Name: Homemade Balsamic BBQ Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: ¾ Cup good balsamic reduction; ¼ Cup good balsamic vinegar; ¾ Cup ketchup; ¼ Cup brown sugar; ½ tsp garlic powder; ½ tsp onion powder; 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 2 tsp Dijon mustard; ¼ tsp Kosher salt; ¼ tsp black pepper

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Homemade Balsamic BBQ Sauce

Homemade BBQ Sauce is something that you are definitely going to have to try. If you haven’t made your own sauce you are definitely missing out! This BBQ sauce recipe is simply out of this world. It provides you with a very non-traditional sauce that still has that BBQ kick with a twist!

It always amazes me how ingredients that you might not think would go together actually pair perfectly. This BBQ sauce would marry gorgeously with any smoked meat like pork or beef.

The sweet flavors of the balsamic vinegar, ketchup, and brown sugar balance out the sharper flavors of the Dijon, garlic, and onion powders. Once it reduces it is a dark, sticky, yummy BBQ sauce that looks a little like chocolate sauce. Don’t be fooled, it has a beautiful sweet bite you’re going to love.

What is the Best BBQ Sauce?

There are so many good or pretty good BBQ sauces in your grocery store, but there are not too many really great-tasting sauces. The wonderful thing is that it is easy to make your own.

Looking around there are literally hundreds of different BBQ sauce styles. You can go traditional, like a thick, sweet, and tangy tomato-based Kansas City style sauce. Or go for a vinegar-based BBQ sauce like the sauces from Carolina.

Today there are many non-traditional sauces. There are Cola-based sauces. You can make BBQ sauce using just about any sweet fruit, from strawberries to pineapple. From blueberries to apples!

Homemade BBQ Sauce

Like they say there is nothing better than homemade. And BBQ sauce is no exception! It’s easy to put your own creation together using ingredients that you likely have in your pantry already!

Everyday products like ketchup, honey, brown sugar, and maybe a little Worcestershire sauce can be whipped up into something super tasty in as little as 15 minutes.

If you like, you can add a little (or a lot) of heat to your sauce. Just a splash of your favorite hot sauce or a dash of cayenne pepper works great!

How Can I Thicken My BBQ Sauce?

This particular BBQ sauce recipe is pretty thick. I like it because it sticks to your meat and your fingers! But if you find that your sauce is a little too thin for your liking there are a couple of easy fixes you can do to thicken it up.

Firstly, you can simmer it on the stovetop for a little longer. This will reduce the water content of your sauce and help to thicken it. This will also concentrate the flavor in your sauce, which may or may not be what you are looking to do.

Secondly, you can mix 2 TBSP of cornstarch into ¼ cup of cold water. You need to make sure that the cornstarch is completely dissolved or your sauce will have lumps. Add this to your sauce and continue to let it gently simmer for another 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly.

Sweet or Spicy

Like that old movie title, “Some Like it Hot” some people love their BBQ sauce really spicy. On the other hand, some people love that wonderfully sweet tangy taste. Either way, I think that the best part of BBQ sauce is when you have to, or get to, lick that extra BBQ sauce off your fingers.

The one thing is that if you are using your own BBQ sauce on some fabulous pork ribs or brushing on chicken it doesn’t matter. If you make it the way you like that’s the most important thing!

I created this awesome BBQ sauce to be served with my seriously slow-smoked pulled pork. So while you are making this gorgeous sauce stay tuned for my pulled pork recipe!