Homemade BBQ Sauce

• Prep10 min
• Cook30 min
• Total40 min
• Serves24

Ingredients

• 100 g yellow onion, in pieces (1 small)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 15 g vegetable oil (1 tbsp)
• 400 g ketchup (1 1/2 cups)
• 30 g tomato paste (2 tbsp)
• 100 g dark brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)
• 120 g apple cider vinegar (1/2 cup)
• 60 g molasses (3 tbsp)
• 30 g Worcestershire sauce (2 tbsp)
• 15 g yellow mustard (1 tbsp)
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
• 120 g water (1/2 cup)

Instructions

1. Place the onion and garlic in the mixing bowl and chop 5 sec/speed 5. Scrape down the sides with the spatula.
2. Add the oil and sauté 4 min/120°C (250°F)/speed 1.
3. Add the ketchup, tomato paste, brown sugar, vinegar, molasses, Worcestershire, mustard, smoked paprika, chili powder, salt, pepper, cayenne (if using) and water.
4. Place the simmering basket on the mixing bowl lid instead of the measuring cup and cook 20 min/100°C (212°F)/speed 2. The vinegar smells strong while it cooks; that is normal.
5. Remove the simmering basket and put the measuring cup in place. Blend 30 sec/speed 4-8, increasing speed gradually, until smooth.
6. Taste and adjust: a splash of vinegar for more tang, a spoonful of brown sugar for more sweetness. For a thicker sauce, put the simmering basket back on the lid and cook 5 min/100°C (212°F)/speed 2 more. It also thickens as it cools.
7. Pour into clean glass jars, let it cool, then close the jars and refrigerate.

Tips

• Guava BBQ sauce: add 120 g (about 4 oz) guava paste, in cubes, with the ketchup in step 3 and use only 50 g (1/4 cup) brown sugar. It turns fruity and sticky, and it is wonderful on ribs, wings and pork chops.
• Smoky without liquid smoke: the smoked paprika does the work. For deeper smoke and some heat, add 1 or 2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo with the onion in step 1.
• It keeps up to 2 weeks in a closed jar in the fridge, or 3 months in the freezer. Pour what you need for basting into a small bowl, and never dip a brush that touched raw meat into the jar.
• Brush it on during the last 10 to 15 minutes of grilling or baking, since the sugar burns over high heat. For ribs in the oven, see the oven BBQ baby back ribs recipe.