This Bourbon BBQ Sauce has a smoky flavor and tastes great with chicken, pork, and all your BBQ favorites. Made with readily-available ingredients, this sweet and spicy sauce is the perfect topping for your summer cookout needs.
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Why this Bourbon BBQ Sauce Recipe is a Keeper
If you love a sweet addition to your family barbecues, this BBQ sauce is the best choice for your next get-together. You’ll love the flavor, which is the perfect balance of sweet and savory. Here are a few reasons why you’ll love this buffalo sauce:
- 20 Minute Sauce: Have this bourbon barbecue sauce ready in just 20 minutes.
- Easy Ingredients: All of the ingredients for whiskey BBQ sauce can be found in your kitchen or local grocery store.
- Adaptable: Easily adjust this bourbon sauce recipe to your tastes and dietary preferences including vegetarian and vegan needs.
If you’re looking for more barbecue recipes made with sauces you’ll love, try these: Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Instant Pot BBQ Ribs, and Grilled BBQ Wings.
What is the Kind of Bourbon for this Smoky Bourbon BBQ Sauce Recipe?
While Jack Daniels whiskey is not labeled as bourbon, it can sometimes be classified as such. Any kind of bourbon adds flavor to this sweet and smoky bourbon BBQ sauce, but you don’t need one that’s too expensive; if you drink bourbon, you can make bourbon sauce with whichever one you have in your kitchen. For instance, you can use Jim Beam to make the best homemade barbecue sauce.
Homemade Barbecue Sauce Ingredients
This mouthwatering BBQ sauce, like many great barbecue sauces, starts with your favorite bourbon. It’s tangy and sweet and goes great with everything from baby back ribs to chicken wings. You’ll see how easy it is to make the sauce with these ingredients:
- Bourbon: A grocery store bourbon or whiskey will do just fine.
- Ketchup: Ketchup will help thicken the sauce.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar helps bind the ingredients together. You can also use apple juice in a pinch.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Variations and Substitutions for the Best Barbecue Sauce
- Fruit: Some fruit, like peaches or pineapple, can help flavor this savory sauce.
- Spice: Adjust the spice level to your preference with chili powder, chipotle, or hot sauce. You can also flavor it with onion powder or garlic powder.
- Brown Sugar: For more sweetness in this tangy sauce, add dark brown sugar, or make the sauce with molasses.
Special Equipment Needed for Bourbon BBQ Sauce
- Food Processor: Use a food processor to easily blend the ingredients together.
Homemade Sauce Pro Tip
During the last 5-10 minutes of cooking, if you have BBQ sauce on hand, apply a thin layer to the pot. This gives the sugars enough time to caramelize and create a sticky, flavorful glaze without burning.
How to Make Homemade Bourbon BBQ Sauce
It’s so easy to make this sauce with bourbon whiskey and spices. You’ll love this barbecue sauce recipe so much, you’ll never buy storebought sauce again! You’ll be slathering this sauce on pulled pork, BBQ chicken breasts, brisket, or anything else you want to give a delicious bourbon flavor. Follow the steps below to learn how to make this homemade sauce.
These are the basic steps for making homemade BBQ sauce. Refer to the full, printable recipe card below for detailed instructions and recipe information.
1. Cook the Sauce
In a large saucepan over medium heat, add a cup of bourbon or whiskey, along with the minced onion and garlic. Let simmer for 7-10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.
2. Combine Ingredients
Once onions are translucent, stir in the ketchup, vinegar, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, hot sauce, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes to continue to thicken.
3. Blend the Sauce
After the sauce simmers, use an immersion blender or food processor and blend until the mixture is smooth. Serve immediately, or let the sauce thicken as it cools and store in the fridge.
Frequently Asked Questions to Make Bourbon Sauce
Store the sauce in an airtight container for two weeks in the refrigerator.
It depends on how much you want. However, use what the recipe called for and then add more for dipping. This sauce is great with chicken tenders or on sandwiches.
Yes, after the sauce reduces and cools place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipe Notes for Making Homemade Bourbon Barbecue Sauce
- This Recipe Can be Halved: If you are looking to serve this recipe to 8 people or less, you can half this recipe by decreasing the ingredients proportionally.
- Blender: If you do not have a food processor or immersion blender, a normal blender will work fine for the best bourbon sauce.
- Chicken: Use this whisky barbeque sauce as a marinade or dipping sauce for grilled chicken, chicken wings, or chicken fingers.
What to Serve with Homemade BBQ Sauce
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Bourbon BBQ Sauce
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Ingredients
- ¼ cup Minced Onion
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- ¾ cup Whiskey or Bourbon
- 2 cups Ketchup
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
- ⅓ cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- ¼ cup Tomato Paste
- ¼ cup Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 teaspoons Liquid Smoke
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- ½ teaspoon Hot Sauce
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Add minced onion, minced garlic and whisky to a large sauce pan over medium-high heat.
- Simmer for 7-10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.
- Stir in the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, salt, hot sauce and ground black pepper.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender or food processor to puree the mixture until smooth.
Christina’s Notes
- This Recipe Can be Halved: If are looking to serve this recipe to 8 people or less, you can half this recipe by decreasing the ingredients proportionally.
- Blender: If you do not have a food processor or immersion blender, a normal blender will work just fine.
- Chicken: Use this whisky barbeque sauce as a marinade or dipping sauce for grilled chicken, chicken wings, or chicken fingers.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.
Wow is this good! We made a batch to serve with our pulled pork sandwiches, this weekend. We’re going to need to double it for the next get together! Thanks for the great recipe.