as I read your intro, I was hopeful that “finally” here was a BBQ sauce recipe that was literally made from scratch i.e basic ingredients .. not processed foods.
While I am sure your recipe tastes great, and is all you claim from that perspective .. using ketchup and Worcestershire sauce does not constitute “scratch”.
But rather than dwell on that .. since I love your website and photography, perhaps I can pose a question: What would it take to make BBQ sauce from scratch ingredients? Or is the essential taste, texture and character only possible through the use of ketchup and Worcestershire sauce?
Aha! Good one! I obviously didn’t have my head on straight because I didn’t catch onto (up on?) the ketchup and Worchestershire thing. Of course this isn’t a recipe from scratch!! I don’t have a hot clue how you could make it that way though….
Thanks for your good spirited reply! It is an interesting thing (maybe I simply haven’t looked in the right place) but I am quite surprised not to find a single BBQ recipe (in the KC style) that doesn’t involve some kind of processed ingredient. But I remain optimistic it is possible, even if I need to come up with it myself!
Strategy thus far has been to deconstruct ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, etc ..
I wish you luck! Let me know how Project (Actually) Homemade Barbecue Sauce goes!
trying out this bbq sauce today on bbq’d burgers
Awesome! Let me know how you like it!
Do you know what from scratch means ?. Obviously Not ,if you did Ketchup would not be in your recipe
No kidding eh? Someone has mentioned that to me before, and I clearly wasn’t thinking when I posted that this recipe was from scratch! Now, the hunt for a truly “from scratch” BBQ sauce recipe begins….
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How exactly is this recipe ‘from scratch’ when 70% of the ingredients are pre-packaged sauces?
Seriously eh? Someone pointed this out to me ages ago and I laughed pretty hard at my oversight. Sorry to mislead. Let me know if you ever find a truly from scratch recipe!
I have made this recipe for a very long time. Sometimes I replace paprika with smokey paprika and sometimes I use a drop or so of liquid. I have made ketchup from scratch in the past and for this recipe it is just easier to use the ketchup from the bottle. If you don’t want to use Worchestershire sauce–use molasses. Get over 100% natural unless– like me you are retired and willing to spend 6-8 hours making 3 bottles of ketchup. Great recipe–easy to substitute.
Thanks for your input Jo Anne…you’re right, who’s got time for homemade ketchup?
Ketchup is processed how can I take that out of the ingredient?
I know….sorry Jack. I didn’t think of that, strangely enough, when I published this. My mistake. Your best bet is to try making homemade ketchup too!
I love the recipe. People get too wrapped around the axles over these things. As I was reading I was already thinking about substituting the store bought ketchup and worcestershire sauce with homemade. The recipes for those items are out there. One simply needs to look. I have a little one with special dietary needs, so store bought doesn’t work for us. This works perfectly! Thank you for sharing!