Easy Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Today I thought I would share a super easy homemade barbecue sauce recipe! This is so simple to make...you just stir everything together in a pot and let it simmer for 20 minutes or so, and that's it! I found the original recipe when I was out of bottled barbecue sauce once, and I have tweaked it to suit my family's tastes, and we love the results! This is a sweet, tangy, smoky, and slightly spicy sauce. It is delicious on chicken, pork, and beef, and I bet you already have all of the ingredients on hand. Of course, feel free to adjust the amount of each ingredient based on what your family likes...if you like a less sweet sauce, cut back on the brown sugar. If you prefer a very spicy sauce, add more hot sauce. That's the fun of making your own sauce...you can really make it taste exactly the way you want! So here we go...

In a small saucepan combine ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, hot sauce, garlic powder, yellow mustard, salt, liquid smoke, and molasses. Honestly, the molasses are totally optional. I know not everyone just happens to have molasses sitting in their pantry, but I usually have some leftover from holiday baking, so I add a splash of it to this sauce. The original recipe does not include it, and it is delicious without it. It just adds a little something extra and some nice color. Also, if you don't have the liquid smoke, don't worry about it. Your barbecue sauce will just be less smoky. It only takes a tiny bit of liquid smoke, and I have a very small bottle that I keep just for recipes like this when I want to add a little bit of smokiness. 

Once you have that all in your pan, give it a stir then bring it to a simmer over medium heat. 

All you really have to do is heat it up, and it is perfectly usable, but I like to let mine simmer for 20 minutes or so over medium-low heat to let it thicken a bit and really develop the flavors. I think a good barbecue sauce needs to simmer for a little while so it loses some of that "ketchupy" flavor (for lack of a better word). Not that I have anything against ketchup, but when I want barbecue sauce, I want barbecue sauce...not ketchup with a slight barbecue flavor. 

You can see how it looks darker and more like what you'd expect from a barbecue sauce. Yum! Also it's nice and thick! 

Here is the recipe for your reference. This sauce is really delicious, and takes very little time and effort! 

Easy Homemade Barbecue Sauce 
Adapted from: Food.com

1/2 cup ketchup
2 1/2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 1/2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar 
3 dashes hot sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder 
1 teaspoon yellow mustard 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1 dash liquid smoke 
1 dash molasses 

Directions
1. Mix all ingredients together in a small saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. 
2. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for up to 20 minutes. 
3. Allow to cool slightly and serve!