This has been my ‘go-to’ barbecue sauce recipe for decades!

If you want to make your own barbecue sauce, this barbecue sauce recipe is the perfect place to start. You are going to love it and it can be used in so many ways.

Stir it into baked beans or serve it next to barbecued chicken, beef, lamb or pork. You really can’t go wrong with this one. Compare it to what you can purchase and well… there simply is no comparison. This barbecue sauce recipe is the best. I promise.

About this barbecue sauce recipe.

Over the years I have been perfecting this recipe so that it has the perfect combination of sweet, sour, spice and savoury flavours. This is of course hugely important for a good barbecue sauce.

You can and should taste the barbecue sauce as you cook it. We all of different flavour preferences. The required ingredients are all there. You just need to try it and adjust to your own taste.

How to make this barbecue sauce recipe your own.

Taste as you go! If you prefer a sauce that is more sour, add more vinegar or lemon juice. For sweetness you can add more or less sugar or syrup. For a savoury flavour, use salt to taste and to achieve the right amount of spice, use your chillies of choice to taste.

The black pepper in this recipe is also a good way to spice it up.

Can you work ahead?

Yes. This barbecue sauce will keep in the fridge for at least a week, probably longer.

You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Just let it defrost and use it how you like.

How do you use this barbecue sauce recipe?

This barbecue sauce is great whenever barbecue sauce is called for in a recipe. It’s amazing on beef, chicken, pork, lamb and seafood.

You could use it as a dipping sauce for a steak or even stir some into a bowl of hot prawns or mussels. It is also amazing slathered over pork or beef ribs!

Just have fun and enjoy! If it sounds good, it probably will be.

Step by step photographs

Ingredients for this barbecue sauce recipe

Get your ingredients together before starting. I mixed all the liquid sauce ingredients and sugar together before adding to the pan.

Frying the onion, bell pepper, chillies and garlic.

Heat the oil in a sauce pan and add the chopped onions and bell pepper. Fry until the onion is soft and translucent. Then stir in the garlic and chillies and fry for a further minute.

Pour in the ketchup and all the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes to thicken some.

Use as needed. You can keep this in the fridge for at least a week and it freezes well for up to 3 months.

Have you tried this barbecue sauce recipe?

If so, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I alway like receiving your feedback as I’m sure other readers of my blog do.

Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

70ml (1/4 cup) rapeseed (canola) oil
2 onions, very finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, very finely chopped
3 green finger chillies, finely chopped (more or less to taste)
2 scotch bonnet chillies (optional), finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
500ml (2 cups) ketchup
250ml (1 cup) water
175ml (3/4 cup) Worcestershire sauce
125ml (1/2 cup) cider vinegar
70ml (1/4 cup) lemon juice
70ml (1/4 cup) Maple syrup
12 tbsp (3/4 cup) brown sugar
70ml (1/4 cup) hot sauce (I use Frank's Original)
70ml (1/4 cup) whole grain mustard
1 - 2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tbsp ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the chopped onions and green bell pepper and fry for about 5 minutes or until the onion is soft and translucent.
Stir in the chillies and garlic and fry for another minute.
Add everything else to the pan and bring to a simmer until the sugar dissolves. Then continue simmering for about 10 minutes until you have a nice thick but still pourable sauce.
Check for seasoning and store in the fridge until ready to use. This will keep in the fridge for at least a week.

Notes

Be sure to taste the barbecue sauce as it simmers. You can and should adjust the sweet, sour, savoury and spicy flavours to preference.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 97Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 206mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 2gSugar: 13gProtein: 1g

Gillian Kirk

Friday 26th of October 2012

Love the idea of the Poussin and looked at the Besmoke website but there were no details of prices or outlets for these smoked spices etc. Do you now if they do mail order? Keep cooking!! best regards Gillian

Dan Toombs

Sunday 28th of October 2012

Hi Gillian and thank you. There is a link on my site but only just starting to advertise. Here is a link to where the spices can be purchased. https://www.vfmuk.com/vmchk/The-Curry-Guy.html. I hope you get a chance to try them.

Cheers Dan