Easy Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe with Ketchup and Brown Sugar (2024)

FAQs

What does brown sugar do in BBQ? ›

Brown sugar, white sugar, and honey are all common sweeteners in the pitmaster's arsenal. They're great in a pork rub or on chicken to accelerate the browning of the skin.

Ketchup is the base of the sauce, Worcestershire sauce adds umami, light brown sugar brings sweetness, vinegar brings tang, and two spices, paprika and cayenne pepper, add a smoky flavor and some heat.

Adding garlic or onion powder are standard flavors for barbecue, but get a little creative and try out different chile powders, peppers, cumin, or dried herbs to add body to the sauce.

First, let's clear this up right away: no, BBQ sauce is not just ketchup. Not even close. The difference here is that ketchup is tomato puree and sugar (with vinegar and some other flavorings), and BBQ sauce is art (with a whole host of flavor-filled ingredients).

That added molasses in dark brown sugar is what gives it more depth of flavor, which is why you'll see it in recipes where it's an important ingredient like when you make barbecue sauce.

Depends. If I want the molasses flavor in a sauce, in the background, I'll use dark (if I want a pronounced flavor I use molasses). For most pork rubs I use light or white or a combination. Though I rarely include sugar in beef rubs, on the occasions I do it's usually dark.

I been making some good homemade BBQ sauce using dark brown sugar and so far, the amount of people who enjoy it, seems to confirm that sauce is perfect as it.

A good barbecue sauce starts with tomatoes, sweetener, mustard, and spices. Most homemade barbecue sauces start with ketchup, but I prefer to strip it back further and start with a small can of tomato paste. It's usually under $2, and it's easy to keep stocked in your pantry.

Ingredients vary, but most include vinegar or tomato paste (or a combination) as a base, as well as liquid smoke, onion powder, spices such as mustard and black pepper, and sweeteners such as sugar or molasses.

What are the three types of BBQ sauce? ›

Generally, barbecue sauces is categorized into four varieties: tomato-based sauces, vinegar-based sauces, mustard-based sauces, and mayonnaise-based sauces. Each category can have a range of BBQ sauce styles, ranging from sweet and tangy to hot and spicy.

This sweet-and-savory Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe tastes so much better than store-bought, and it's cheaper too. Best of all, you can make it with better ingredients and fewer preservatives.

Add smoky, spicy, or tangy flavors for a semi-homemade bbq sauce that tastes just like it's from scratch. You can spice up bbq sauce and add some texture and flavor to store-bought bbq sauce with chopped kimchi, bacon bits, sautéed onions, or jalapeños, fresh herbs, or fruit like pineapple and peaches.

The base ingredients of barbecue sauce usually include tomato sauce or ketchup, vinegar, and sweeteners, such as molasses or brown sugar. Other common ingredients include Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic, onion powder, and various spices, which can include paprika, cumin, and chili powder.

Then, in the 1920s, barbecue sauce started having ingredients like sugar, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce. Nowadays, though, barbecue sauce can have many other ingredients in addition to the original ones. Some commonly used ingredients include smoke, onion powder, mustard, molasses, and even mayonnaise.

Hoisin Sauce

An excellent alternative to the barbecue sauce is this Asian sauce made from vinegar, honey, sesame paste, flour, chilies and soy sauce. Known for its texture and the thick glazed appearance like the BBQ sauce, the Chinese-inspired Hoisin sauce is excellent for the ones who love spicy baby ribs.

Ketchup is a mildly seasoned tomato sauce with vinegar added. Barbecue sauce often is based on tomato sauce but with much more sugar (usually brown sugar), vinegar and other spices. Molasses plus powdered onion and garlic, allspice, vinegar often feature prominently.