How to Make a Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce

Use light or dark brown sugar to make BBQ sauce.

Barbecue sauce is used to flavor food, or as a condiment for dipping or brushing. When cooking on a grill, barbecue sauce is ideal for basting the meat to keep it moist. The base of a barbecue sauce is often tomato, but the other ingredients can vary. Brown sugar is commonly added to barbecue sauce because it gives it a sweeter taste and thickens it.

Things You'll Need

• 2 qt. saucepan
• Whisk
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup chili, or hot sauce
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 tbsp. cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp.Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tbsp. molasses
• 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. garlic
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder

Instructions

1. Combine the ketchup, hot sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, molasses, Dijon mustard, salt, black pepper, garlic and onion in a 2 qt. saucepan. Use a whisk to mix the ingredients so they are blended together.

2. Heat the contents in the saucepan on "medium-high" heat. Stir the contents of the pot periodically with a whisk.

3. Bring the contents of the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and allow the contents of the pot to simmer for 10 minutes.

Tips & Warnings

• Serve your BBQ sauce hot off the stove, or allow it to cool and store it in the refrigerator in a sealed container.

• If your sauce is too thin, thicken it by adding either molasses, honey or cornstarch. Add a 1/2 tsp. at a time and stir. Keep adding your thickener a 1/2 tsp. at a time, stirring after each addition until your sauce reaches the desired consistency.

References

• Betty Crocker: Best Barbecue Sauce
• "Planet Barbecue"; Steven Raichlen; 2010