Homemade Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce Recipe

There is no doubt about it, Kansas City offers some of the best bbq sauce in the country. This easy, homemade Kansas City style BBQ sauce recipe is sweet, tangy, and spicy. If you’re a fan of Kansas City BBQ then you’ll love this homemade bbq sauce.

I’m originally from Little Rock, Arkansas but my father is from Kansas City, MO. Around 8 years of age I was introduced to the magical world of Kansas City BBQ and have been hooked ever since. I’ve resided in Texas for over a decade and please believe I’ve eaten my fair share of Texas BBQ. The focal point of Texas BBQ is the spice rub. That’s cool, but to me, good BBQ is nothing without a full-flavored balanced BBQ sauce.

After researching the ingredients of the best bbq sauce from a few of my favorite bbq restaurants like Gates, Simm’s, and Feastro’s, I was surprised to find simple, everyday ingredients. Ketchup, brown sugar and spices, were the cohesive threads in all of them! As this recipe is my first attempt at making scratch bbq sauce, I wanted to find a recipe that was easy to follow and yielded delicious results. Vindulge’s recipe for Easy BBQ Sauce – Kansas City style provided a great guide for me to follow.

Best BBQ Sauce Recipe

WHAT MAKE KANSAS CITY BBQ SAUCE DIFFERENT?

Kansas City BBQ sauce embodies the perfect balance of sweet from the molasses, acid from the cider vinegar, and heat from the blend of spices like cayenne and paprika.

Its thick consistency is perfect on:

my crispy oven-baked chicken wings
Baked BBQ Turkey Meatballs

HOW DO YOU MAKE SWEET BBQ SAUCE FROM SCRATCH?

I grew up eating more of a zesty and sweet sauce in Arkansas. It’s different from KC sauce as it often incorporates more sweet elements like molasses, pineapple juice, and brown sugar. Additionally, mustard makes Arkansas bbq sauce tangier.

If you’re looking for a sweet sauce, this recipe will still work. Adding two additional tablespoons of dark brown sugar will yield a sweet sauce. There are also flavored ketchup that you can use. I haven’t tried them, so I can’t recommend them, but I’ve seen them used in certain recipes.

BBQ SAUCE FROM SCRATCH WITHOUT KETCHUP

Making BBQ without ketchup is simple. I’d suggest using 2 cups of homemade organic tomato sauce, or your favorite brand of jarred tomato sauce. I used a taco sauce, that I found too mild for actual tacos. It worked perfectly and added the necessary balance of sweet and heat that I was looking for.

I will keep this a secret from my dad!

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE KANSAS CITY STYLE BBQ SAUCE

This specific recipe does require the use of an immersion blender. The reason for that is because it includes fresh ingredients. Most bbq sauce recipes call for onion or garlic powder. Not this one. Freshly, chopped onion and garlic are used in this recipe. These ingredients need to be blended to ensure your scratch bbq sauce is smooth.

Extra virgin olive oil
freshly chopped onion
freshly chopped garlic cloves
ketchup
blackstrap molasses
jarred tomato sauce
apple cider vinegar
dark brown sugar
cayenne pepper
smoked paprika
salt & pepper

I truly appreciated the way the recipe laid out the exact steps of how to create the best bbq sauce, so I listed them below.

Soften Fresh Ingredients: Start by warming up a stockpot, then sautéing the fresh onion until translucent and soft, but not caramelized. Add garlic and stir for another minute.

Add Liquids: Pour ketchup, tomato puree, molasses, and apple cider vinegar into the pot and bring to a simmer.

Add Seasonings: Finally add sugar, salt, cayenne, and black pepper and stir.

Blend: Using a hand immersion blender, blend the ingredients to grind up the onion and garlic and get a nice smooth consistency.

Simmer: Bring back to a simmer and cover for another 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and then using a funnel, pour the sauce into an airtight container with a lid.

AMAZON PICKS FOR THIS RECIPE

Did you make this recipe? Tag @GristleandGossip on Instagram and tag #GristleandGossip