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This Homemade Barbecue Sauce……it’s just like Sweet Baby Ray’s and it totally has me wishful thinking…Come on. We were almost there, we even had some nice warm sunny days. I could feel spring!
Not!
But then, yeah you guessed it. It totally snowed last night.
I am not going back to my winter ways. I am rebelling against this weather!
It is April gosh darn it!
Technically I know April is a little early to be breaking out the grill, but let’s just say I am getting you guys ready for that hot spring day when you decide it is time to break out the grill.
Before you know April will be over, mid May will hit and with it will come (hopefully) warm temps! Or maybe you are lucky enough to be in one of those spots where the warm weather has already arrived…lucky you.
Really is there a better way to prepare for outdoor cooking than homemade BBQ sauce!
It’s pretty much any griller’s favorite sauce.
Heck whether you are griller, broiler, Gorge Foreman lover or baker, it is still probably your favorite sauce.
Over here we grill all year round. The boys CANNOT live without their grilled chicken or steak and my dad only likes his fish grilled. Not seared, not baked and not fried. Grilled.
So our grill gets a whole lot of use.
Therefore, we also go through a whole lot of BBQ sauce. Obviously.
Hands down, around here the family favorite is Sweet Baby Ray’s.
The problem? It is filled to the brim with high fructose corn syrup! Barf.
So I made my own. And oh fudge it is good! And like ridiculously easy. It takes me ten minutes to throw together! Yes, just 10 minutes! You definitely can’t get to the store and back in 10 minutes! Plus, my guess is you have every single ingredient in your kitchen right now. Honestly, it could not be simpler and it could not taste better. Even the texture is stop on. Sweet Baby Ray himself would not be able to tell the difference.
Yeah, I am serious. It is that good.
Homemade Barbecue Sauce....Just Like Sweet Baby Ray
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups ketchup, preferably organic
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice, or you can sub apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon worchestire sauce
- 2 1/2 teaspoons ground mustard
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, use less if you don't like the heat
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients size sauce pot. Bring to a boil and reduce and simmer for five minutes or until all the sugar has dissolved. Serve immediately or cover and store in fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Bone suckin’, lick the spoon (jar, bowl, table, whatever), good!
I used organic apple cider vinegar and had to substitute light brown sugar with extra molasses instead of dark brown sugar. To give it a kick, I substituted Chipotle for the Cayenne. Quite delicious. My husband said its taste is close to the real thing!
I am so glad this turned out amazing for you! Thank you Tracy!
How can you state that you use good ingredients when you put worchestire sauce in the receipe?
I’m preparing to make spare ribs and definitely want to use a homemade sauce, so I can’t wait to try this! I saw a few reviews mentioning corn starch, but am I missing something because I don’t see it in the recipe?
Hi! The cornstarch has been removed from the recipe after further testing. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Just made this recipe and its way to sweet. Next time I’m going to half the brown sugar .
I am sorry this was too sweet for you, Sandra! I hope you enjoy it the next time you make this!
I’m excited to have found you blog and this recipe! How long will this sauce keep in the fridge? Not that having leftovers will be a problem most of the time haha
Thank you! Th sauce keeps about 1 month in the fridge. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Happy Holiday’s ? 🙂
A GREAT recipe and the images you add in this post are amazing.
Thank you so much!
I tried this recipe at home, and I just loved it. I thought it was a little bit too sweet, so I added more vinegar.
So glad you loved it Matthew! Thank you!
A GREAT recipe, but……..
TWO items need to be cleared up. 1..The amount of cornstarch and water. The sauce does NOT need to be thickened. 2..Not one comment about using ONE CUP of brown sugar. For my taste, it is overly sweet. I would start with !/4 cup sugar and adjust from there. Otherwise, it IS a terrific sauce.
There is not need for the cornstarch and yes, please do sweeten this to your taste. Let me know if you have other questions. Happy to help!
Thanks for sharing. I made what I call a Bluegrass version. My family is from Kentucky. I used Kentucky Sorghum instead of molasses and I splashed in some Kentucky bourbon. It’s so good. I did not add cornstarch I just simmered it longer to thicken it up. It’s going on my meat in July for an amateur BBQ competition. It’ll be my first one.
Ooo!! That sounds fun, and yummy! I hope it does well at the competition!! Good luck and thanks Josh!
It looks pretty good. I might try it with allspice and celery seed.
That sounds delish!
I’ve made other versions of BBQ before but your recipe has me intrigued. This last part of your ingredients list, can you please clarify the measurements: “1/8 tablespoon cold water mixed with 1 corn starch optional”. Did you mean 1/8 C (which is the same as 2 Tbs cold water)? 1 WHAT of the cornstarch…teaspoon, tablespoon, cup..what? I’ve read that most of those who posted here did not need to thicken the sauce. I’ve never had to thicken BBQ sauce before. Having said all that, in case this sauce needs thickening, what are the correct measurements for the cold water & cornstarch?
Hi Cheryl! Sorry for the confusion! There is no need to add the water or cornstarch. Let me know if you have other questions. Thank you! 🙂
I’d like to do a big batch, then put some up in mason jars. Will the heat sealing process of canning work with this recipe?
HI Mike, I have never tried canning this so I am not sure. I would think it would work, but again, have not tried it.
Can I omit the corn starch? Or atleast substitute with flour ??
You can omit the cornstarch. No need for it. Hope you love this!
This is so delicious and I love that I actually do have all the ingredients on hand!! I also love the fact no preservatives. I was out of cayenne so I sprinkled with red pepper flakes..Thank-you so much for sharing <3 PS..It was thick enough for us without the corn starch!
Thanks Susan! 🙂
Thanks for sharing your thoughts & excitements about future of the web. good post guys and thanks for your article this is simply awesome. thanks for your info
Thanks!