Steve's Homemade BBQ Sauce

Being of Italian/Sicilian heritage it is no surprise that Italian food is my favorite.  My second favorite food is barbeque.  Any type of barbeque will do, ribs, pulled pork, brisket, all of it. 

I got tired of "store bought" barbeque sauces not tasting quite to my liking.  I also got tired of finding a barbeque sauce that I like, only to have it disappear from my grocer's shelves.

My goal was to make my own barbeque sauce out of "normal" ingredients; anything that could be found in a regular grocery store, anywhere in the world.  It took me years of trying different recipes and modifying them to finally come up with this easy recipe.  Please note that the Ancho chili powder is a must, don't substitute regular chili powder, it's to potent and takes over.

As you can see the ingredients are quite standard, and they just might be in your pantry now.  After you make this barbeque sauce, let it sit in the refrigerator a day or so before using, it allows the flavors to blend together.  It's actually better in about a week.

This sauce works as a dipping sauce, glazing sauce, or even in meat loaf.  This sauce is a sweet thick style sauce as opposed to a thinner vinegar based sauce. With refrigeration, this sauce will last about a month or two. My batch of sauce runs out much sooner than a month!

This recipe was updated/modified 2/20/2020.

• 1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
• 1 medium sized sweet onion, finely chopped (Vidalia, etc.)
• 2 medium sized cloves garlic - finely diced
• 2 Cups ketchup
• 3/4 Cup honey
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• 1/3 Cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/8 Cup Apple Cider vinegar
• 1 Cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 Cup French's Yellow Mustard
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Ancho chili powder (not regular chili powder)
• 1/4 Cup Maple Syryp
• 1 tsp black pepper (not fresh ground)
• 1/4 Cup molasses - Grandma's Black Strap
• 1/4 Cup water (maybe less or maybe more, depending how thick you like your sauce)
• 1 tsp table salt
• 1 tsp Frank's Red Hot Sauce
• 1/4 Cup A1 Steak Sauce
• 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
• 3 Tbsp Vegatable Oil

Instructions:

1. Heat vegetable oil over medium heat, add onions, saute until transluscent.  Add garlic cook until lightly golden about 2 minutes more.
2. Add to the onion/garlic mixture:  ketchup, 1/4 cup of the honey, tomato paste, lemon juice, Apple Cider vinegar, brown sugar, Frank's Red Hot Sauce, worcestershire sauce, ancho chili powder, French's yellow mustard, A1 steak sauce, maple syrup, black pepper, salt, and molasses.  Stir well and often as the sugar can burn.  Slowly add water to get the sauce consistency you desire, remembering that the sauce will thicken when cold. You can always add more water later.
3. I like to simmer my sauce for about 30 minutes or so, just to get the tomatoe paste and the other ingredients broken down and happy together.  Remember to stir well and often to prevent burning the sauce.
4. Let this sauce sit for a day before using.  At this point start to add more of the honey to taste.  Start with another 1/4 cup and increase as desired.
5. This sauce will be at it's best in a few days to a week. It's like chili or tomatoe sauce, "the next day" it's always better.

This sauce will store in the refrigerator for a month or two. 
Steve DiFranco