My Favorite Barbeque Sauce
Barbeque sauce never passed my lips until I moved to Dallas, Texas, for my first job after college. I moved a lot as a child, but never lived in any barbecue states, so to speak. I’ve lived in California, Washington, New York, and Utah, plus France, and barbecue was unheard of in these places, at least growing up.
When I first tasted barbeque sauce, I wasn’t that impressed. It was probably because I also wasn’t impressed with the meats with which they were served. Especially ribs – they’re so fiddly and messy to eat. And I thought brisket was dreadfully stringy. But looking back, I can see why many barbeque sauces didn’t appeal to me. Some are overly sweet, some are overly tangy, some are overly smokey.
Then I started making my own. Of course, some of them weren’t quite traditional, like adding rum and plums or whatnot, but it seemed to me that it was pretty darn easy to make a good, basic barbeque sauce. I especially detest the over-sweetness of purchased barbeque sauces, but that’s something you can definitely control in your own kitchen.
So now I have my own favorite barbeque sauce. I don’t know really how it began, but it evolved over time, just like all of our favorite recipes we customize as home cooks. It’s a little bit different, but I warn you it is delicious and addictive. Here’s to sharing recipes!
My Favorite Barbecue Sauce
6 ounces unsalted butter
3 – 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lemon, strained
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar.
Then add the seasonings.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes or so over low heat, uncovered.
Add the vinegar and stir to combine. Simmer for one minute, then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
It’s really good with grilled chicken or slow-cooked ribs, but it’s especially good with spicy, smoked brisket!
About the Author: Chef Mimi
I’m definitely going to try this! When we lived in Malta I used to make my own barbecue sauce simply because there weren’t lots of choices in Malta, as you can only imagine! I’ve never seen a sauce recipe which contains butter – I bet the addition of butter lends a lovely creaminess to the sauce. How long do you think this will keep? I know the one I used to make was only supposed to be kept for a few weeks. (If this sauce doesn’t have a long ‘shelf life’, then I’ll just share it and make others happy !)
Wow. Malta sounds so exotic! I have no idea how long this sauce will last. I would probably freeze it after a couple of weeks. But I’ve never had any left over that long. It’s seriously that good, and probably because of the butter, even though that doesn’t seem like a BBQ sauce ingredient!
Malta was wonderful ! I’ve been feeling a bit ‘homesick’ for it lately. I’ve been back once since my husband died and I’m hoping to go back soon. I always say I leave a bit of my heart everywhere I’ve lived & I bet you find it so as well !
Oh my gosh that’s horrible. He must have been so young.
He was young….. He was president of an international merchant bank in Malta called Fimbank. He left Fimbank in 2004 and had only one year at his beloved farm in St. Antoine de Tilly, Quebec before his cancer returned. We were supposed to have spent that year in Casablanca & he always said how glad he was that he’d had at least that one full year at his farm. If you ‘google’ both ‘Fimbank’ & ‘Claude Roy’ you will be able to see the last photo of him, which was in the Fimbank annual report.
Jesus. I’m so sorry.
Thanks so much Mimi. It’ll be seven years in a few days…
That was a really nice write-up on the website.
Aren’t you sweet – thanks. He was very well liked and respected – all over the world !
No kidding – how lucky … since most of the villas have now been torn down…. which was breaking my heart when we lived there! We, too, lived in Silema – and my husband’s office was about a five minute walk, which is why we never chose to leave our flat in Silema, which overlooked Valletta and the Med. Sea. How did you come to be living there. How cool – and when did you live there. Wouldn’t it be funny if we actually knew each other OR if we knew the same people!!
The hotel might’ve been Hotel Phoenicia… I would’ve loved to have seen Malta as it used to be – lucky you!! Actually – we were both lucky to have lived in Malta!!
I went to your ‘about’ page… guess what !? We lived in Brooklyn Heights when my husband worked on Wall Street. Our twin sons went to five schools in six years, so when we ended up in Philadelphia (Villanova, actually) we promised them they could attend middle school and high school in one place!
P.S. – Your brisket looks ‘killer’ !!!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! It sounds fantastic!
You are so welcome! It’s really fantasticc!
Not popular and common in my country either. It sounds fantastic!
No! It’s definitely an American thing!
Yummy!
Thanks!
48 hours brisket? Cool! What temp?
135 degrees for 48 hours. It’s the same for flank steak.
This was a rub plus a sauce. Even better!!!
Great looking brisket. Interesting that you smoke after sous-vide, so far I’ve only done it vice versa. I didn’t expect butter in a bbq sauce, but am not surprised it’s tasty that way.
That’s what makes it so unique I think. I don’t know why I didn’t smoke first. That really does make more sense from a flavor perspective.
I agree with you on BBQ sauces, we use what comes closest to what we like. I like the blend of spices you’ve created and will give it a try.
Fabulous! Thanks!
Looks good – can I just ask what you mean by tomato sauce? Is it a paste or passata?
In the states we have canned tomato sauce and tomato puree, as well as whole and diced tomatoes and paste. Puree is liquid but a little more condensed, and tomato sauce is on the thinner side. They’re all from cooked and strained tomatoes, with no additional ingredients. Either sauce or puree or passata could be used – the more liquid tomato sauce would require a little more cooking time, since the resulting BBQ sauce is thick. You could always add a bit of tomato paste from a tube at the end to enrich the tomato flavor.
Okay, fab, thank you x
I just discovered the world of homemade BBQ sauce, too. Now the store-bought stuff tastes bland to me :/ Yours looks great! Worcestershire sauce is definitely key.
I think it is as well. Love the stuff!
Looks like a lovely sauce! I grew up on KC Masterpiece, but started making my own for the same reasons you did! I just can’t pick a favorite, though…my sauces are like me kids, I guess. Some days I just like one more than another, even though I always love them!
That’s very funny!
Thank you. This i my favorite one, but you can really creative with BBQ sauce like adding cherries or apricots or different liquors. Fun.
Great! Thanks!
Sounds likes a tasty sauce. Personally, I’m not a fan of when it’s too sweet or has cinnamon in it.
Now, I dislike sweet, but I’ve never heard of cinnamon in a BBQ sauce. Yuck!
Reblogged this on Cappuccino.
Thank you!
I love homemard BBQ sauce so much more than store bought. And, I love having another BBQ recipe to add to the collection. Thanks Mimi! Kristi @ Inspiration Kitchen
You are so welcome!
I always thought the bottled ones from the supermarket were much too sweet as well, your homemade version of BBQ sauce seems much better :D
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
In the US, there’s too much sugar in every product. It’s like the manufacturers of food products think we won’t buy food unless it’s sweet. Which is why I make everything from scratch!
Forget the meat, I’ll just take a bowl of that luscious sauce, please :)
Hahaha! It’s really good!
I agree with you on a homemade sauce being so much better than bottled although if I use a bottled one I like Sweet Baby Ray’s. I used to make one that had a can of Coke in it & it was really a good one. Can I find that recipe now? Of course not.
Hahahaha!