A spicy-sweet sauce that has won rave reviews from all who have tried it.
I have made this sauce twice now, and everyone loves it! It is perfect for ribs. If you add a tablespoon of honey it will be that much better. Also, throw a few drops of hot sauce in. This is truly a great recipe and I highly recommend it. I have even given a few bottles out as gifts! You will not be disappointed.
Read MoreI have made this sauce twice now, and everyone loves it! It is perfect for ribs. If you add a tablespoon of honey it will be that much better. Also, throw a few drops of hot sauce in. This is truly a great recipe and I highly recommend it. I have even given a few bottles out as gifts! You will not be disappointed.
This is the real deal. Once you've made up a batch of this sauce you'll never go back to that artificially flavored, high fructose corn syrup sold in supermarkets labled as Bar-B-Que Sauce.
The name of the BBQ sauce and the various sweeteners used attracted me to this recipe. It is a wonderful sauce. The longish list of ingredients needed put any cook off. The time spent is worth it. They blend wonderfully. I poured this sauce over drumsticks which I baked. The whole family loved them. Usually my guys prefer white meat over dark but I haven't seen drumskins get eaten so fast as when I used this recipe. Thanks Grampa Dave!
This is an excellent base recipe, however it is VERY sweet. I have made it omitting the maple syrup and brown sugar and only using about 1/2 of the molasses that are called for (it's still plenty sweet from the ketchup and OJ). I really like the use of citrus for the acid it gives the sauce and the onion and garlic round out the flavors. I also have found that a tsp of chili powder is a nice addition. thanks, Grampa Dave!
Outstanding! I've already made two batches of this BBQ sauce and my family agrees it's just great. I followed the recipe exactly on the 1st batch and found it had a wonderful lemon tang to it once cooked. At first I worried it might be too citrus for our likes ... but I was wrong. The citrus tang settled down perfectly once it was added to the meats. Try this on chicken thighs cooked on your outdoor grill. Great!!! Today we added it to pulled pork sandwiches (using Sarge's EZ pulled pork recipe on this site) and once again - everyone kept commenting on it. My 2nd batch I tinkered by adding a teaspoon of liquid smoke. Though it gave it a little more depth and changed the complexity slightly, our family seemed to prefer it without (we tried them side by side). Just wanted to tell you we thought it was a definite HOME RUN!!! Thanks for sharing.
You'd be doing your taste buds a dis-service by not trying this sauce. I promise you!
Wow! Thanks for sharing. I think I will add a tablespoon of chili paste or some chipotle peppers to give it some heat and blend it in a blender to mop on the ribs.....but what a difference in taste compared to bottled sauce! It's like an explosion of flavor in the mouth. Such depth and complexity. My only warning is to be careful about grilling. The sugars quickly catch on fire on the grill....add at the last moment or even after the ribs come off the grill. Oh...and don't try to half the sauce (I did by mistake). The thickness will be off.
this is so delicious.I didn't change anything from the recipe, followed the exact instructions. This bbq sauce was a hit. I think the bbq sauce was more popular then the meats. I had make another pot of it for the rest of the bbq meat. It seems hard to make with all these different spices and liquids but its well worth it.
Yummy. Husband is a fan of the spicy sauce and thought this was a tad on the sweet side. I added some extra spice to his and left the kids alone. Everyone was pleased with this sauce. Thanks!
Oh so delicious, use to baste, for pulled pork sandwiches, delicious! Texans just now how to treat their barbecue! Maybe add some smoke flavor and it'll be perfect!
This was such a delicious sauce. I didn't add the fresh lemon slices becuase I didn't have any but it was still wonderful. I added this to my homemade pulled pork! Yummy!
I found the cider vinegar a little overwhelming. I'll definitely make this again...but I'll cut the vinegar to 3/4C.
Excellent recipe...I cut the recipe in half and the molasses and maple syrup in half after that. Added 2 tbsps of Thai chili sauce for the extra kick.
We smoked some pork butts for our wedding reception dinner. (Yean I know real high class guy), And made Grampa Dave's Sauce to mix with the pork for pulled pork sandwiches. When it found out that I had made the sauce everybody was amazed. I took credit for it at the reception but when it came down to close friends I 'fess' up and gave the credit to Grampa Dave. Every one who has made it since then, has done nothing but raze about. Don't think I follow the directions actually as printed, but than I never do. Maybe that why some of my concoctions don't turn out so well. But the Sauce was! Thanks Grampa Dave!!!
This was really good. I thought maybe a little sweet but my husband loved it. We had it on ribs and on a pulled pork roast. Both were a hit.
Very good bbq sauce. I went a tiny bit heavier on the hot spices. It is also tastier if you let it sit in the refridgerator for a day or two.
This sauce is awesome. I used dried habenero for the red pepper flakes. I smoked chicken with hickory, then brushed the sauce on during the last 10 minutes of cooking on the grill. I also added it to the baked beans before cooking. Amazing!
Outstanding! This was a big hit, and you can bet your bippy that I will make it again.
This was WAY too sweet. I did really enjoy the citrus flavor, but next time I will cut out the syrup, and half the brown sugar and molasses. I also added a teaspoon of hoisen sauce. I think I'll add more pepper flakes to kick it up a notch because it was sort of lacking heat. I do have to say that people were gathering around the stove while it was simmering because it smelled AWESOME! I will try it again
very Good recipe, I added chili powder,gr cloves hot sauce, soy sauce and some liq. smoke. with the orange in the recipe I left out the lemon Juice. Has a very good color. I made a large batch & canned 8 1/2 Qts
LOVE IT!!! The only change I made was to add a couple Tablespoons of honey. This sauce sticks where you put it! Thanks!
This is a wonderful recipe for a plain BBQ sauce. I like to throw in a little ghost pepper to add some heat.
great sauce. Don't be fooled, tho when sampling it from the pot. Alone, it doesn't taste all that great - but put it on some pulled pork or ribs - man - it's great. A bit pricey with the natural ingredents and I now call it my "Special Occassion sauce". Oh yeah, I added a bit extra heat with Texas Pete's hot sauce for an extra kick - that's all up to you, tho. Grampa dave did good with this sauce! Thanks!
Really, really good! I did scale it down to 8 servings and it still turned out excellent!
WOW! This was so yummy! I like this one better than another sauce I made from this site. My husband likes the other one better. I didn't have cumin, or red pepper flakes, but it was delicious without it. Thanks for sharing, this ones a keeper!
This BBQ sauce is smoking awesome!! I made this while my wife was cooking salmon. It was so outstanding that we ate the BBQ sauce with our salmon! This is GUARANTEED to be going in our recipe book and I will be making this sauce constantly! It's tangy, thick, sweet, it has EVERYTHING you'd ever want in a BBQ sauce. I am a big bbq sauce fan and by far this blows them all away. Best I've ever had!! Grampa Dave knew what he was doing when I cooked up this brew!
I will finally have to admit this is one of the best BBQ sauces I have ever made. I followed the recipe and added more hot sauce and honey!! Perfect!! Gawd luv Grampa Dave!!
ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!!!! The only thing I changed was using a half a cup of maple syrup because that's all I had. It still turned out amazing!!
I like this sauce; I've used it on chicken and I used it on ribs. Makes a lot and I'm glad it does! I omitted the lemon slices and used bottled lemon juice. Works fine for me!
Well worth the effort! Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients; it didn't take as long to prepare as I expected and it tastes very, very good.
Awesome! I did this sauce with Baby Back Ribs cooked for 2 hours in a stove top smoker (Hickory) and the results were simply amazing. I added about 3 T of Sirichacka...(Mistake) to get some heat...Better to use 1 T Tobasco...however the family didn't notice and now they want me to do Ribs again tonight! I told them that I would do so, but only if they were GOOD to me....WOW.. This is a great recipe, just add something for a little heat to balance he sweetness...I've been doing ribs and smoking meats for years and am always looking for the right sauce....This one is a winner...Please make it as written first...then add heat as you feel neccessary....One great Job Grandpa! Thanks! Paul
I originally tried this out because I was intrigued with the prospect of a BBQ sauce with Real Maple Syrup as a sweetening element. It did make the sauce a bit on the expensive side to make. Well anyway I tried the recipe. It smelled wonderful while it was simmering and tasted great fresh out of the cooking pot. I had a friend over so I bottled up a sample for him... he was practically drinking the stuff out of the bottle. He later tried it as a marinade for some steaks and he said it turned out ok. I used it the following day on ribs that I cooked in a slow cooker over some chopped onions. To be honest I was a bit disappointed... they didn't turn out as well as I thought they would. It was like it was almost too sweet for the meat. It's hard to say, it might have even had something to do with the rub I put on the ribs the day before to season the meat. (I used a Kansas City Rub) Back to the sauce though, I also found that after cooling and refrigeration the sauce also lost most of its zing or tang. If I was to try this again I would probably half the recipe and use the sauce fresh. (The full recipe makes 6 cups) I hope to use the rest of it up as a straight BBQ sauce to put over meat instead of for slow cooking.
This is the ONLY bbq sauce to use. one change, I left out most to all of the lemon, it just didnt suit my preferences. It is just fabulous on every meat.
Awesome BBQ sauce! We are from Texas and my husband is P-I-C-K-Y when it comes to BBQ! This is his favorite!
This was awesome!! I have made BBQ sauces in the past, but they don't compare to this one. It makes plenty and it is just so good! I used it with Sarge's EZ Pulled Pork (from this site). It felt like we were back in Memphis for some real southern barbeque! Thank you!
I had to use ALOT of extra water to simmer this for an hour. But I had cut the recipe waaay down. It turned out pretty good, not sure I would make again? Maybe I will try the full recipe to review better?
YUMMY! This recipe is wonderful! Made it for my hubby's birthday lunch and put it over chicken. Thank you for sharing!!
I brewed this up for Father's Day and bottled for all 'Father's at our bar b que..Great reviews..our guests are still requesting this sauce..thanks for the wonderful finger' licking receipe..
My family loved this!! Even though the list of ingredients is long, the combination of flavors is what makes it all worthwhile. It made our pulled pork succulent and delicious. I would highly recommend this recipe and I will definitely make it again and again.
All I gotta say is this BBQ sauce is freakin' amazing!!! Ever since I made this the first time we have used nothing but and probably won't again!! Sweet and tangy ...it compliments ribs so well!! Everyone i've cooked for and used this sauce absolutely love it too!!! Grampa Dave is my hero!!!
To give it a little bang add a medium sized Serano pepper. Also I used honey in place of brown sugar. It will be sweet at first with a little follow up kick from the pepper. absolutely fabulous!
This sauce was great and easy to make.I did add a little more molasses and brown sugar to cut the bite to suit my taste but the whole family loved this sauce.Will surely make this many more times alot better than bottled sauce.
This bbq is seriously next level. Sweet at first with a good mild spicy kick after.
great sauce just as is, would not change a thing. if you want, could add heat if you want to kick it up a notch.
I made a few changes. I used lemon zest instead of lemon slices, because if Uncle Chet got a lemon seed under his dentures I'd never hear the end of it. Then, I noticed it was a bit chunky, and I didn't want any of the oniony goodness to fall off during grilling, so I pureed 3/4 of it, then continued simmering. I took a suggestion from another review and added a bit of garlic chili sauce and ginger. My hubby tested it and I swear he levitated 2 feet off the ground. Then I remembered I had garlic slowly roasting in the oven, so I added it because, well, I will never apologize for my abuse of garlic. I can admit I have a problem and I have no intention of addressing it. As it continued simmering, I thought my husband was engrossed in the movie he was watching, but I heard him call out from the den "you're not going to give any of that away, are you?", he was obviously preoccupied by this sauce. I dabbed a little behind my ear before we went upstairs and, well, this is a family program so I'll leave it at that.
I have been make my own sauce for several years, with different ingredients and measurements and each time has been a hit! This time I decided to find a receipe online. Gramps! This is a winner! I didn't have the paprika and lemon slices to add, but as it turned out that didn't matter. It was still good.... I have a lot left over, so I will add the two ingredients. I can't wait to try it. I'm sure it will be fabulous.
This is the best BBQ sauce I've ever tasted! My husband LOVED it, too. He said we never needed to buy it at the store anymore. I didn't have the fresh lemon juice, I used the bottled stuff but couldn't tell a difference...it was still fantastic! I put the rest in an old catup bottle and stored it in the fridge. I'll definately made this one again! Thanks for a terrific recipe!
This is a fantastic bbq sauce. I will stop searching for a good sauce. Thanks!
This sauce is delicious and I am making it right now to use on slow cooked BBQ pulled chicken. I have made this several times, I never vary the recipe because it is perfect as is!
This is one of THE best Bar-B-Q sauce recipes I’ve ever had. It keeps in your refrigerator for a long time. I made it to go with grilled pork ribs, but pull it out to accompany any meat or put on my chopped baker potatoe if I buy sliced brisket to use at home. Thank you!!
I've made it several times. It's always excellent. My brother -in-law always smokes meat and refuses to use sauce since it "ruins the flavor of the meat". We got him to give this a try and then caught him sneaking some on his food later. It's the only sauce I would ever use on home smoked bbq.
This was an excellent sweet and tangy sauce for BBQ chicken on the grill. We grilled the chicken until it was nearly done then finished by brushing with the sauce for the last few minutes. I omitted the paprika because I generally do not care for the taste and did not have any on hand. Other than that, used all ingredients as written.
I'm not sure what I did different but this was far too acid for us. Maybe it was my orange juice. I'll try it again but this time I added a lot more sugar to kill the acid and it tastes okay. After all the great reviews I was expecting more.
