Homemade BBQ Sauce (Fully Customizable!)

Let's dive into the ubiquitous and somewhat revered concoction of culinary Americana: the BBQ sauce. Oh, the contentious, fiery, and even regional warfare inducing BBQ sauce. A symphony of flavors that can instigate a bitter feud between a Texan and a North Carolinian faster than you can say 'smoke ring.' BBQ sauce, my friends, is not just a sauce, it's an institution. It’s an alchemical potion marrying the robustness of tomatoes, the smoky sweetness of molasses, the sharp kick of vinegar, and the earthy warmth of spices.

In the grand theatre of cooking, BBQ sauce is a charismatic lead, versatile in its roles and consistent in its performance. It can be a glossy glaze on your slow-smoked ribs, a tantalizing dip for your crispy chicken wings, or a cheeky topping for a meat lover's pizza. While one might be tempted to trivialize it to merely a flavor-boosting accessory, oh how terribly wrong that would be! A great BBQ sauce possesses the power to transform a humble cut of meat into a transcendent feast, catapulting the eater into a state of gustatory nirvana.

The mystery and beauty of BBQ sauce lie in its malleability, its chameleon-like ability to adapt to the predilections of its maker. There's no universal 'BBQ Sauce Law' etched in stone that binds you to a set recipe. Want more heat? Slap in those habaneros. Fancy a tropical twist? A dash of pineapple juice never hurt. Prefer a smoky undernote? Don't skip on that liquid smoke. After all, this is about culinary adventure, not a paint-by-numbers exercise. Each batch is an open-ended journey towards finding the perfect balance of sweet, sour, smoky, and spicy. So, don your apron, fire up that grill, and let the scent of simmering BBQ sauce guide you home. Here's to the wild and delicious ride that is BBQ sauce crafting, may it continue to delight our taste buds and unite us in our shared love for all things saucy and smoky. 🤘🏼 Adam

Yield: 2 cups

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Homemade BBQ Sauce

Cook time: 15 MinTotal time: 15 Min

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp Neutral Oil
• ½ cup Yellow Onion, diced
• 2 Garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Smoked paprika
• 1 ½ cups Ketchup
• 1 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
• 3 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp Molasses
• Fish Sauce, to taste

Instructions

1. To a medium saucepan, add the oil, garlic and onion. Season with a pinch of salt and sweat the veg over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
2. Stir in the smoked paprika and brown sugar until it coats the veg and toast the spices for 30 seconds.
3. Add in the ketchup, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce and molasses. Stir the mixture until it comes back up to a boil. The mixture will be viscous.
4. Pour the chunky veg mixture into a blender and puree until smooth. Add the fish sauce and blend again.

Adam's Notes

• A Note about Xanthan Gum (XG): Xanthan Gum is a hydrocolloid meaning that it thickens, strengthens and can sometimes smooth out purees and emulsions. I chose not to add it into the BBQ sauce in this video because it seemed like an extra step. If using, puree the BBQ, pass it through a strainer, then reintroduce the ketchup to the blender and when pureeing add a bump of XG to the mix. Not too much, only 1/8th of a tablespoon or so will get you where you need to be.

Stuff I Use:

Xanthan Gum

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