The barbecue sauce is arguably one of the most important items that should be present at a BBQ party, as it the item that brings the signature sweet, sour, and sometimes spicy “barbecue” flavor to the dishes. Without the barbecue sauce, you wouldn’t really be able to call ribs, sausages, or any other staples true barbecue dishes since they will lack the signature tangy taste. Many people love to include bacon and other delectable additions to their sauces for extra flavor.
While many have their own favorite brand of barbecue sauce, there are some that prefer to make their own barbecue sauce, as it is much more natural since it wouldn’t contain any preservatives, and it is also believed to taste better than store-bought sauce. There are many people that are intimidated in making barbecue sauce since they think that making a sauce with such a complex flavor can be difficult, but what they don’t realize is that making barbecue sauce is just as easy as creating a rub for ribs and other types of barbecue meat. If you want to try making BBQ sauce and share it with your loved ones at a barbecue party, here is a guide on how to make your own BBQ sauce from scratch. The ingredients indicated below are perfect for both dipping barbecues or for basting ribs while it is being cooked on the best grilled seen in My Grill World.
Ingredients for Homemade Barbecue Sauce
There are a lot of ingredients needed to create the complex flavors of the barbecue sauce. When you first taste a spoonful of barbecue sauce, you will immediately notice that the sauce is not just sweet but sour and spicy as well, and this wide array of flavors found in the sauce is attributed to its many ingredients. Homemade barbecue sauces would often taste different from one another, and this is due to the fact that many families would have their “recipes” in creating the sauce. So, there is actually no universal way to make a barbecue sauce. However, there are some commonly used ingredients found in most barbecue sauce recipes. Here are those common ingredients for barbecue sauce:
- 1/2 cup of cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup of ketchup
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon of paprika
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of crushed black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
The signature sweetness of the barbecue sauce is brought by the brown sugar and a little bit of ketchup, while the tanginess or sourness of the sauce is attributed to the cider vinegar and the ketchup as well. The spicy flavor of the sauce is added with the use of paprika, black pepper, and cumin, although their spice levels aren’t that significant compared to red chili peppers. For a spicier taste, you can mix in a little bit of dry mustard and hot pepper sauce. However, the thickness of the sauce and its effectiveness in basting would depend on how well you mix the ingredients.
Creating the Barbecue Sauce
There are two ways to create a barbecue sauce using the ingredients mentioned in this guide. The first method is by getting a small mixing bowl and mixing all the ingredients together using a spoon or a whisk. A spoon would not be as effective in mixing the ingredients as opposed to the whisk, but you will have better control of the thickness of the sauce and how much of each ingredient you would need to add to make the sauce thicker or lighter.
The second method is by putting all the ingredients together on a blender jar and using the blender to mix the ingredients and create a thick barbecue sauce. As opposed to the spoon, you wouldn’t have better control over how much of each ingredient you should add to the sauce, but the blender will make the process faster and easier.
Once you have mixed all the ingredients by doing one of the two methods above, pour the mixture on a small saucepan and cook it over medium hit on the stove for about five to eight minutes. By cooking the barbecue sauce for a few minutes, you will be able to enhance its flavor by caramelizing it, and its temperature would also be ideal for basting meat. Once the barbecue sauce is cooked, you can then transfer it to a small bowl for serving it with the barbecue meat or for basting the meat.
Those are just the simple steps on how to make your own BBQ sauce. As stated above, you have the option to change the recipe and add more ingredients to the sauce, but if you want to be as traditional as possible to suit most palates at the party, you really wouldn’t have to change anything. Buying the ingredients and making the sauce are relatively easy tasks to do, so you can start experimenting and see if you can make the best barbecue sauce for your family’s BBQ party.