The ingredients used to make barbeque sauce vary from region to region, but most include a combination of sweeteners (like brown sugar or molasses), vinegar, ketchup or tomato paste, and spices. Typical recipes also feature other flavorful ingredients, like garlic, onion powder, and dried smoked paprika for smoky, earthy notes.
The recipe you’ll find here starts with a simple base of ketchup and then adds brown sugar for a deep, rich sweetness, apple cider vinegar for balancing acidity, molasses for those deliciously sticky, maple-y undertones, Worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce, if you’re vegan), salt, black pepper, and a few pinches of cayenne for a bit of heat. It’s easy to customize, so you can tweak the ingredients to your liking.
You can even use this sauce as a marinade if you are cooking over an open flame, but you’ll want to thin it out to about a one-to-one ratio with water. This will prevent the sugars from burning long before the food is cooked through.
You can also use this BBQ sauce to dress other dishes, such as a salad or veggie burger. Just be sure to add a drizzle of this sauce before topping the dish for a pop of fresh, sweet, tangy, and spicy flavor. Enjoy!