Alright, so the other day I got this hankering for some real deal BBQ, the kind that just drips with flavor, you know? And I thought, “Why not try making that famous Scott’s BBQ sauce?” I’d heard tales, seen it mentioned here and there, and figured it was time to give it a shot myself.
So, Saturday, December 21st, rolls around, and I’m all set to start this little culinary adventure. First things first, I needed to gather up all the ingredients. I did a bit of digging online, found a couple of variations of the recipe, and decided to kind of mash them together. Here’s what I ended up with on my shopping list:
- Apple cider vinegar – the base of it all, you can’t skip this.
- Ketchup – adds a bit of sweetness and that classic BBQ flavor.
- Brown sugar – more sweetness, but the molasses-y kind.
- Honey – because why not add another layer of sweet?
- Worcestershire sauce – for that umami kick.
- Lemon slices – gives it a bit of a zing.
- Black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, ancho chile powder – the spice squad, ready to bring the heat.
- Some other stuff I saw in one recipe, like tomato paste, corn syrup, liquid smoke, I didn’t have these but was curious to see if they made a difference.
I hit up the local grocery store and managed to find most of this stuff. They didn’t have ancho chile powder, so I just grabbed some regular chili powder instead. Figured it would be close enough. I already have those salt, spices, dehydrated onion and garlic, food gums, dextrose, smoke flavor at home.
Back home, I laid everything out on the counter. This is where the fun starts. I basically just dumped everything into a big pot. Started with the vinegar, tossed in the lemon slices, then went to town with the spices. I didn’t really measure anything, just eyeballed it. I mean, who measures when they’re making BBQ sauce, right?
Once everything was in the pot, I gave it a good stir and put it on the stove over medium heat. The goal was to let it all simmer and let those flavors get to know each other. I kept an eye on it, stirring occasionally, and after about 20 minutes, it started to thicken up a bit and the whole kitchen smelled amazing. Like, seriously, my mouth was watering.
I turned off the heat and let the sauce cool down. Then came the moment of truth – the taste test. I dipped a spoon in and… wow. Just wow. It was tangy, sweet, spicy, smoky, all at the same time. It definitely had that Carolina-style vibe, but with a bit of my own twist.
I ended up using the sauce on some ribs I grilled up, and let me tell you, it was a match made in heaven. The family loved it too, which is always a good sign. I made a big batch, so I bottled up the leftovers and stuck them in the fridge. Now I’ve got homemade BBQ sauce ready to go whenever the craving hits.
My takeaway from this whole experiment?
Making your own BBQ sauce is totally worth it. It’s not that hard, you can tweak the ingredients to your liking, and the end result is just so much better than anything you can buy at the store. Plus, you get to feel like a bit of a kitchen wizard, which is always fun. I’m definitely going to be experimenting more with different spice combinations and ingredients in the future. Who knows, maybe I’ll come up with my own signature sauce one day!
