Homemade BBQ Sauce

I would not change a thing. Except split the ½ cup cider to be ¼ cup cider + ¼ cup bourbon. Very good as a general cooking sauce. It is also a great way to take leftover grilled flank steak (or any cut of steak or pork), place it in the bottom of a slow cooker, pour this sauce over, and heat on high for two hours, or low for three or more. It becomes a very easy pulled steak or pork bbq sandwich.

So - I guess I did change a thing...

Sauce was good, particularly if, as suggested, you add some spicy paprika or cayenne. I wasn't so fond of it diluted and used as a mop, however. Thinning by 1:1 made it too dilute and flavorless. One part water to two parts sauce might be a better ratio.

As almost everyone who has commented here has said, make your BBQ sauce YOUR BBQ sauce! I have never made the stuff the same way twice and never will. Experiment! One of the most admired sauces I have ever made consisted of blackberry puree and jam instead of ketchup. Rummage people!

I always salt and pepper my wings and cook without the sauce over high heat until the skin is crispy, then I lower the heat or move to indirect heat and brush with undiluted BBQ sauce, cook uncovered and turn and baste a couple of times until the sauce sets. Don't walk away and make sure to watch once the sauce is on so they do not burn. Always come out great.

This sauce was easy to make, but was too vinegar-y for my taste. I think I would cut vinegar down to 1/3 cup and reduce the cumin to 1/2 tsp. I did add an 1/8 tsp of Cayenne, and we liked the added heat!

I start here as well, but I also add a healthy dose of molasses, some yellow mustard, a variety of other spices in moderation (anise/fennel seed, cloves for example) and a fair amount of ground chili peppers (usually from my garden, like Ancho, Anaheim, Serrano, etc.). I go very easy with the cumin, as it can easily overpower the sauce. The molasses adds a lot of depth to the sauce, and gives it a beautiful dark color. Finally, I add a pinch of ground Habanero powder.

The vinegar thing is a regional preference. Some places love it, others not so much. My version is 1/4 cup soy sauce and 1/4 cup rice vinegar (or cider) in place of the 1/2 cup vinegar. Place all of the ingredients in a blender with a small red onion and a couple of garlic cloves. Blitz. Now we are talking BBQ! Oh, and personally I would add either chilli powder or a big pinch of oregano, which is the secret ingredient in Chilli Powder....

Excellent. While not a fan of jarred barbecue sauces, this home-made version was perfect. If you don't like sweet, use a scant 1/4 cup light brown sugar as I did. The smoked paprika makes it. I diluted a little for basting, not much.

OMG this was good! I easily could have doubled this recipe to accommodate our pulled pork - but maybe that's because I kept eating spoonfuls of it as if it were a soup! As other reviewers noted, I used about half the sugar, added a half teaspoon of cayenne pepper for some zing, and then I also added 1/2 - 1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce.

Wasn't sure about this sauce until I added a touch of garlic; thought that added a nice counterpoint and it got good reviews!

Even simpler and less sweet, and Texas certified: 1/2 cup Heinz chili sauce or ketchup, 1/2 cup Worcester sauce, 2 tbsp fresh ground black pepper, 1 tsp Tabasco sauce

Since this is a vinegar sauce I like it for pulled pork in the North Carolina sauce tradition.

I used molasses instead of brown sugar and it tastes amazing!

I added cayenne for heat and a little instant coffee to cut the sweetness. I also thought that diluting it made it too thin. Has anyone tried grilling chicken with full-strength bbq sauce?

Personally, I didn’t care for the cumin and I would omit it in the future. I eyeballed the measurements but reduced the vinegar by half and added a splash of Worcester sauce. I prefer the barbecue sauce provided by Melissa Clark’s pulled pork recipe