A zesty homemade Bourbon Barbecue Sauce perfect for pulled pork or other barbecued meats.
Here is the recipe for my husband Jack’s amazing Bourbon Barbecue Sauce. This is the sauce we show served in our Pulled Pork recipe, and it couldn’t be any easier to make!
Our Bourbon Barbecue Sauce is a terrific blend of flavors from the bourbon, ketchup, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, and a small amount of hickory liquid smoke.
If you’ve never cooked with liquid smoke before, it’s a concentrated seasoning used to give meat a smoky or woody flavor, and it can be found in most grocery store condiment or spice aisles, as well as online. Just be sure to use a small amount of liquid smoke, as the flavoring is very intense – but it’s really the perfect addition to this barbecue sauce. (Liquid smoke comes in a few different flavors such hickory, mesquite, pecan, and cherry. We used a hickory flavor in our recipe today.)
What we particularly like about this Bourbon Barbecue Sauce is that it’s more zesty than sweet, and it really compliments the spices and other flavorings in our pulled pork. But – if you prefer a sweeter sauce, simply add more brown sugar to the recipe to suits your tastes.
We also used this Bourbon Barbecue Sauce in our Dry Rub Spicy Barbecue Chicken Wings recipe. It’s a versatile sauce that is delicious on sandwiches, chicken wings, or ribs. Enjoy!
You may also like these other Homemade Barbecue Sauce recipes:
- Guinness Barbecue Sauce
- White Barbecue Sauce
- Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce
- Bourbon Peach BBQ Sauce
- Mozelle’s Barbecue Sauce
This recipe was originally posted here on A Family Feast in December 2012. We’ve made some updates to the post and photos, but it’s the same delicious recipe.
PrintBourbon Barbecue Sauce
A zesty homemade Bourbon Barbecue Sauce perfect for pulled pork or other barbecued meats.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: condiment
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: barbecue
Ingredients
1 cup bourbon whiskey
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups ketchup
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons molasses
1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke (hickory flavor)
Dash hot sauce
Instructions
- In a 4-quart sauce pan, bring the bourbon to a boil with the minced onions and simmer for five to ten minutes. Most of the bourbon will have evaporated at this point, leaving about two tablespoons of liquid and the onions.
- Add the water and all of the other ingredients into the pan with the onions, heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until you reach a thick and smooth consistency.
- Using an immersion blender, puree until onions have dissolved, or you can just leave them as-is in the sauce.
Can you can this recipe for longer shelf life? Thanks.
Safe canning practices require a certain level of acidity in the food for longer shelf storage – we’ve never tested the acidity level of the sauce so can’t say for sure if it’s safe to do so. Sorry we can’t be more help.
I really like that sauce recipe! I followed it (almost) to the letter, but substituted apple cider vinegar for balsamic. I’ll have to look for more recipes to try on your website! Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed the barbecue sauce!
Sorry for a stupid question but do you pour the sauce on after the Ribs are cooked in the slow cooker or before you put them in the slow cooker? I have not made the sauce yet as I will have to go out tomorrow and do some shopping.
Hi Everett – Not a stupid question at all!
We DO usually put the sauce on the ribs AFTER they are cooked in the slow cooker. (This recipe might interest you: https://www.afamilyfeast.com/slow-cooker-honey-garlic-baby-back-ribs/ – the ribs are simply seasoned with a rub and cooked in the slow cooker without any added liquid – the steam from the slow cooker will create enough liquid). Then you can use the Bourbon Barbecue Sauce recipe at the end (or the sauce in the slow cooker rib recipe) – brush some on and broil a little to caramelize, or simply slather it on the ribs if you don’t want to do the broiling step. Hope this helps!
Delicous!
Can you can or store this. I have many bourbon friends that I know would love this and it would make a nice take home gift to share.
Hi Penny – Safe canning practices require a certain acidity level…we’ve never tested this recipe to say for sure if it is safe to can. It will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator – if you need to store it for longer than that, I’d suggest freezing it unless you have a way to test the sauce’s acidity level.
Hello I don’t usually cook with alcohol. I am wondering what I should/could substitute to make it without the bourbon so it still tastes good or close to the original. Thanks!
Hi Marcia – you can swap in apple juice.
I just made this sauce for about the fifth time. It is fantastic! Better than anything in a store. Thanks for sharing.
You’re very welcome Rex!
OMG! This recipient is absolutely to die for. Incredible flavour. Thanks you for posting it on Pinterest.
You’re welcome Jim – glad you liked it!
Very good sauce. I put pineapple in mine. It gave it a little sweetness.
Thanks for the suggestion Laura!