We usually use store bought barbecue sauce but we ran out a couple weeks ago. The store was sold out of our favorite brand (Famous Dave's Sweet & Zesty) and I didn't care for the brand that Joe bought instead. It had way too much smoke flavor for my taste.
I checked out my Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (it's seen better days) and found a basic recipe. I was happy that I had all of the ingredients needed. As always, I adapted this recipe to suit our tastes and added or switched some of the ingredients.
Easy Barbecue Sauce
Ingredients:
1 C. ketchup
1/4 C. apple cider vinegar
1/2 C. water
1 1/2 T. brown sugar
1 T. Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
1 T. brown mustard
3 T. finely diced onion
1 T. finely diced celery
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 oz. liquid smoke
several dashes of Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce
ground black pepper to taste
Method:
In a small sauce pot, stir together all ingredients. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring often. After sauce comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer (uncovered) until sauce is thick, stirring often.
A couple of years ago, I never would have made my own barbecue sauce. I wouldn't have even thought to do it. I'm so happy that I made this sauce, it was so easy and so much cheaper than the store bought sauces. I think we'll be sticking with this sauce for more daily use and save our favorites store bought brand as a treat.
I'll be linking to the following blogs this week:
I've got to try this. It sounds yummy.
ReplyDeleteHow does the taste compare to your favorite store-bought BBQ sauce? Also, how long did you need to simmer the sauce? :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your recipe! :)
wow to make my own would impress my kids for sure I am going to try it thanks
ReplyDeletethis sounds good! :-) - www.delightfulcountrycookin.com
ReplyDeleteThis sounds similar to mine. I don't put liquid smoke in it though. It looks great, thanks!
ReplyDeleteSunshine, thanks for stopping by my blog! If you get a chance to try the sauce, let me know what you think!
ReplyDeleteTammy, the sauce is DIFFERENT than our favorite store bought sauce. I wasn't trying to copy the store bought, my goal was really just to make some sauce since we ran out of it and I didn't like the other brand that my husband bought! :)
The store bought is still my favorite as far as taste goes. But for the price, I like the homemade. I'll probably work on changing it up a bit more now that I have a basic idea of what I'm working with.
I really didn't pay attention to the time that I let it simmer....I was doing other things in the kitchen to get dinner ready. I just kept running back to stir it and check on it. Maybe about 10-15 minutes. But it really just depends on how thick or thin you like it.
shopannies, let me know what the kiddos think of it! :) Thanks for the comment! I have to work on adding your meatloaf to my menu plan soon!
Country cook, thanks for stopping by! It was really tasty. And the fact that my husband didn't get up to get a different bottle out of the fridge meant it passed his test too!
Debbi, it's funny about the liquid smoke...I made the sauce that night because I didn't like the smokey flavor of the other brand my husband bought and yet, after tasting the sauce without it, I felt it was just a tad too sweet, so I added a bit of smoke to it. Not much. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Looks really yummy!
ReplyDeleteI'd love it if you'd stop by for a visit.
:)
ButterYum
This looks like a good and easy recipe. You should check-out the Make It From Scratch Carnival and submit this.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll make this so I can have a reduced-sugar version of BBQ sauce. We ADORE it in our house but with too much sugar in the store brands, I've been looking for an alternative.
Thanks for the inspiration :)
Looks yummy!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this recipe. I really want to make my own BBQ sauce rather than buying the store-bought stuff. It's getting so hard to find any sauce that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in it which I'm trying very hard to avoid. Besides being more healthy, its very frugal to diy.
ReplyDeleteLove this! BBQ sauce is something I'm still buying, sadly. :)
ReplyDeleteWe go through so much barbecue sauce in our house; almost as much as we do ketchup and salsa. I really should look into making my own. This looks like a great recipe.
ReplyDeleteI love it when I find a solution like that, something that tastes great and can keep me from rushing out to the store.
ReplyDeleteYummy...that looks delightful (lol! Anything with Worcestershire sauce has to be good, right?!)
ReplyDeleteNothing better than homemade bbq sauce. Yours sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteI love home made bbq sauce. I can't wait to try this one out!! It sounds delicious. Thanks!
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