Have you ever reached into the fridge to get barbecue sauce only to discover that there isn’t any? You have a few choices in this situation.
- You can curse whoever used up the last of it and failed to add it to your grocery list.
- You can tell the children that they can’t dunk their chicken nuggets into barbecue sauce tonight.
- You can run to the store and buy another bottle,
- You can quickly make your own Basic Homemade Barbecue Sauce.
I don’t know about you, but I think I would choose option 4. That’s probably not a surprise since this post is about Basic Homemade Barbecue Sauce, but let me justify my choice anyway.
Once I’m home in the evening, I really don’t like leaving again, plus a trip to and from the store to buy that one item, will take 20 minutes unless there’s a sobriety check point between my house and the store. The line to get through that adds at least another 5 minutes to my travel time. Most important is that my family is spoiled, and I don’t want to be the person who tells them that they can’t have barbecue sauce for dipping. As for cursing the person who used up the last of it, I’m trying really hard to be a good role model, so no cursing. That really only leaves making some homemade barbecue sauce.
This sauce is a very simple sauce that I learned from my mother. It’s got the basic barbecue sauce flavors and it’s great with beef. In fact, my mother used to pour this over meatballs and bake them. That’s how I learned to make it. I made the barbecue sauce while she made the meatballs. If you’re looking for a recipe for a barbecue sauce with a more complex flavor, check out my recipe for Dr. Pepper Barbecue Sauce which we use on our Dr. Pepper Ribs.
In the meantime, here’s a recipe for a basic homemade barbecue sauce that can save you when you’ve run out. This recipe is really versatile. Like your sauce hotter, add some chili powder or cayenne. Substitute an equal part of maple syrup for some or all of the brown sugar. Each of these changes creates an entirely different type of sauce. Just make sure you taste the sauce as you go so you can adjust the seasonings to your tastes.
Give our recipe for basic homemade barbecue sauce a try and leave a comment below to let us know what you think.
Thanks for visiting Patty Cake’s Pantry.
- 2 cups catsup ($0.79)
- 1 cup brown sugar ($0.41)
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke (optional: I don't use it very often. Sometimes, I use only ¼ teaspoon) $(0.05)
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder ($0.04)
- ¼ cup very finely chopped onion($0.06)
- Saute onion in a small amount of water in the bottom of a 1 quart sauce pan until translucent
- Add all of the other ingredients into a sauce pan.
- Heat to boiling.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes stirring frequently to prevent it from sticking.
- Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition information is for approximately 2 tablespoons of sauce or 1/16th of this recipe.
| Nutrition Facts |
| Amount Per Serving |
|
Calories 65
|
|
% Daily Value
|
|
Total Fat 0.1g
0%
|
|
Saturated Fat 0g
0%
|
|
Trans Fat 0.0g
|
|
Cholesterol 0mg
0%
|
|
Sodium 337mg
15%
|
|
Total Carbohydrates 16.7g
6%
|
|
Dietary Fiber 0.1g
1%
|
|
Sugars 15.7g
|
|
Protein 0.6g
|
|
Vitamin D 0%
Potassium 3%
|
|
Calcium 1%
Iron 1 %
|