I tried making a BBQ sauce the other day and it ended up being awful. Would anybody mind sharing some recipes or some past threads on this topic? Thanks.

I use lots of different sauces depending on the meat. What meat do you intend this for and what type of sauce do you like? Sweet, Tomato-ey, Vinegar, Spicy....

Good thread idea. I'm always looking for new ideas so I'd say just post your favorite(s).

Google No. 5 sauce. Called that because there are 5 ingredients. A great basic sauce that will compliment whatever you eat it with, because the rub you're using is one of the ingredients. I add course ground black pepper also when making it for brisket.

IMHO, it is hard to beat HEB's Texas style sauce at $2/bottle, or splurge kn Meyers Elgin Hot for $4/bottle. I couldn't make a sauce that good for that price.

My personal favorite for pulled pork.

1 cup Ketchup
1 cup Water
1/4 cup Cider vinegar
1 Onion finely diced
3 cloves Garlic crushed
2 tablespoon Brown sugar
2 tablespoon Molasses
2 tablespoon Dry mustard
1 teaspoon Cayenne

Mix all together and simmer for 30 minutes. Pretty basic and easily amendable. If you don't want finely diced onion in your sauce, liquify it.

I've made a sweet/spicy red chile bbq sauce a few times. I don't really measure much but the sugar, vinegar, and tomato sauce.

- 3 cans of organic tomato sauce (I get this in 12 packs at Costco)
- about 6-10 NM red chiles
- 1 can of water
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- cayenne pepper
- ancho chile powder
- garlic powder (or minced fresh)
- onion powder (or minced fresh)
- anything else I feel like throwing in or forgot above: dash of cinnamon, cumin, coriander, mexican oregano for example to make more of a NM flavor

I seep the dried peppers in boiling water, then puree in the blender with the can of water (I fill one of the tomato sauce cans). I leave a few of the seeds in for heat and can also control heat with cayenne. I haven't had any molasses on hand when I've made it, but that certainly could be part. I've used dark brown sugar.

Last time I made it for pulled pork, it simmered on the stove for several hours. It was pretty tasty after an hour or so, but it was absolutely fantastic after it really cooked down and thickened.

I actually made 2 sauces with my last smoked pork butt. The above mentioned sweet/spicy red chile one and I also made a more natural sauce. In the smoking process, I had the pork wrapped for a few hours to get over the 165F stall. I took all those trapped juices and made a sauce with a few spices and some apple cider vinegar. Both were delicious and very different.

Here are the two recipes I typically use. If I am feeling creative I will modify with other spices, sauces, peppers, etc. As the poster above mentioned, if you can preserve the drippings or jus from the cook, this adds a great smokiness to the bbq sauce.

Aaron Franklin’s BBQ Sauce
http://griffinsgrub.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/old-school-brisket-with-aaron-franklins-bbq-sauce/

quote:

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1/2 lb butter
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
1 1/2 cup s ketchup (not high fructose corn syrup)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 oz light brown sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
a little less than 1 tsp garlic powder
a little less than 1 tsp chili powder
1/2 lemon squeezed
Melt butter and saute onions until soft and translucent.
Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Serve warm with bbq.

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AmazingRibs.com Texas Barbecue Juice
http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/BBQ_sauces/texas_BBQ_mop-sauce.html

quote:

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Ingredients
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons American chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon of butter *
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup Lone Star beer (or any other lager). Drink any that is left over.
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons steak sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Hot sauce to taste (start with 2 teaspoons of Tabasco sauce for mild heat)
2 cups beef, veal, or chicken stock

Note about the oil. Butter or margarine work fine, but to make it authentic, use rendered beef fat from the fatback of a brisket or use bacon fat.

Do this
1) Mix the paprika, black pepper, American chili powder, and cumin in a small bowl.

2) In a one quart saucepan, melt the butter or bacon fat and gently cook the onion over medium heat until translucent.

3) Add the garlic, bell pepper, and the spice mix you made in step (1). Stir, and cook for two minutes to extract the flavors.

4) Add the stock and the rest of the ingredients. Stir until well blended. Simmer on medium for 15 minutes. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for a month or so.

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Aaron Franklin showing you how to make it, for those that can't follow recipes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8wK2GdGG_E

I've got a good one I will post later.

Franklin's is basically the same ingredients as mine, but I saute the onions in bacon, plus add spicy mustard and dark beer to the mix.

I also do an Asian-style sauce with pork shoulder (for "banh mi" sliders) and wings:

Saute chopped ginger and garlic
Soy Sauce
Rice Wine Vinegar
Honey
Siracha
Ketchup

Living in NYC, I had my sister mail me some Franklin's that she bought at HEB. It was pretty thin - is that how it is at the restaurant and this recipe? I usually like a thicker sauce when I use bbq sauce.

quote:

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Living in NYC, I had my sister mail me some Franklin's that she bought at HEB. It was pretty thin - is that how it is at the restaurant and this recipe? I usually like a thicker sauce when I use bbq sauce.

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I have never had AF's authentic sauce, but most "traditional" Texas-style bbq sauces are very thin and vinegar based. Kansas City and Memphis style sauces are usually thicker in consistency.

If you want to try and achieve a thicker sauce but keep most of the Texas-style flavor, you can reduce the vinegar, and/or add molasses, honey, and/or additional brown sugar to thicken the sauce.

Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chile sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground dry mustard
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Cheyenne pepper

[This message has been edited by Burnetaggie99 (edited 3/14/2014 1:55p).]

Franklin's sauce that comes from HEB is pretty accurate to the stuff coming out of the restaurant. Personally I am not a fan of either, its not thick enough.