The Best Homemade Barbecue Sauce
Made with pantry staple ingredients, this Sweet and Smoky Barbecue Sauce is sweet and tangy with rich, smoky flavours and ready in minutes. Perfect for summer grilling!
Ingredients
- 1 cup tomato sauce (passata or any sauce made with pureéd tomatoes and minimal seasoning)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 clove garlic minced or finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped shallot
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper to taste 1 to 2 grams
- ½ teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt to taste 2-3 grams
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients except the salt and pepper in a small sauce pan. Stir and heat over medium heat just until it starts to bubble.
- Turn down heat and let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat, taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. Should you find the sauce to be a little too thick to pour, thin by adding a tablespoon of water (I’ve found that usually just one will do the trick).
- If not using this sauce right away, let cool completely before transferring to a sealable jar or another airtight container.
Notes
Tomato sauce: You can really use any tomato sauce you have on hand. If made with any add-ins (onion, peppers, garlic pieces, etc) give the barbecue sauce a quick mix with an immersion blender as it cools.
Molasses: For this recipe, I like to use light or cooking molasses because I find blackstrap to be too thick. For those of you reading this in Canada, I use Crosby’s cooking molasses, a blend of light (fancy) and blackstrap, for both a richer colour and taste. If you don't have molasses, substitute an equivalent amount of dark brown sugar, honey or corn syrup, adjusted to your desired level of sweetness.
Apple cider vinegar: Substitute white or red wine vinegar.
Make it gluten free: Simply replace the Worcestershire sauce with Tamari or a combination of gluten free soy sauce and balsamic vinegar to retain the umami and saltiness.
Storage: Unused portions will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 2 months or freeze for up to 3 months.