A Manly Barbecue Sauce – It’ll Put Hair On Your Chest 
16 Comments
Forget all about those bottles of barbecue sauces they sell us at the grocery stores. Make a batch of your own and barbecue will never be the same. I promise ya.
Taken from one of my most trusted cookbooks, Barbecue! Bible Sauces, Rubs, And Marinades by Steven Raichlen. This is the Sweet and Smoky Barbecue Sauce from page 134. It is the finest barbecue sauce recipe I have ever sopped up with a slice of bread and licked off my fingers. OOO-WE!!! 
It's so good, I've learned to double the recipe and put up the extra for future grilling. Use as you would any barbecue sauce, brushed on pork, ribs and chicken toward the end of cooking and poured freely at the table. Use it to make pulled pork sandwiches, dip your ribs in it, dunk your crispy chicken in it, drizzle it over a bowl of pinto beans. Anytime, anywhere. It's out of this world!
Sweet and Smoky Barbecue Sauce is thick, sweet, dark red with a zing of vinegar, a whiff of liquid smoke, full of spice, and finishes with a little warmth on the way down. It's sweet, smoky and warm, but not so warm kids and sensitive taste buds can't eat it. Even the most delicate palates will be reaching across the table for more.
Now don't be put off by the long list of ingredients. There's nothing here that you probably don't already have on hand. If you are shy on a few bits, then run to the store and get'em. This sauce is worth the trip and it keeps VERY WELL for several months in the refrigerator. Under the recipe, I included what it takes to put up this barbecue sauce for longer storage in your pantry. There's nothing to it.
HERE'S ALL IT TAKES
to make 5 cups
- 6 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons dark rum or whiskey
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
- 1 tablespoon pure chili powder
- 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 4 cups (24 ounces) ketchup
- course salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine all the ingredients, except for the ketchup, in a large, deep, heavy, nonreactive saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, uncovered, until all the ingredients are dissolved, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ketchup and bring to a boil, stirring well, as the ketchup has a tendency to spatter. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Reduce the heat slightly and gently simmer the sauce, uncovered, until dark, thick, and richly flavored about 30 minutes, stirring often. Use right away or transfer to clean jars, seal, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate. The sauce will keep for several months, but you'll probably eat it all up within a few weeks.
_____________________________________________________________________
TO PUT UP A BATCH OF SAUCE FOR LONGER STORAGE
Before you start making the barbecue sauce, set up the area for canning.
Bring boiling-water canner, half-full with water, to simmer. Have a kettle of hot water ready to add to canner later.
Wash jars and screw bands in hot, soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling.
Prepare barbecue sauce following the recipe above.
Ladle the hot sauce in hot, clean half-pint or pint canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims and adjust lids. Place the jars in the rack. Add enough boiling water to reach 1 inch over the jar tops. Cover and heat. Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner for 20 minutes (start timing when water begins to boil). Remove the jars from the canner and place upright on a towel to cool completely.
After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.
Let jars stand at room temperature 24 hours. Store unopened jars in cool (50ºF to 70ºF), dry, dark place. Use within one year.
I need to let y’all know that I used an organic ketchup and whiskey when I made my batch of sauce. It’s what I had on hand.
The organic ketchup we enjoy is well flavored with spices already. It has a wonderful flavor. I didn’t know ketchup was suppose to taste so good. We don’t care for the common brands made with high fructose corn syrup. I refuse to buy it.
As for the whiskey, I started keeping a small bottle of it in my pantry just for making barbecue sauces. It can be left out of the recipe without anyone knowing the difference.
How much whiskey?
2 tablespoons of whiskey in place of rum, if that’s what you have on hand.
I’ve wondered why people even buy bbq sauce especially when the second ingredient is typically high fructose corn syrup, and homemade bbq sauce is so darn easy to make. This one has a few more ingredients than I usually use, but the seem like they’d jive nicely together…I’ll have to give them a try!
I completely agree, Nicole, about the store bought sauces. It’s a shame, really.
And yes, this is an extension list of ingredients, but the recipe is worth every smidge and dash. You’ll see.
I think it sounds delicious and will give it a try. I love BBQ sauce..and this sounds like a winner to me ! Thank you.
You’re welcome, Patty. It’s certainly worth the time. And the frig-shelf life is good, too.
I’ve developed my sauce recipe by building on Reichlen’s basic sauce from another of his books, but I truly dislike ketchup (unlike my family, all of whom could happily put the stuff on a aspirin) and his use of it causes the sauce to come out still too much like ketchup. So to beat that I substitute tomato sauce and double the brown sugar, and it’s a real crowd pleaser.
Hi Clay!
The use of tomato sauce is very interesting to me. I would like to make sauce on a larger scale and tomato sauce would make that possible. I wonder if tomato paste would work, too?
Thank you for the inspiration!
I made this tonight and hot sealed/canned it. I doubled it and it made one pint and 5-6 half pints. I left out the rum and added in more molasses (we like sweet) and I added about 1 extra tablespoon of liquid smoke (we like smokey) and about 1 T of onion powder. I left out the allspice b/c Husband is allergic to it and left out the cloves b/c the smell of them gives me a headache….It was a GREAT BBQ sauce!!! Great little gift too. I went to a birthday party tonight and handed them out before I left. We had BBQ at the party and we used some on the meat…it was REALLY good!
That’s what I like to read, Shawna, make that recipe work for your family!
Thank you for coming back and sharing what you did. This sauce recipe would make a terrific Father’s Day gift, along with a fresh set of grilling tools or apron set. Don’t you think?
I did give the larger jar to my Dad
We really don’t give gifts for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day…..just because my parents want us to save our money. So I usually bake for both of them, instead of buying gifts. So, I thought this would be a nice gift. I have to work on Sunday, so I won’t see him…so I gave it to him last night. Yah, I am guilty of not following recipes exactly. It’s not that my family is picky (I’m lucky..they will try nearly anything)…but we know what we like and don’t like. Scott gets horrible headaches from Allspice so I know I can’t ever use it. But I bet it would make an interesting addition to this sauce. I’m brining pork chops for tonight. Going to grill them. I bet this sauce will be nice on the side to dip the chop in since I brined with salt and brown sugar. Can’t wait to try it. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’m sure I will make it over and over again. Also, all the ingredients were in my pantry..except for the rum.
Oh, I think tomato sauce would work better than paste. I’ve made sauces with tomato sauce before. You just have to add more liquid….vinegar….and add a tad more brown sugar to tame some of that stronger tomatoey flavor.
Heck, I think anything that you throw in a can, wrap a tie around it…you can give as a gift. At least that’s what we do down here in my neck-of-the-woods.
Thanks again!!!
You did again Jill! Another winner! I made the sauce yesterday and used it on some smoked country stlye ribs it was a total hit. I made a double batch and gave it to the twins Godfathers and uncles. Everyone loved it. Thank you for sharing.
ROCK-N-ROLL, Denise!
Oh and on lip-smackin’, finger-lickin’ ribs, too. What an excellent way to dine.
Thank you, Denise, for coming back to sing your praises on the recipe. I always appreciate it.
SOOO GOOOd!!! Fixed a double batch for DH to use at a “manly” barbecue. We had brined the pork, then he used the sauce as a finish sauce for the last 10 or 15 min. Luckily I got a doggy bag brought home to me. Glad you brought this Reichlen book to our attention. I have his indoor grilling cookbook and now next Border’s coupon will be picking this one up. Thanks for the awesome job you do.
THANK YOU, PEGGY!
Raichlen is my barbecue hero. I loved watching his Barbecue University on PBS when it aired. I’m not sure if he has a video set, but I would love to own it. I learn so much from him.
I’m glad to hear your husband’s barbecue was a success, and you had the chance to taste the leftovers. Leftover BBQ can be tastier than straight from the smoker. Don’t you agree?