The art of barbecuing to perfection is not something that can be easily learned. From giving the meat a suitable amount of heat to preparing delicious sauces, it is a complex procedure that requires learning. If the meat you have prepared is well done but the sauces aren’t, it would simply ruin the taste. To avoid that from happening, one should take care of certain elements to make sure that the barbecue sauce is made to perfection.
How to Make a Great Barbecue Sauce?
Before we head over to the recipe for making a barbecue sauce, here are certain things you should consider.
Focus on Flavoring
The most important thing you should be considering is the appropriate quantity and quality of flavor. If you are making a barbecue sauce yourself, be sure to test it in a small quantity at first. This is important because it will let you know whether you are adding an appropriate amount of flavor or something is lacking. Sometimes, the flavoring could be overdone as well which could also ruin your sauce experience.
In case you directly make it in a large amount and then figure out the problem, not only would it all go to waste but you would have to put in effort and time once again to re-make the sauce. Also, the ingredients you are using for flavoring are of fine quality. Using substandard products or the ones that are close to expiry are most likely not fresh which is why they should be avoided.
In addition to that, one important element to be considered in flavoring is the level of spice in the sauce. If you are having a barbecue party, there would be some people who would love a spicy sauce while the others might avoid it. Try balancing out the flavor between spicy and non-spicy to cater to maximum people.
Make it Fresh
Some people make sauces days before they are planning to get the barbecue done but this is not the right practice. What makes a great barbecue sauce is that it is freshly made as it has the maximum flavoring, aroma, and gives you the precise taste that you are looking for. On the other hand, sauces that are made right on the day of a barbecue party have a better taste than the other ones.
Learn more about the history of barbecue here – The History of Barbecue
Grind Well
One of the main things many seem to forget is the appropriate level of grinding the sauce. For example, if you are using solid chunks of tomato, or any herbs, to make the sauce, you should make sure that they are fully ground because small chunks are not usually a part of the sauces. If there are chunks in your sauce, you can simply grind it more to make it taste better and easily edible.
Keep it Thick
A major point to consider when preparing any kind of barbecue sauce is to keep it thick. A few people add too much water while preparing the sauce to increase the volume. However, this makes the sauce too watery and cannot be used. There is minimal flavor in it as well. While we do say that a sauce should be thick, it shouldn’t be too thick that the person trying to eat it is unable to do so. Balance it appropriately. The best way to do this is to compare your sauce with ketchup. Ketchup has the appropriate amount of thickness and you can simply follow that to avoid the issue.
Get it Tasted
If you just rely on your own opinions, you might not be able to make up a great barbecue sauce. Don’t just feel like you did a great job making a barbecue sauce only because you were the one who approved it. Others may have a different taste or sometimes, others may be able to identify a problem with the taste, flavoring, thickness, or any other element which you were not able to figure out on your own. Take help from a family member, particularly someone who is interested in food and cooking.
In addition to that, you can also try to compare it with a barbecue sauce that you could get from the market. With this, you would be able to know the differences between the sauce which you prepared vs the one you got from the markets. Figure out the differences in terms of the level of spice, flavoring, thickness, and the overall taste to see where you lack.
Best Recipe for a Great Barbecue Sauce
The recipe we will discuss is going to be Texas-style barbecue sauce. The reason why we selected it as the best barbecue sauce is that it has an appropriate combination of spicy, sweet, and smoky as well. Except for the use of Worcestershire sauce, the Texas BBQ sauce is made completely organically with the help of vegetables. While many sauces you would get from the market are going to have added preservatives and sugars, this one won’t. Surprisingly, this barbecue sauce is one of the easiest ones to make.
What You Need
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil (Alternative – Olive Oil)
- 1 Small Onion or ½ Medium Onion – Diced
- Chopped Garlic – 2 Cloves
- Tomato Sauce and Paste (Mashed tomatoes with water and salt)
- Apple Cider Vinegar – ¼ Cup
- Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Yellow Mustard (Use according to the level of spice you prefer)
- 1 Tablespoon Chipotle Powder (Use according to the level of spice you prefer)
- Black Pepper (As per taste)
Instructions
The first thing to do is to heat the olive oil or the avocado oil whichever you have picked. Do it in a saucepan on low heat. The next thing is to add garlic and onion. Let the onion change its color and soften. Some people don’t like to add onion so they can avoid it as well. Once the mixture is softened, you should add the remaining ingredients as we have mentioned above. Keep it as it is for 5 minutes and stir it to side by side.
Once the ingredients have been properly heated, you should put them in a blender and blend thoroughly. Keep in mind that you may need to add some water if the sauce appears to be too thick. Unless the texture goes smooth and you don’t see any big chunks, keep blending. Once the sauce has been blended properly, you should let it cool. Keep in mind that you should not be cooling the sauce in a refrigerator rather allow it to cool to room temperature. Blend it once again after the sauce has cooled down.
The next step is to reheat the sauce on the pan at low heat. This isn’t necessary but some people enjoy the experience more when the sauce is hot while others simply want the sauce to be at room temperature. That’s all! Your authentic Texas Style BBQ sauce is ready. The best part? You didn’t use anything inorganic other than Worcestershire sauce and even that is used in a very low quantity.
Keep it in Mind
There are various ways to prepare a barbecue sauce and you can find tons of recipes online. However, make it a priority that you use organic ones so that there is little to no impact on the overall health. In addition to that, when searching for recipes, you may come across some which are quite detailed. These barbecue sauces are generally prepared by professionals with very precise measurements and not everyone can make theirs with the same taste. Moreover, another important thing you should keep in mind is that the taste of your sauce may vary from time to time if you change the brands of the ingredients.
Suggested Reading – Chicken in White Gravy Easy Homemade Recipe
Conclusion
Making a great barbecue sauce isn’t something difficult but it just requires you to take care of certain things like the thickness of sauce, flavoring, taste, freshness, and how well has the sauce been ground. The extras we have mentioned should also be taken care of if you need a great sauce with outstanding taste. If you follow the recipe we mentioned above, you will surely be able to make the perfect BBQ sauce which many would like.