I remember the first time I ever made BBQ sauce. I was watching a good ol episode of Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives and there was a young woman who opened her own BBQ smoke house and I was inspired. Everything that goes into a good homemade BBQ sauce is surprisingly most likely already in your pantry. Some ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard and some seasoning. The only thing you may not have on hand is liquid smoke, but it’s literally at every grocery store nowadays. You can even order it online if you don’t want to go to the store and search for it. Talk about first world problems. Anyways, it’s super easy and takes no time and you can save the sauce for a long time in proper jars and containers and always have it on hand.

Store bought BBQ sauce always tastes good, but has tons of ingredients we can’t even pronounce. Or should I say that I cant pronounce. I’ll speak for myself on that one. So often, we get caught up in cheap prices and accessibility that we go for whatever is the easiest and we forget how easy and inexpensive it is to do something ourselves. This was certainly one of those recipes for me. Once you get a strong base recipe for the sauce you can switch things up or add flavor. You can make it spicy with cayenne pepper or add some honey for sweetness. You can add ginger and soy for an Asian sauce or leave it just the way it is. Everyone has a different palette so the possibilities are really endless.

What You Need:

• 1 24 oz jar of ketchup
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder

1. Combine all of the ingredients together in a medium sauce pan on medium low heat and let cook for about 5 minutes until the ingredients are warmed through.
2. Whisk until smooth and fully combined and let cool before you put it in a jar. If you are using the sauce then use it while still hot and smooth.