Store-bought barbecue sauces run the gamut in terms of quality and flavor, so if you want to control for both taste and excellence of ingredients, you might try making your own at home. It’s relatively easy to do, after all; at its most basic, you only need three easy ingredients (tomato paste, honey, and apple cider vinegar), and then you can add spices or seasonings from there. And since you took the time to make it yourself, you’ll want it to last as long as possible without spoiling. That, according to Kyle Taylor, recipe developer and content creator at He Cooks, means storing it in a specific area of your fridge: the back.
“The back of the fridge stays colder and more consistently cold, which is better for preserving sauces with sugar and vinegar,” he told Food Republic. He continued, saying the consistent cold slows down fermentation and keeps the flavors fresh. Taylor also advised against keeping it in the door of the refrigerator. “The fridge door is warmer than you think,” he said, explaining that every time you open it, that area gets hit with a blast of warm outside air (it’s also the reason you should avoid storing your milk in the door).
How to store barbecue sauce and tell when it goes bad
It’s not just where you store it, either; it’s also how you store it that can affect homemade barbecue sauce’s longevity. You’ll want to keep it in an airtight container, like a mason jar or squeeze bottle with a cap for the nozzle; it should stay good for up to 14 days (you can also freeze it, and it will stay at peak condition for about three months — provided, yet again, you don’t keep it in the door, where temperatures can fluctuate).
You should also avoid dipping into the sauce with dirty utensils, both those that have been in your mouth, as well as those that were in a different condiment, as that can introduce bacteria into the mix that can lead to early spoilage. And you should never dip into the sauce with your finger, for the same reason.
If you’re wondering how you’ll be able to tell that your homemade barbecue sauce has gone bad, Kyle Taylor suggested looking for separation that doesn’t mix back in or bubbling; he also advised giving it a sniff test and seeing if there’s a funky smell present. “If it makes you pause, don’t risk it,” he said.
