If you've always wanted to make your own BBQ sauce but never have, I think this is the recipe for you. Why? After 14 years of making it, it's still the only BBQ sauce I use. I've never felt the need to even try a different recipe. This one is all I will ever need or want.
If you were to ask me how many BBQ Sauces I've bought or made over the years I would tell I can't remember exactly but the number is probably around 1,742. My search for the perfect sauce ended when I was given this almost award winning recipe from Team Canada pitmaster Mike Callaghan.
BBQ Sauce is made with 3 basic ingredients and a few spices so I have no idea how it can go so wrong but it can. Whether it's store bought or homemade, at its core most BBQ sauce is made up of vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup and a bunch of spices. Most homemade sauces aren't bad, they just aren't Do a sommersault down a hill with our thumbs up Fonzie-style good.
I used to make a BBQ sauce from scratch. It wasn't bad. It was a basic concoction of the basic ingredients. It was good. Good enough to eat even. Which is more than I can say for most bottled BBQ sauces I've ever purchased.
Then on April 14th of 2009 I hosted a television show and was introduced to an award losing BBQ sauce. It was the best I'd ever had.
On the show, grill master Diva Q cooked a pig on a spit (moderately horrifying) and made a delicious BBQ Sauce from scratch. The recipe was on loan to her from another BBQing champion Mike Callaghan. Without a doubt it was the very best BBQ Sauce I've ever tasted in my entire life.
I kept licking the spoon like it was a meat popsicle. I've been making that BBQ Sauce ever since. But that's not the end of the sauce story.
I've since become acquainted with Mike, the creator of the sauce, and discovered he's travelled North America with this sauce losing competition after competition with it.
In 2014 he won the "Memphis In May" World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest with his tweaked BBQ sauce.
But I don't care if the original is an award losing recipe I'm sticking to it. In fact I've never bought or made a single other BBQ sauce since I made my first batch of this ...
Award Losing Maple Bourbon BBQ Sauce
I actually use my own maple syrup (Canadian, eh) to make this sauce. You can learn how to make your own maple syrup in my seriously detailed post on it. It will answer every single question you might have about making your own backyard maple syrup.
This recipe has all the basic ingredients, plus a few extras in exactly the right proportions.
A healthy dose of brown sugar, vinegar, maple syrup and Jim Beam Bourbon are the stars of the sauce.
The bourbon adds flavour and bite. Throw in the cayenne and it's the perfectly well rounded BBQ sauce you've always looked for.
All you do is dump everything into a pot, simmer it for 15-30 minutes and you're done.
Store it in an airtight jar in the refrigerator and it's ready to go whenever you make ribs or chicken. I should note that this is a sweet & spicy homemade barbecue sauce, so if sweet and spicy isn't your thing a) you're a bit of a lunatic and b) you should STILL make this because I still think you'll like it.
You don't HAVE to use this on grilled or smoked foods alone (although the flavour of the sauce goes particularly well with smoked foods). Add it to chicken you're cooking in the oven or drizzled over roasted vegetables - whatever you want. I'm not gonna be the boss of you and your sauce.
The Award Losing Maple Bourbon BBQ Sauce!
Ingredients
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- ½ cup white wine vinegar
- ⅔ cup bourbon (Jim Beam is preferred)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoon maple vinegar*
- 2 tablespoon white sugar
- ⅔ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup ketchup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine everything in a sauce pan and simmer until thickened. About 15 minutes.
Notes
* If you don't have, can't find, or can't be bothered to buy maple vinegar you can substitute with 4 tablespoons of white wine vinegar mixed with 4 tablespoons of maple syrup)
So there you have it. Others may give you award winning this or award winning that. But really ... what other blogger is going to give you an award losing recipe?
That's what makes our relationship special.
This recipe looks wonderful, but there's one thing I don't understand.
The recipe calls for 1/2 cup white wine vinegar and 2/3 cup maple syrup.
So why is it also necessary to also add 8 Tbsp maple vinegar separately, which you said you can make with 4 Tbsp each of white wine vinegar and maple syrup? Since 4 Tbsp = 1/4 cup, why not just pour 3/4 cup white wine vinegar and 2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup of maple syrup into the pot? (I'm not being critical; I used to be a chemist and just notice stuff like this. And I want to get it right!)
Hi Carol! There's no need to add it separately, you're right. :) It's because the first choice for the ingredient in the recipe is maple vinegar. Because this is a substitution, you add it separately. If the recipe was rewritten to eliminate the possibility of maple vinegar then it would have all the vinegar and syrups being added the way you stated. :) ~ karen!
Hi. I am sooooo going to make this BQ sauce. Yum. It sounds amazing. Thanks for passing it along.
Any owl updates?
BIG question: What kind of ketchup do you use? bigger question: who in the world invented the spelling for the name ketchup?
Ok I live north of Toronto and don’t know anything about this maple vinegar you speak of! Is it available in stores? Excited to use this on my summer ribs without all the garbage ingredients in store-bought!
Hi Patti! I've only made this with the actual maple vinegar ONCE! I don't even remember where I got the maple vinegar, lol. So you really don't need to worry about procuring any. ~ karen!
Thank you so much for sharing this! My mouth waters just reading the ingredients.
It's reallyyyyy good. ~ karen!
Thanks for sharing the recipe. I'm always on the lookout for a great sweet sauce. This one will also be easy to scale down for a half-sized amount of sauce. Cooking as a single means a lot of portion control. And since this is quick and easy to make there's no need for me to have a lot left over to store.
How long can this stay in the refrigerator?
I can't recommend you do this because it's probably against all guidelines but I honestly keep it in the fridge for months. It has never gone bad, off or developed mold. It has quite a high sugar and acid content which helps preserve it. Again, that's not an official guideline, just my experience. ~ karen!
Can this be used on meat in a crock pot or instant pot?
Hi Kathy! As long as the heat is low. It has a lot of sugar with the maple syrup, ketchup etc. so it will caramelize then burn easily. ~ karen!
Is this kid Friendly? 15 minute simmer doesn't seem long enough for the alcohol to cook off.
I'm trying to find "maple vinegar." I find a lot of "balsalmic maple vinegar." Is that the same thing or is that going to be much darker, thicker, and sweeter? Is there a maple vinegar you recommend for this recipe?
Hi Myklbykl - Even I have a hard time finding maple vinegar. So I just mix them myself like I say in the recipe. (mix 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar with 4 tablespoons of maple syrup) ~ karen!
I live on a very small island so have gotten used to making stuff I can’t find in shops or online. Found this recipe for maple vinegar and will try it. Ask me in 6 months’ time how the BBQ sauce turned out 🤣 - https://www.thekitchn.com/diy-maple-vineg-158124
I was looking for a maple style sauce to pair with pig belly bites I was cooking with maple wood smoke when I came across this one. Not going to lie, I had to make a couple changes, but hear me out! This may have changed it from an almost award winning, to a winner. I did not have bourbon on hand, I did however have spiced rum. I also didn't have maple vinegar, so I followed the substitute using maple butter spread (a stronger, thicker and creamy version of maple syrup). I halved the cayenne for the children.. The pork bites tasted amazing with this sauce! I would definitely make again.
That's great Char! It did eventually become a world award winning BBQ sauce, lol. I'm not sure what little tweaks he made. But regardless, with cooking I say do what you want to do and what you like. :) ~ karen!
This is a wonderful recipe. I tweaked it a bit - reduced the vinegar & bourbon slightly to make it a bit sweeter for our tastes. But this is a great base.
Oh my!! I smoked a 16 pound brisket, I made this BBQ sauce while waiting. My family thinks I should open a restaurant, lol!! It was truly the best rounded BBQ sauce I’ve ever had, it’s a family staple now, thank you for sharing with all of us!!
not sure I would prescribe for brisket, but poultry and pork would be a great combo
Gotta try it! But I wanna know what recipe did he lose to!
Thank you, can’t wait to try the recipe! I make a bourbon cherry bbq sauce and have tweaked it over the years adding chipotle and experimenting with different bourbons like with my jams. My favorite is Four Roses. There is a combination of fruit flavors in it that really marries well with foods. Try it sometime ;)
I feel silly asking what 4 Roses is, so here I am being silly and asking what is 4 Roses?
Hi Jessie, Four Roses is a fruit infused bourbon. It’s very smooth and really enhances and compliments jam and BBQ sauce recipes. It’s not sweet by any means but the flavors are very subtly noticeable. I use it to make and can a cherry chipotle bourbon bbq sauce this time of year. I hope you decide to try it!
Four roses IS NOT fruit infused!! Never not ever!!
I can just picture a cat wearing a chef's hat, sitting by a big green egg with a spatula. Lol!
What a talented cat! ;D