How To Use Bbq Sauce
Use this in any recipe calling for barbecue sauce. Its delicious slathered on burgers, grilled chicken, pork, ribs, beef and used for your pulled pork.
It also makes a great dip for your sweet potato fries and chicken tenders. Alternatively you combine it with our homemade Ranch dressing for a delicious dip variation.
Dr Pepper Barbecue Sauce
RitaE/Pixabay
If you have a plate of smoky ribs in one hand, chances are an ice-cold soda is in the other. Grab one bottle of Dr. Pepper and put this soda to fantastic use in a sweet sauce that’s perfect on ribs.
The Dr. Pepper reduces with ketchup, mild chili powder, sweet paprika, cider vinegar, brown sugar, among other ingredients. Watch your pot and stir to avoid overflowing because of the carbonation in the soda or burning because of the high sugar content. Add liquid smoke to taste.
Baste your ribs with this sauce and to let it cook into place for smokey and perfectly sticky ribs.
Keeps for 1 week in the fridge.
How To Make Bbq Sauce:
This bbq sauce recipe couldnt be easier to make! Simply
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Spicy Mustard Bbq Sauce
For as long as I remember, Ive always loved my Mamas Coca-Cola BBQ sauce. It is what I grew up on her chicken, meatloaf and so many other dishes. But then, on a trip to South Carolina after my husband and I were married, I ventured over into the other side of BBQ sauces away from the red and sweet to the yellowish orange and tangy. While I wont say that it replaced the BBQ sauce that Ive loved since I was a little girl, I readily admit that when I now love to make all sorts of BBQ sauces at my house depending on what Im planning to serve. I also like to make a selection so that guests have an option.
If you are looking for another BBQ sauce to add to your line up for an upcoming party or just to try something a little different from your usual sauce that you serve, you might want to make this to try as an option. It is one that I certainly enjoy!
Heres my Spicy Mustard BBQ Sauce Recipe. I hope you enjoy it!
Classic Bbq Rib Sauce

The Spruce
A great rib sauce should cook on the ribs, low and slow so that it can sink into the pores of the meat and create a sticky crust on the surface. That’s the case with this sauce, made on a base of ketchup and flavored with sugar, spices and liquid smoke for a true BBQ taste.
Keeps for 1 week in the fridge.
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A Starting Point For How To Make Barbecue Sauce
Now you have the knowledge of flavor profiles and how to build on the different flavors to create a great barbecue sauce. But, you may still be wondering exactly where to start once youve decided on a base.
This recipe below from Char-Broil is a simple, traditional tomato-based sauce that can give you a starting point. It touches on all of the traditional flavor profiles to give you a well-balanced overall flavor. From this recipe, you can modify it, add in different things, and get creative until youve made your own signature sauce built around your flavor preferences.
Makes 1 1/2 cups
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black ground pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried minced garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon dried minced onion
- 1 teaspoon BBQ rub or 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
Ways To Use Bbq Sauce:
There are so many great ways to put a batch of homemade BBQ sauce to delicious use! Some of our faves include:
- Traditional bbq meat: Grilled or pulled chicken, pulled pork, ribs, burnt ends, etc.
- Baked beans: BBQ sauce is a simple and delicious way to flavor a batch of baked beans.
- Burgers: Use it as a spread on your favorite burgers.
- Pizzas: Use it in place of pizza sauce.
- Soups/salads: Mix it into broths to flavor soups, or use the sauce as a dressing for your salad.
- Tacos/quesadillas/burritos: BBQ sauce is a great way to give your favorite Mexican dishes a different twist.
- Dipping sauce: And of course, its always a great dipping sauce for everything from chicken nuggets to veggie sticks to cocktail meatballs and more!
Read Also: Lillie’s Carolina Bbq Sauce No Sugar
Tips For Homemade Bbq Sauce
- Be sure to use smoked paprika, not regular paprika. Smoked paprika can be found in almost every grocery store and is not expensive.
- Store your BBQ sauce in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week. You can also freeze your sauce for later use.
- Look for ketchup that is organic or conventional ketchup that is not sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.
- Your BBQ sauce needs to simmer on low heat if the heat is too high it may splatter onto your stove!
- I use Franks Red Hot sauce for just a touch of spice in my sauce. If youre heat adverse, you can easily omit it.
Homemade Bbq Sauce Variations
- Spicy BBQ Sauce: Add up to 1 tablespoon of hot sauce or 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes.
- Maple BBQ Sauce: Substitute 1/4 cup maple syrup for the honey.
- Extra Smoky BBQ Sauce: Double the amount of smoked paprika.
- Coca Cola BBQ Sauce: Add 1/2 cup Coca Cola to the recipe.
Homemade barbecue sauce is delicious on any type of meat. Its particularly good on smoked meats such as chicken and pork. It makes an amazing pulled pork sandwich and the best barbecued chicken wings youll ever eat.
I always keep this BBQ sauce in my freezer so that I have some on hand when the grilling mood strikes. It just cant be beat!
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Homemade Bbq Sauce Recipe Ingredients
This BBQ Sauce comes together quickly with just a handful of ingredients that I generally have in my refrigerator or my pantry and is one that I think you all will fall in love with as well. Ive had friends ask me to please make extra for them to take home and if Id bottle it, theyd surely buy it.
To make this homemade BBQ Sauce, youll need:
What Is Stone House Seasoning
Made of three simple ingredients, it really is one of those seasoning blends that combines the flavors that perk up so many dishes from meats to vegetables with such ease!
Most likely, you already have these three ingredients on hand in your pantry, but by combining them in these specific ratios, you can quickly add a pinch, teaspoon, or more to dishes to add so much flavor in a flash!
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Favorite Ways To Use Bbq Sauce
- Chicken Use on baked chicken for a flavorful meal or drizzled over shredded chicken for a BBQ Chicken Sandwich.
- Pork Delicious with ribs, brisket and definitely with pulled pork. Hello, best pulled pork sandwich ever!
- Burgers Delicious on hamburgers in place of ketchup for a tasty BBQ Burger.
- Pizza Use in place of pizza sauce for a BBQ Chicken Pizza or a Pulled Pork Pizza. Yum!
How To Use Homemade Barbecue Sauce

The beauty of this easy sauce is that it can be used in any recipe that calls for premade barbecue sauce, or you can use it to spice up your favorite protein or even salad.
- Ribs. You can use this homemade BBQ sauce for pulled pork and for ribs .
- Salad. I love using this sauce to make my favorite BBQ Chicken Salad.
- Chicken. This is a delicious BBQ sauce recipe for chicken recipes like these Maple Bourbon Crock Pot BBQ Chicken Sandwiches. Or this Crock Pot BBQ Chicken. It would also be yummy brushed over grilled chicken breasts.
- Meatballs. Brush it over these Baked Turkey Meatballs for a different flavor spin.
Read Also: How To Make Ragu Sauce
Heres How You Make It
How to make the best BBQ sauce for ribs? Ill tell ya:
How To Make Homemade Bbq Sauce:
1. Combine ingredients. Add all ingredients to a large saucepan and mix together until smooth.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or up to one hour, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool. The sauce will thicken slightly as it cools.
3. Serve. Slather this stuff on just about anything or store in an air tight container or jar in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
Double it? I love to make this sauce and keep it in the fridge for several weeks. Depending on your family size you could double the recipe to make a bigger batch. Its delicious for dipping/marinating grilled chicken, spooning on hamburgers or ribs, or dipping as a sauce. Its my go-to when I dont have a dinner plan.
Recommended Reading: How To Make Hollandaise Sauce
Tips For The Best Bbq Sauce
- Add a blend of various ingredients to build lots of flavor. Here we use a fair amount that all come together and pair perfectly.
- Dont omit all the sweeteners or sauce will be very sour and unbalanced.
- Let it simmer and reduce to thicken. The simmering not only helps meld the flavors but it thickens the sauce since some of the liquid evaporates.
- Wait to add bbq sauce to chicken or ribs until the last 5 10 minutes of grilling or baking so it doesnt burn excessively and dont cook over high heat once added, use a medium heat.
- If its been in the fridge dont forget to let it rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes so you arent serving it cold with warm food .
Best Bbq Sauce For Chicken
This is our favorite BBQ sauce for chicken. It has the perfect balance between sweet and tangy with a little hint of smokiness. It makes chicken taste amazing! It’s also quick to make and easily refined sugar-free.
THIS. Yes, this sweet, tangy, smoky, and oh so tasty BBQ sauce that is perfect for chicken. Or perfect for nearly everything you want to taste like delicious BBQ.
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How To Store Barbecue Sauce
When you let the barbecue sauce cool you can store it:
- Room temperature In a glass jar or container and keep it in a dark cool place for a couple of months
- Refrigerator Store in the fridge in a glass jar as well
- Freezer You could freeze this sauce. Even though you do not use water when you thaw it will be more watery than when you make it fresh. For this sauce, this is my least favorite option
How To Make Barbecue Sauce From Scratch
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
You might notice that the sauce smells a little vinegary when bubbling in the pan, but the vinegar smell and taste mellows beautifully as the sauce cools
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Homemade St Louis Style Bbq Sauce
St. Louis style sauce differs from Kansas City style sauce, despite these cities both being in Missouri. BBQ is funny that way, from one side of a state to another, flavor profiles change. In this case, youll find the St. Louis style homemade bbq sauce recipe to be a bit more tangy and less sweet than the Kansas City style sauce.
The tangy profile comes from the addition of yellow mustard and a touch more vinegar. Its excellent on spare ribs or pork steaks because the acidity matches very well with the fattiness of those meats. As much as I love this homemade bbq sauce recipe on ribs, it certainly shouldnt be limited to just those. Read on
Why This Recipe Works

Why This Recipe Works
Versatile While we used this BBQ sauce recipe for burgers, we found that not only were people eating it on burgers but putting it on their brats too. It also works on hot dogs, sausage, ribs, chicken, pork tenderloin basically anything you want a simple BBQ sauce ontrust me, its the best!
Flavorful This sauce is a sweet and spicy BBQ sauce because it has sweet and also some cayenne and paprika for spice. Its also a little tangy thanks to the apple cider vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. In a nutshell, this easy BBQ sauce has it all!
Keeps well Make up a big batch and keep this sauce in the fridge for up to two weeks, if it lasts that long!
Easy ingredients I bet you have most of these ingredients in your pantry or fridge right now. Go check, Ill wait! You with me? A little dash of this, a pinch of that, stir and serve!
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Spicy Bbq Sauce Recipe
So, the hunt for the perfect Spicy Barbecue Sauce continued. As I experimented with different ingredients, I kept coming up ultimately dissatisfied with the end results.
Today, I decided to try again. I had a very long list of ingredients that I wanted to try this time. As I was adding things to the sauce and tasting as I went along, I suddenly realized that I had exactly what I wanted.
I stopped there and very happily asked my husband to taste the sauce. He was thrilled with it. I will be quadrupling this recipe next time I make it and freezing the extra to have for future meals.
This is a pretty spicy sauce as it is written however, if you like more heat, feel free to increase the Tabasco and cayenne. I served this sauce over pulled pork and it was an instant hit.
This homemade barbecue sauce gets its spiciness from Tabasco sauce and cayenne pepper. Ketchup and brown sugar provide a sweet backdrop for the spice and tang from apple cider vinegar. A dash of smoked paprika adds a smoky flavor that makes such a difference.
How To Make Coca Cola Bbq Sauce Recipe
Heres how my Mama makes her BBQ sauce.
Add ketchup to a small sauce pan over low to medium heat.
Next add in your Worcestershire sauce , along with your Stone House Seasoning. If you do not have Stone House Seasoning on hand, you can simply combine 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon garlic powder for this recipe.
And of course some delicious Coca-Cola, or Coke.
Next comes the brown sugar.
And a few dashes of hot sauce for that bit of spicy kick.
This sauce works great with any meats, but is especially good with chicken and pork.
While it may not be like your Mamas BBQ Sauce, I dont think your Mama would mind so much if you give it a try. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!
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What Are The Four Types Of Barbecue
You may have heard of different types of barbecues: Carolina, Kansas City, Texas, and Memphis. There are others of course, but these are the most popular styles. But what makes them different?
Homemade Bbq Sauce Recipe
Potassium 167mg | 4% |
*The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. |
Our classic, homemade BBQ sauce is sweet, tangy, and smoky, making it the perfect sauce to brush over ribs, brisket, chicken, or chops. The simple list of ingredients makes it a fast preparation and it’s ready in about 25 minutes, start to finish.
Barbecue sauce isn’t just for brushing on ribs, chicken, or beef. Serve it as a dip for chicken wings or nuggets, onion rings, fries, or meatballs. It’s also an excellent sauce option for sandwiches, pizza, burgers, pulled pork, and tacos. Or drizzle homemade sauce over a grilled or BBQ chicken salad or steak salad.
BBQ sauce keeps well, and you’ll want to have a jar ready to go in your fridge at all times. Luckily, it’s quick and easy to make and tastes so much better than the bottled stuff.
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