This easy Guinness Barbecue Sauce will add a fantastic kick of flavor to any grilled meat!
The spare refrigerator in our basement has become a gathering place for a rather eclectic collection of beer. It never fails – we host a party or a family dinner, and at the end of the night, there is always one or two bottles of beer leftover from a six-pack that one of our guests brought to the party.
For months now, we’ve been staring at a couple of bottles of Guinness in that refrigerator. While Jack and I love to cook with (and even bake with!) Guinness, it’s not our first choice for drinking. So – in the interest of using up those leftover bottles – we made this wonderful Guinness Barbecue Sauce.
All of the credit for this easy, zesty Guinness Barbecue Sauce belongs to Epicurious.com where we found the recipe. The flavors are wonderfully complex – but it’s made with ingredients you might already have on hand in your kitchen: Guinness, ketchup, brown sugar, whole grain Dijon mustard, honey, hot sauce, salt and pepper – plus star anise is optional. (We did add the star anise to our sauce – it adds a unique spicy note to the sauce!)
This Guinness Barbecue Sauce is fantastic on any grilled meat – especially these amazing Guinness Barbecue Pork Tips!
PrintGuinness Barbecue Sauce
This easy Guinness Barbecue Sauce will add a fantastic kick of flavor to any grilled meat!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: sauce
- Method: simmer
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
2 cups Guinness ale
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup whole grain Dijon mustard (we used Maille)
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons hot sauce (we used Cholula)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, boil the Guinness and star anise over high heat until reduced by half.
- Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. (In our experience making this recipe, this sauce never got to a super thick consistency.)
- Remove saucepan from heat and cool. Remove star anise from the sauce and discard.
- Use this Guinness Barbecue Sauce in our recipe for Guinness Barbecued Pork Tips.
- Pour extra sauce into a lidded jar or other container with a tight cover. Store refrigerated for up to one week.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Epicurious.com.
Beef and Guinness Casserole with Noodles
I don’t care for anise what can I use instead or will it change the taste drastically if I just leave it out?
Hi Karen – You can just leave it out – but feel free to taste the sauce and add your favorite seasonings.
Hey I was just wondering if this sauce is safe for canning?
Hi Sarah – We aren’t experts in canning but know enough about it that, to be safe, you’ll need to understand the acidity and PH levels of the foods you are trying to preserve. (Here’s a great article: https://foodinjars.com/blog/canning-101-acid-and-ph-in-boiling-water-bath-canning/)
We’ve never tested this recipe to know if it’s safe or not. Sorry I can’t be more help!
I was trying to find the Guinness ale and star anise where do I find this at? Could you provide pictures please?
Hi Kylee – I don’t have a way of attaching photos here. Guinness Ale is a type of beer so you should be able to find it in the beer aisle if your supermarket sells it, or at a liquor store. Star Anise is a spice – so in the spice aisle or on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3bYRTiy – hope that helps!
I totally agree MARTHA, there’s way too much sugar in store bought BBQ sauce. I love this recipe and can’t wait to try it. Thanks!
Hope you enjoy the sauce!