Few things make your barbecue skills more unique than learning how to make BBQ sauce yourself. 

We all love a bought BBQ sauce on occasion, but these sauces need to be full of preservatives and are mass produced rather than fresh and organic.

Nothing beats homemade barbecue sauce from fresh ingredients and herbs. Hands down. 

Especially because you can adjust the flavours exactly to your liking – mild, medium, or hot barbecue sauce. As sweet, smoky or fiery as you like.

When you make your own BBQ sauce you are the king or queen of your own charcoal castle. Taste and adjust as you go. Add more chilli powder for heat, or more sweet smokey paprika for well… sweet smokiness.

This recipe has been refined, tried and tested over the years and it’s the best that we currently have to offer. 

Best of all, it’s customisable according your tastes.

So put aside that BBQ sauce bottle you just bought, and learn how to make BBQ sauce for yourself, like the pro you are.

How to Make BBQ Sauce – Ingredients You Will Need

10 Whole Bay Leaves (to be discarded later)

1 Star Anise

A Bunch of Fresh Rosemary Leaves Picked and Chopped

(Keep the woody stems to add to BBQ coals)

A Bunch of Fresh Lemon Thyme (Ordinary Thyme will do also)

Juice and Zest of One Orange

Juice and Zest of One Lime

A shot of Bourbon (it’d be rude not to)

2 Tbsps of Worcestershire Sauce

1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

8 Tbsps Olive Oil

150ml of Organic Ketchup

1 Whole Bulb of Garlic – Cloves Peeled

3-4 Teaspoons sweet smoked paprika (adjust according to taste)

Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

4 Tbsps Balsamic Vinegar 

1 Teaspoon of Cumin Seeds

1 Tbsp of Fennel Seeds

2 Whole Cloves

Chilli Powder (optional if you like hot BBQ Sauce) we like Extra Hot Chilli Powder and usually add half a teaspoonful (add more if you like your head blown off)

How to Make BBQ Sauce – Method 

For the best results combine all ingredients in a big bowl and put in the fridge overnight.

Take out the next day and remove the bay leaves and whiz up your sauce in a food processor, or with a hand blender. For best results use a Nutribullet to make sure your sauce is super smooth.

If you want to use the BBQ sauce that same day set the bay leaves aside and blend everything in a food processor or Nutribullet. 

You can add the bay leaves in whole afterwards as they aren’t nice to eat but impart a lovely aniseed flavour (not just to BBQ sauce but stews, soups and curries as well). 

To really impart flavour you should rub the BBQ sauce all over your chosen meat, fish or vegetables and marinade for at least an hour if you can.

Top Tip For How to Make BBQ Sauce

The quickest way to get your BBQ sauce flavours into your food is to score it with a knife and shove the sauce and bay leaves in anywhere you can. It’s messy but undeniably fun and flavoursome.

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy our BBQ Homemade Sauce Recipes article.

Now comes some recommendations for some of the products mentioned above. We have curated the best ones to help you choose.

If you are looking for an outstanding maple syrup see what you think of this one.

Our favourite organic ketchup is worth a look here.

The almighty Nutribullet is worth a look here.

If a food processor is more your style this is our best recommendation, and very affordable too.

Last of all here is a very affordable and tasty sweet bourbon.

We may receive a small commission if you purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you.

If you enjoyed this article feel free to try our popular article ‘How to Smoke Brisket.’

For another great article on how to make BBQ sauce try this one:

https://www.kitchensanctuary.com/bbq-sauce-recipe/

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