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 April14th 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 sort sort of meat popsicle. I've been making that BBQ Sauce ever since. But that's not the end of the sauce story.
Fast forward to December of the next year when I received a used Bayou Classic Cypress Smoker for my birthday. My boyfriend at the time happened upon the used Bayou Classic Smoker on Kijiji (it's like Craigslist) by chance and bought it. It was being sold by a guy who went by the name of Big Dog. I assumed this was not his given name, but the name given to him by some ceremonial BBQ chief. Or a rack of ribs.
After I got the smoker set up I emailed Big Dog to thank him for the great deal on the BBQ. In return he emailed me saying if I needed a good sauce recipe to let him know. I politely (because I'm always very polite to people until I get to know them) told him that I already had a favourite sauce. A delicious Maple Bourbon BBQ Sauce passed on to me by Diva Q. A sauce that tastes as though it has been kissed by maple syrup covered angels.
Turns out - it was his sauce.
He was the pitmaster that created the delicious Maple Bourbon BBQ Sauce recipe I got a year or so before. It was his world renowned, award losing BBQ Sauce. It's a loser sauce. Seems 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 sure my cat would be award losing too if I entered her into a competition but I still love her. (I mean in a cat show, not a BBQ competition)
So for your BBQing enjoyment ...
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 basics, 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 me special. Of course, now it is an award winning bbq sauce recipe, but when I first shared it it was just a big loser.
That and my ability to somersault down a hill with a rack of ribs in each hand.
→Follow me on Instagram where I often make a fool of myself←
OMG - I just made this as I am on a canning kick (I started out with TONS of almost spoiled apricots, so i made apricot jame & BBQ sauce with it - anyways)..... This is friggin' delicious! Thanks for sharing!!
PS, I am now a fan! You had me a toes. LoL
Excellent! Glad it worked out Michaela. ~ karen!
Thanks for the award losing recipe -- and the sense of humor. I enjoyed the humor, but will probably look for a simpler recipe (although yours sounds delicious, it really would make a lot more than I need).
Be careful about picking things up with your toes ... I hear it scares children and shoe salesmen.
Dennis - The recipe keeps forEVER. It makes around a mason jar full, a bit more maybe but you can keep it in the fridge for months and months. I don't mean to push, but I really think you should make this award losing BBQ sauce. It's the best BBQ sauce I've ever had. Ever. ~ karen
Todd, thanks for the sugar free sauce. I'm gonna try that too as I'm trying to be sugar free these days (as much as possible) but I will be making Karen's sauce too.
Karen, I just made a BBQ sauce from scratch last week, for the first time. It was from George Stella's low carb cookbook - delicious. Your's looks great too, can't wait to try it. This is too funny because I ordered a Bradley Jim Beam Smoker from Costco a couple of days ago. I'm soooo looking forward to playing with it. How do you like yours?
For a quick (and I find, foolproof) way to make BBQ ribs, I always boil mine for about 30 mins. before I slather on the BBQ sauce and cook them on the barbi or in the oven. I usually boil them up as soon as I bring them home from the store and freeze them in serving size pieces. A quick 5 mins in the microwave and they're ready to "hit the sauce" (pun intended) and the grill. They're always juicy and tender. Have a great weekend.
I kno w I am a little late to the party but boiling Ribs is a big No No. It doesn't do a thing for the Ribs. People think it tenderises the ribs but it doesn't. If anything it takes away the taste of the pork.
My brother and I had a discussion about boiling ribs that turned into a contest. My unboiled properly slow cooked won hands down. Of course I had just been to Memphis in May and helped one of the contestants in his booth. (a really fun event) Low and slow is the way to go. No boiling just remove the membrane from the back side.
I can't wait to try the BBQ sauce Karen.
Will you be selling this? I think I will be on line for some bbq sauce and fresh eggs.
pve
Whoa ho! I just made this for supper and we loved it. My KIDS loved it. My KIDS!!! Wow. There is a testimonial for you!!
Karen, you oughta try BBQ Cabbage! My hubby invented it during a BBQ Competition. Take a whole cabbage, wham the core down onto a counter-top, twist it and pull it out. Liberally sprinkle garlic powder into the hole and then pack the hole with butter. Wrap the whole head in foil, and place it on the grill with your meat. Turn it every once in a while when you check your ribs/pork shoulders. After a while, open it up and see if it's cooked through. If not, wrap it back up and cook some more. If done, unwrap it, chop up the cabbage into a serving dish, and drizzle with BBQ sauce. It's always a big hit!
Well this vegetarian is going to slather it on tofu & burgers & roasted root veggies & squash for a start.. & if you haven't added BBQ sauce to canned beans in tomato sauce, try it... turns hohum into ohyum....Thanks to both you & Black Pig for sharing...
Thanks Ellen! I think it'd taste best on Squash now that you mention it. It's a very sweet and spicy sauce, seems like it'd go well w/ squash! OH! And we don't buy canned beans in this house. I would, but my fella insists on making them from scratch. It's his "item" to bring for every holiday dinner. :) They're d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s. ~ karen :)
Recipe, please! My from-scratch beans are always either a little crunchy, or split and mushy. I love beans.
Shauna! Beans. They are a bit of a crap shoot. (no pun intended) The last batch me made, for New Year's Day, were the best he's ever made for some reason. I'll have him make them again this weekend and try to get the recipe/post up for you next week! They take around 9 or 10 hours so ... fair warning. ~ karen
Normally, I'd make this with whatever whiskey I have on hand, but there are some things that ought not be tampered with too much. Is it okay to use a different kind of whiskey? I have some kind of aged 12 years whiskey that I got for Christmas last year that neither I nor my husband are partial to.
Hi Alyssa! I'm sure you could use any whiskey, but try to make it similar to a bourbon. (don't use a sweet whiskey for instance) My next choice would be Jack Daniels or some other Tennessee whiskey. If you don't like the whiskey you have on hand for drinking, you might not like it in cooking either. However, having said that, why don't you half or quarter the recipe and give it a shot. Keep in mind it tastes very different on a rib than it does right off the spoon. It'll seem much stronger just off the spoon, obviously. Lemme know if you try it! ~ karen
Hey now, I'm a vegetarian, and I LOVE making/tasting barbeque sauce! This sauce especially looks amazing. I'm a little uncertain about the vanilla extract, but I will try it nonetheless!
Sarah P! LOL, I had the same reaction to the vanilla extract. So what does a vegetarian put BBQ sauce on? I would like to know every possible thing you think it's possible to slather this in! It's soooo good. ~ karen
It may sound weird, but beans are one of my favorite BBQ sauce subjects (saucees?) because they soak up flavor so well; that's probably what I'll try first. Other things I enjoy in BBQ sauce include roasted veggies (root vegetables work best), or French Fries for dipping in it. And seitan if I want something dense and "meaty."
Karen,
Can this sauce be "canned"? My cousin gave homemade peach preserves to everyone for Christmas. They came complete with little tags with pictures of her and her husband at the orchard where they picked the peaches. I would love to show her up next year by giving out jars of this sauce. (isn't that what Christmas is all about?)
Oh YUM!!! I have shared this recipe with everyone!
The BBQ sauce sounds mouth watering cept it would kill me with all that sugar....okay maybe not kill me but do serious damage to blood glucose levels (diabetes).
I am making this sauce to try on flank steak this weekend. Thanks Karen! BTW, I was glad to see you added the whiskey straight into the BBQ and not into you as you did in the blog "A Bow for the Boys". Blogging and drinking can be a dangerous combination. Then again... your handwriting on the BBQ label did look a little skewed. :)
I'm not a BBQ sauce fan (in TX we like the taste of the smoke). When I do ribs though, I make a sugar free sauce (diabetic wife) that we all really like.
8 oz. can (small) tomato paste
1 can diet Dr. Pepper (yes, it has to be Dr. P)
1 tablespoon minced onion (fresh is better, dehydrated will work)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Saute the onion in a sauce pan. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover and bring to simmer.
I love Dr. Pepper but can't drink caffeine. Perhaps I could tolerate it in my bbq sauce since I don't plan to drink it all. Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Karen
Wished I had of known you were looking for a Big Green Egg. I saw one up here at Young's Point. It was in a fireplace, woodburning stove, BBq place. Odd looking thing. I wondered what it was and it said "Big Green Egg" Never heard of such a thing until then.I will for sure try the sauce since I have great Maple Syrup source, and like you I have not found but 1 bottle of sauce I like and that is Diana's chicken and rib sauce.
Maggie - Thank! But I think he was looking for a used one. He couldn't find a used one. :) ~ karen
You know... I've been losing stuff for YEARS and people still keep me around.
Can't we just skip the sauce and drink the Jim Beam??
Karen,
Now I just need a award (winning/losing) mouth watering rib recipe to got with it. Coming from TN/NC and being transported to the middle of the cornfields of the midwest, there is a lot left to be desired in the way of ribs. Any recipes up your sleeve?
Emily! I have good Kansas City Rib Rub I can post to go with this particular BBQ sauce, but I'm still working on becoming a master rib cooker. Post on my ineptitude to come soon I'm sure. They're either too smokey or not smokey enough or they're raw or they've over cooked ... I've probably cooked 2 racks of perfect ribs in my life. I suck. LOL. ~ karen!
IM new to this blog also. I am a chef and love cooking ribs. There are a few very easy ways to cook ribs without all the stank of smokers and long hours. I do a dish called "beer & bones" in my kitchen, its fun and customers love the play on sappy old country songs at times. LOL....feel free to ask. I am also starting a blog with more food and beer related topics. sweetsoneats.wordpress.com I will be buying the domain name today...hope I can join the show...
There is nothing like NC BBQ! Mostly because it's the most disgusting thing I've ever eaten in my entire life! *BLECK!* I grew up in Ohio, and was transplanted to NC. We live right on the coast, and every time we go out someplace I have to make sure their BBQ sauce is actually RED (or similarly colored) before I will order anything BBQ! LOL
Before bed I decided check your blog again for a new entry (I'm a new fan and yes, I may be addicted) alas, no new post but I reread a few of your $ store posts to get my fix- I had recently returned from Dollarama inspired by your many fab decor ideas and was looking for something I may have missed on my last Dollar-rampage.
I picked up the glass candy dish for a sugar bowl (and a couple to spare), a few glass candlesticks (like those featured in your place setting) to display a variety of mercury glass balls and of course, the clever magnetic spice jars so that I too can become an expert knitter.
When I first discovered your blog after watching a Steven & Chris video online, I hit Dollarama with a fervour I usually reserve for IKEA. I was inspired by your halloween wreath, albeit in time for xmas I made a white one with lime green glass balls. Perusing their ugly desktop pen holders, I recalled your multi-purpose candy dish and chose a couple of small chunky glass vases to serve the purpose of holding pens, USBs & paperclips. (When you buy a pen holder at the $ store, it looks cheap but buy a cheap glass vase and use it to hold pens, that's chic)
Next it's the stump table and apparently I have some bbq sauce to make... mmmm!
Thanks, Karen for all the inspiration and humour- I can relate to both your humorous and diy sensibilities. I'm not near as creative as you but I can swing a hammer or splitting maul, wield a glue gun, a mig welder or cast iron frying pan as req'd. And apparently I can rip off someone else's brilliance like no one's business... oops, I mean, with the right muse I can take a clever idea and add my own flavour.
Love your creativity!
I think I just fell in love with you. Those are pretty much my 3 favourite ingredients, ever.
Thank you!
Thanks Alisha. I've kindda had a crush on you for a while now. :) ~ karen