Barbecue sauce comes in so many styles and flavor combinations that it can be hard to nail down one signature type to include with your meals. Most have a contrast between sweet and savory, but those tastes can be achieved with many different ingredients. So, what do you use? Well, Food Republic spoke to Marissa Stevens, recipe developer and food blogger at Pinch and Swirl, to learn more.
The truth is that the base of a good barbecue sauce can be made with only three simple ingredients. “Tomato paste, honey, and apple cider vinegar. That’s the base I use all summer,” said Stevens. Those three provide acidity, sweetness, and a rich base that you can then build upon with flavors that suit your specific dish or preferences.
A good starting ratio to use is three ounces of tomato paste for every ⅓ cup of honey and ¾ cup of vinegar — adjusting to taste as you need or prefer. Stevens added, “From there, you can add whatever you want — smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic.”
You can even add cherries for an extra zing while being confident that your base will adapt to new flavors nicely. Note that this basic sauce will also pair nicely with every style of American barbecue, from Georgia to Kansas City, because it has qualities consistent across the genre, so to speak. Just be mindful of the qualities of your meat, so you can adjust the sauce ratios if needed.
Barbecue sauce tips
Even with a basic recipe, you want to use the best quality ingredients and take care during assembly. One trick Marissa Stevens uses is buying “tomato paste in tubes, so I’m not left with half-used cans tucked in the fridge.” Not only is this a great no-waste option, but it’s easier to bring the tube on the go should you need to make any last-minute adjustments to your sauce. Note that some barbecue recipes, like our Coca-Cola barbecue sauce, use ketchup as their tomato base instead of paste. However, as ketchup already has vinegar and is sweet, you may want to switch up the other two ingredients if you’re sticking with three only. A solid sweetener, like brown sugar, will keep things from being too runny — and rather than vinegar straight, add something like Worcestershire sauce or your favorite mustard for a bit of kick.
You can also use this three-ingredient recipe to follow Bobby Flay’s model of sprucing up a store-bought bottle. By adding small amounts of tomato paste, honey, and apple cider vinegar to a bottle of barbecue sauce, you can bring new life to something and make it truly your own. Don’t be afraid to get creative with what pre-made barbecue sauces you enhance; it could be the key to finding the recipe you really love. Whether you’re a barbecue beginner or an experienced pit master, a basic starter sauce can take you on an incredible food journey.
