Name: Whiskey BBQ Sauce
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 95 min
Ingredients: 1/2 small yellow onion (minced); 4 cloves garlic (minced); 3/4 cup bourbon whiskey (I used Jack Daniels); 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper; 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt; 2 cups ketchup; 1/4 cup tomato paste; 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar; 2 tablespoons liquid smoke; 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce; 1/2 cup packed brown sugar; Dash of hot pepper sauce (Tobasco recommended)

Why this recipe works so well:

My barbecue sauce is so incredibly delicious. The flavor is really intense in the best possible way. Once you make this recipe, you'll never want to buy store bought barbecue sauce again.

This recipe is not difficult to make. In fact, it's rather easy and no skill is required.

The only chopping involved is for the onion and garlic which can also be pulsed in the food processor.

Most of the ingredient can already be found in your pantry.

The recipe is easy to double, triple, etc. if you want to make a big batch for future use.

This sauce tastes fantastic on chicken, beef, pork - you name it!

The whiskey adds great flavor (even if you're not a fan) and the alcohol burns off during the cooking process.

Here's how to make it:

Even though there are quite a few ingredients in this recipe that each need to be measured, the actual recipe only takes a couple of steps.

The first step is to cook the minced garlic and onion in whiskey. To do this, you'll use a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat. You'll cook the onions until they get very tender and translucent which will take about 10 minutes.

Then, you'll add all of the remaining ingredients that include salt and pepper, ketchup, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and hot pepper sauce. This mixture gets brought to a boil and then simmers over low heat for about an hour.

ingredients for homemade easy whiskey bbq sauce

Cooking tips for perfect results:

I prefer this sauce as a finishing sauce used during the last phase of your barbecue cooking as opposed to a marinade, but do with it as you will. Just make it!

Because I like my barbecue sauce smooth, I prefer to run the onion and garlic through the food processor. You can dice them by hand, but the food processor makes the process quick and easy.

If you make a large batch of barbecue sauce, you can freeze it or water bath can it for future use. To freeze, I recommend using reusable plastic containers. To water bath can, I've used pint sized jars and have let them boil for 20 minutes.

Step-by-step recipe video below!

Comments

Lisa
September 06, 2014 at 7:21 pm

How long do you process it in a water bath?
Reply
- spfoodie
  September 07, 2014 at 4:50 am
  I think we did like 45min. The seals popped just fine and I've used sealed bottles since and we're all still fine. Perhaps we were just lucky. 🙂
  Reply
  - Drew
    August 15, 2018 at 3:30 pm
    
    You’re very lucky. Tomato based products generally requiIre pressure canning, not water bath. You can submit your recipe to the FDA for best practices as to the method and time.
    Reply
Pam
July 17, 2017 at 6:58 pm
How much does this recipe yield?
Reply
- Krissy
  September 18, 2017 at 2:06 pm
  about 3 cups
  Reply
Francesca Diotallevi
August 21, 2017 at 2:57 am
With this recipe how many bbq sauce will have?
Reply
- Krissy
  August 28, 2017 at 3:27 pm
  about 4 cups
  Reply
Chris bome
September 13, 2017 at 3:43 pm
Made a 5 batch today and used my kitchen aide hand mixer to blend in onion pieces after all cooked.... have to say this is one of the best .... canned 16 pints if canning make sure to bring all to a boil at 180 for at least 5 minutes then hot clean stearlized jars and water bath 15 minutes .... thanks for the great recipie
Reply
Dennis
April 05, 2018 at 2:45 pm
The recipe sounds very good and I will be giving it a try thanks for posting. One suggestion I would make is changing the wording in your recipe, Jack Daniels is Tennessee Whiskey not bourbon whiskey there are very distinct differences in the distilling process which make them taste very different, if the whiskey adds a certain flavor to the recipe i'd be more specific, I will try it both ways to see which i prefer.
Reply
- Krissy
  April 06, 2018 at 6:11 am
  Thanks, Dennis!!! I definitely have some learning to do when it comes to the world of whiskey! Let me know what you think!
  Reply
Gerry
January 05, 2019 at 10:18 am

The sauce is simmering on my stove as I am writing this and it smells delicious. I've cheated and taken a couple of tastes along the way and can't believe how great it tastes. I had to mix a couple of different bourbons because I only had half a cup of Beam left in a bottle and about a quarter cup of Black Feather bourbon in another bottle. I also substituted minced dehydrated onions for fresh, but I very happy with how the recipe is turning out. Tomorrow I'm going to smoke some boneless pork country ribs on my pellet smoker. I'm thinking this is going to be my go to barbecue sauce in the future. Thanks for the great recipe.
Reply
Dee
June 30, 2019 at 9:48 am
I want to make this a few days in advance of company coming. How long will it last refrigerated?
Reply
- Krissy
  July 05, 2019 at 12:59 pm
  I've made it and kept it in the fridge at least a week (I think) with no issues.
  Reply

Whiskey BBQ Sauce

Why this recipe works so well:

Here's how to make it:

Cooking tips for perfect results:

Step-by-step recipe video below!