Homemade Barbecue Sauce Recipe (and Barbecue Rub)
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Homemade barbecue sauce is easy to make (and so is barbecue rub) and they taste GREAT! Making my own also saves me money! For all the best homemade dressing, dip, and sauce recipes check this out.
I love making my own seasoning blends and flavorings!
I have multiple chemical sensitivity, so many preservatives, especially MSG and sulfites cause me to have an uncomfortable reaction. I like to avoid them as much as possible. Even if you don’t have sensitivities or allergies to things, they are just plain not good for you to consume! Making your own homemade barbecue sauce will help you avoid a lot of unnecessary ingredients you’ll find in store-bought sauce.
You can even grow your own spices to make mixes.
Barbecue rub
When cooking at home, I make chemical-free mixes such as this barbecue rub that my sister gave me the recipe for. When you make your own spice mixes, you can also tailor them to your needs and desires, such as gluten-free, Paleo, or other eating plans you may be on. Click here to see how to make homemade taco seasoning mix here to make Italian seasoning, and here to see how to make homemade ranch dip mix.
Barbeque Rub Seasoning Recipe
This barbeque rub is not very spicy, it just has a mild kick. If you want a spicier rub, feel free to add more cayenne pepper.
Barbecue Rub
Ingredients
- 1/4 C. raw sugar
- 1/4 C. paprika
- 2 T. black pepper
- 3 T. sea salt
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. smoke flavoring
- 2 tsp. onion powder
- 2 tsp. celery seed
- 1/4 tsp. dried cayenne
Instructions
- Mix ingredients.
- Rub meat generously with spices, using 1 T. per pound of meat
Notes
You can also turn this rub into homemade barbecue sauce. When I’m cooking meat with BBQ flavors in my crock pot or oven, I can just make the sauce right while the meat is cooking. If not, you can use the rub to make your own barbeque sauce in a pan by adding a few simple ingredients and boiling it down until it’s the thickness you prefer.
Homemade BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 T. BBQ rub mix
- 1 C. tomato sauce
- 1/2 C. honey
- 3 T. molasses
- 2 T. apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- All ingredients can be dumped into slow cooker with 1 pound of meat and cooked on low for 6-8 hours.
- or
- Sauce can be made in a saucepan and cooked until thickness desired.
(This delicious BBQ pork roast or these succulent chicken breasts without breading are great ways to use it!)
This leftover pulled pork mac and cheese is so creamy and good, it’s going to blow your mind!
For the recipe for homemade hamburger buns for your pulled pork sandwiches, click here. Knowing what you are feeding yourself and your family is a great feeling. Making your own flavorings is a great way to eliminate a lot of unwanted ingredients. It’s hard to find store-bought flavorings without them.
And meatloaf freezes great too! This bbq meatloaf is a crowd pleaser at our house.
To make your bbq sauce spicy, just add more cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes until you it’s spicy enough for you. I would start with an extra tablespoon of spice and add from there. You can take a pinch of the rub on your finger and see if it has the bite you want before you turn it into spicy bbq sauce.
For more homemade spices and seasonings, check this out.
So true, thanks for checking it out!
How long do you cook the pork in a crock pot? I’ve been trying to find a good rub and this one sounds perfect. So does the BBQ sauce.
About 6 hours on high or 8-10 on low, it depends on the size of your roast. Those are averages, but you will know it’s done when it shreds easily with a fork. Thanks for asking!
My husband likes to make barbequed ribs. This recipe looks like a great recipe for him to use next time!
It’s delish. Thanks for checking it out!
I’ve been noticing my own sensitivities to certain foods as well. I think it’s a great idea to make your own. I’ll be pinning this and using your other homemade spice mixes as well. Thanks for sharing!
Great, thanks so much!
A couple of wonderful recipes that you have there. I have recently gotten into using rubs on ribs. I like to use brown sugar as my base. Gives the ribs a sweeter flavor (in my opinion). Let the ribs bake on 250 for a couple of hours, then brush them with some BBQ sauce and finish on the grill for about a couple of minutes on each side.
Great stuff! I will definitely give both of your recipes a try.
Sounds delish! I am going to try it. I have a brisket to use, do you think that same method would be good for that?
I steer clear of BBQ sauce largely because of the reason you said. I had no idea it was that easy to make. I make my own rubs often and will definitely use this recipe!
Thanks for checking it out!
I love this, Christina! Thanks for sharing. We also need to make our own sauces and mixes so that we can keep them gluten free, plus we can lessen the sugar and other high-carb ingredients to make them more blood-sugar friendly. These look fantastic! Love the gift idea, too!
gluten is hidden in so many spice mixes as a filler, so making your own is the only way to go on that. So glad I could help. 🙂 THanks for reading!
This looks so good! Will definitely have to try it out.
Thanks!
My Man always makes our BBQ Sauce from scratch, but we will definitely have to try out this rub! I hate all of the premixed spices always hidden garbage inside.
Thanks! I know you’ll love it!