This barbecue sauce is balanced and flavorful. Just right for cutting through the richness of fatty, slow cooked meat like brisket, pulled pork, and more!
Why do I need barbecue sauce?
To be quite honest, I’m not a BIG barbecue sauce guy. I like it, but I don’t always feel like I need it. I’ve always thought that sauce just gets in the way of really good smoked meats. However, it can really help make mediocre meats more enjoyable. But, sauce is more than just a mask for dry, flavorless meats. It also can help cut through the richness of meats and help you eat more! SO….I do like to have some sauce around when I smoke meats, especially when guests are coming.
Why is this the best sauce ever invented?
Easy…I made it! LOL But, seriously, I like the balance of flavors in this sauce. It’s not too sweet, not too vinegary. I don’t like sauces that are super sweet. I don’t want my meat to taste like candy. This has sweetness, it has brightness, a tiny amount of heat, and a little western attitude with the addition of cumin and chili powder. Of all the sauces that I’ve made or tried, this is the one that I keep coming back to. When you’re NOT A BIG SAUCE GUY, the best measurement of success for a sauce is when you keep making the same recipe again and again without wanting to change it each time.
The other reason that I like this one, is that it’s simple. No chopping. No sauteing. Just simple and easy to prep ingredients. Just measure and pour, then let it simmer long enough to just marry the flavors together.
Let’s Talk Ingredients
We don’t need to talk about every ingredient, but there are a few things to discuss.
Ketchup: I am pretty picky about my ketchup. First of all, I don’t do corn syrup. It’s an overly processed ingredient that is completely unnecessary when we have so many other forms of sweeteners. Second, I don’t need a ton of sugar. I prefer using brands like Primal Kitchen’s Unsweetened Ketchup. This allows me to have more control of the levels of sweetness, while also not loading it down with unnecessary garbage.
Maple Syrup: I have been on a maple syrup kick lately. Put it in everything. But, if you feel it necessary, this ingredient can be modified to your preferred sweetener. If you switch to brown sugar or honey, I would lower the amount to about half of what the recipe calls for. You can always add more if it’s not sweet enough for you.
Worcestershire Sauce: Worcestershire sauce is definitely in a category of it’s own, as far as flavor. However, if you don’t have any, you can use soy sauce and still get great results. I sometimes rotate between the two, depending on what’s in my pantry at the time.
Lemon: ALWAYS assume that I am referring to FRESHLY squeezed from a REAL lemon. Do not use one of those lemon-shaped bottles with lemony themed liquid inside of them.
Basic Barbecue Sauce
Ingredients
- 1¾ Cup Ketchup I usually try and source the best quality I can find, without a ton of sugar or corn syrup. Health.
- ½ Cup Water The wetter, the better
- ¼ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- ¼ Cup White Vinegar
- ½ Cup Maple Syrup
- 2 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 TBSP Chili Powder
- 1 TBSP Cumin
- 1½ tsp Kosher Salt
- 1½ tsp Coarse Ground Black Pepper Use coarse ground. You want to see the little bits of pepper floating around in the sauce. None of that fine ground garbage.
- 1 each Lemon, juiced
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a medium sauce pan and whisk to combine.
- Heat over medium and allow to gently simmer for about 5 minutes. Just long enough to heat it though and allow the flavors to combine from all of the spices and other ingredients.
- Let cool before serving.
