Easy BBQ Sauce – Kansas City Style

Homemade BBQ Sauce couldn’t be easier! This sweet and slightly spicy homemade BBQ sauce represents the flavors you would expect from a Kansas City style sauce. With a tomato base, molasses, and sugar, you get that classic flavor with a little bit of heat.

Add to ribs, or a burger, this versatile and easy Kansas City BBQ Sauce is finger smacking good.

What Is A Kansas City BBQ Sauce?

Sauces come in all flavor profiles. Really it reflects the flavors regionally that evolved around the country. In the Carolinas, you have vinegar based sauces (among others). Texas, you’ll find less of a sauce and more of a flavor mop while cooking. And in Alabama it’s a mayo-like white sauce.

But in Kansas City, it’s all about the sweet and slightly spicy tomato and molasses based sauce. The kind that many of us grew up with. The kind that BBQ joints throughout the city tend to toss their famous burnt ends in. If you haven’t been to Oklahoma Joe’s, or some of the other pit houses in the state, it is worth the trip. You can learn more about other styles of bbq sauces at this post about bbq sauce styles.

How to Make BBQ Sauce From Scratch

It’s quite simple. All you really need to think about is finding the balance between sweet, which will come from your sugar, molasses, and ketchup, and savory and heat, which is driven by onions, garlic, peppers, or dried spices.

Let them simmer together and you have sauce!

Fresh Ingredients for Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce

You will see many recipes that call for dried onion powder, or granulated garlic. While dried spices are fine, taking the extra step to sauté and use fresh ingredients will go a long way in the flavor arena. Use good quality ketchup, and if you supplement with tomato sauce, be sure it is unseasoned so you add that yourself.

How to Cook Homemade BBQ Sauce

• Soften Fresh Ingredients: Start by warming up a stock pot, then sautéing the fresh ingredients until translucent and soft, but not caramelized. Add garlic and stir for another minute.
• Add Liquids: Add ketchup, tomato puree, molasses, and apple cider vinegar 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 a mason jar.

Shelf Life for Homemade BBQ Sauce

Adding a little apple cider vinegar is a great way to maintain a shelf life on your sauce. How long can you keep a fresh BBQ sauce you may ask? Several weeks or more, especially with high acid sauces.

What to Put Homemade BBQ Sauce on

This sauce is versatile. Slather onto ribs, maybe use as the glaze base for your burnt ends, or maybe just serve the sauce to dunk your meat into. Here are a few recipes to use this sauce in!

• Pork Ribs
• Whole Roaster Chicken
• Pork Shoulder
• Glazed Chicken Thighs
• Pork Belly Burnt Ends
• Brisket Burnt Ends
• Pulled Pork Nachos
• Baked Beans
• Tofu
• … and so much more!

Kansas City BBQ Sauce Recipe

More Easy BBQ Sauce Recipes

• Vinegar Based BBQ Sauce
• Pinot Noir BBQ Sauce
• Spicy Mango Jalapeño BBQ Sauce (no sugar added)
• Blueberry Bourbon BBQ Sauce
• Different Styles of BBQ Sauce

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