Mouthwatering Barbecue Sauces

Updated June 09, 2008
Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Whether you prefer thick and spicy or thin and tangy, these homemade barbecue sauces will add a kick to classic grilling recipes.

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Fancy Barbecue Sauce

Credit: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Fancy Barbecue Sauce Recipe

This fancy sauce comes together in a snap and is guaranteed to satisfy every Southern palate at your table.

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Tangy Strawberry Barbecue Sauce

Credit: Greg Dupree Styling: Ginny Branch

Tangy Strawberry Barbecue Sauce Recipe

A sauce like none other, this tangy strawberry topping is the answer to all of our bbq needs. Citrusy lemon and snappy strawberry meets your traditional ingredients plus an added welcome kick from chili sauce and cayenne pepper. In just 10 minutes whip up a sauce so good, you'll never want to go back to basic barbecue.

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Tangy Coffee Barbecue Sauce

Credit: John Autry; Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine

Tangy Coffee Barbecue Sauce Recipe

The addition of brewed coffee to a tomato-based barbecue sauce adds a whole new depth of rich flavor. This zesty condiment is great with grilled steaks, pork, or chicken.

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El Sancho Barbecue Sauce

Credit: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Mary Clayton Carl

El Sancho Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Turn up the Texas on this sweet and spicy barbecue sauce by stirring in 1/4 cup of reserved brisket drippings just before serving.

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Tangy-Sweet Barbecue Sauce

Tangy-Sweet Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Make a quick, 5-ingredient barbecue sauce for grilled chicken or pork by adding apricot jam, honey, soy sauce and vinegar to ketchup. You can even use it as a dipping sauce along with an assortment of other sauces when you’re entertaining guests this summer.

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Peachy Barbecue Sauce

Credit: Lee Harrelson

Peachy Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Enhance the flavors of ham, pork, and chicken with this delicate, summery fruit sauce. The chili sauce and vinegar balance out the peach preserves' sweetness, while the cloves add a hint of spice.

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Maple-Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

Credit: Jan Smith

Maple-Chipotle Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Strong-flavored meats like lamb, game, or beef can stand up to this bold sauce featuring adobo chiles, aromatic spices (like cloves and coriander), and maple syrup. It takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes to prepare, but is well worth the effort–and the majority of that time is devoted to baking the garlic cloves, not hands-on prep work.

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Four-Alarm Barbecue Sauce

Credit: Lee Harrelson

Four-Alarm Barbecue Sauce Recipe

This dipping sauce is a great alternative to the usual shrimp cocktail sauces, and relies on a secret ingredient–a can of Coca-Cola! One reviewer even compared it to a wings sauce. For more heat, make sure you use the jalapeño seeds or chop up a second pepper.

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Thick-and-Robust Barbecue Sauce

Thick-and-Robust Barbecue Sauce Recipe

This Kansas City-style sauce is similar to nationally branded barbecue sauces like KC Masterpiece. The ketchup thickens it up a bit, while the cider vinegar and onion add tang. Pair with steak, pork, burgers, or chicken and baste during the last 10 minutes of cooking, then serve additional sauce with the meal.

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Sweet Mustard Barbecue Sauce

Sweet Mustard Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Sauces from the Carolinas tend to be vinegar-based; this is a sweeter and thicker version of a traditional South Carolina sauce. Like all homemade sauces, you can make substitutions or alter the quantities of ingredients to personalize this sauce to your own tastes and preferences.

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Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce

Credit: Lee Harrelson

Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Homemade sauces tend to be much lower in sodium than commercial sauces, making them a great alternative for those watching their salt intake. This sauce gets its deep flavor from the variety of spices and other sauces that go into it–feel free to make substitutions to suit your own tastes. It's best with grilled chicken and paired with a side of coleslaw and baked beans.

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Tangy Barbecue Sauce

Tangy Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Use this tomato-based sauce for dipping, dressing up sandwiches, or as a glaze brushed on during the last 15 minutes of cooking. The sorghum, a type of molasses, lends a touch of sweetness to the mixture, though the lemon juice and hot and Worcestershire sauces keep it from being overwhelming.

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Quick Barbecue Sauce

Credit: Anna Williams

Quick Barbecue Sauce Recipe

When you need a barbecue sauce at the last minute, you can't go wrong with this 6-ingredient, 5-minute sauce. And all of the ingredients are probably already in your pantry.

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Tomatillo Barbecue Sauce

Tomatillo Barbecue Sauce Recipe

A far cry from a tomato-based barbecue sauce, this sweet and tangy yellow sauce is made with fresh green tomatoes and tomatillos. It's great for basting grilled chicken, fish, or shrimp.

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White Barbecue Sauce

White Barbecue Sauce Recipe

At many barbecue joints across the South, white barbecue sauce is the sauce of choice. It's generally a mayonnaise-based sauce, made tangy with the addition of vinegar, horseradish, and mustard. Fans of white sauce say that once you've doused your barbecued chicken in this sauce, you'll never go back to red.

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Melting Pot Barbecue Sauce

Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: MindI Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Melting Pot Barbecue Sauce Recipe

This recipe goes with: Deep South Barbecue Ribs.

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Honey Barbecue Sauce

Credit: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Cat Steele

Honey Barbecue Sauce Recipe

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Cola-Coffee Barbecue Sauce

Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: MindI Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Cola-Coffee Barbecue Sauce Recipe

This recipe goes with: Cola-and-Coffee Beef Ribs.

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Quick Barbecue Sauce

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Quick Barbecue Sauce Recipe

The ingredient list for this sauce is short and practical—you likely have most of the ingredients on hand. Smoked paprika and maple syrup round out the tang from the ketchup and add depth. Use as a glaze for pan-seared pork tenderloin or toss with shredded chicken for sandwiches.

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Chile-Honey Drizzlin’ Sauce

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Chile-Honey Drizzlin’ Sauce Recipe

Sweet heat is still a thing, baby. This sauce is just how it sounds: it’s sticky, spicy, and tangy, and it takes fatty things over the top. There’s just enough heat in the background to chase down the honey’s sweetness. You won’t run from the table, but this has got some heat. Try this with chicken wings, biscuits, cornbread, pizza, or anything with some fat. Feel free to experiment with ingredients, such as different pepper varieties (Gochujaru! Aleppo!) or a raw, local honey. 

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Sunshine Sauce

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Sunshine Sauce Recipe

Liquid sunshine? Yep. This sauce is a warm, tangy hug with a mission to brighten up your day—and your grilled meats. It’s a great crowd-pleaser that’s as easy as it gets. Try it on grilled meat (We recommend drumsticks, hot dogs, and pork tenderloin) or a highly spiced meat, like barbecue. Keep this recipe in your back pocket, or at least on the door of your fridge: People are definitely gonna ask for this one. The best part? You probably already have all the ingredients.

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