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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.
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Bourbon Barbecue Sauce
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.
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Marcia says
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!
Martha says
Hi Marcia – you can swap in apple juice.
Rex says
I just made this sauce for about the fifth time. It is fantastic! Better than anything in a store. Thanks for sharing.
Martha says
You’re very welcome Rex!
Jim says
OMG! This recipient is absolutely to die for. Incredible flavour. Thanks you for posting it on Pinterest.
Martha says
You’re welcome Jim – glad you liked it!
Laura Schupmal says
Very good sauce. I put pineapple in mine. It gave it a little sweetness.
Martha says
Thanks for the suggestion Laura!