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Bottling Your Own Barbecue Sauce

July 27, 2014 By WooPigFoodie 45 Comments

Before you jump into the below great recipe, if you’re looking for my Competition Barbecue Sauce, click this link!  It’s thick, rich and sweet, with just a little heat on the back end. That recipe also describes how to bottle it, just like the below recipe. Check it out!

Now back to our Barbecue Story:

We had such a great time at Leatha’s Bar-B-Que Inn, and their barbecue sauce was something special. It was full of tomato and vinegar flavor, with a light sweetness and a savory onion, garlic and black pepper base. We loved it so much, we bought some of their sauce to take home. We were really excited to dive in and use it on some of our own home-smoked barbecue, but when we opened the bottle, it seemed too ketchup-y and lacking in the nice broad spiciness the original had. So we decided to make our own barbecue sauce. We also went big, and made enough to bottle.

We took inspiration from Leatha’s ingredient label and our memories, but gussied it up to our tastes with white and brown sugar and cider vinegar. This is tomato-y and sweet, with a nice underlying heat and spice. It is an easy sauce to make, and if you make it in bulk like we did, you can bottle it and keep it for a good long while. This made 13 lucky pints of goodness.

Here’s what you need (the full recipe is at the end):

One 114 oz (7lb 2 oz) jug of Heinz ketchup—that was the biggest one they had at the Walmart. If you go to the big box stores, you can buy giant gallon cans. That’s only 14 ounces more than what I used, and it will make no real difference overall. Just adjust things to your taste as you go.

Ketchup base

Add 2 cups Worcestershire sauce

Worcestershire sauce in the ketchup

Stir those together and take few pictures. It was pretty neat to watch them mix. (It’s like a lava lamp, right?)

Lava lamp barbecue sauce

Add:

  • 3 cups cider vinegar
  • 1 T onion powder
  • 1 T garlic powder
  • 2 T black pepper, freshly ground

Adding spices to the bbq sauce

Mix those in. It can get clumpy, so you may have to take out your favorite immersion blender and give it a zizz…

Blend the sauce

Add 2 cups white sugar plus 1 cup brown sugar (you can use all brown sugar, but it will make it much darker)

IMG_7884

Finally, add 10 cups of water. Of course I underestimated the volume of this so I had to switch to my turkey roasting pan. I’m really glad I have a turkey roasting pan.

BBQ sauce in the turkey roasting pan

Bring to a boil and cook it for 10 minutes, then cook over medium heat for 30 more minutes. Put it through its final taste tests, adding spices as you like them. If it tastes too vinegary, you can add more sugar, or you can take the bite out of the vinegar by making a volcano… I mean, adding 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda. Stir it in, watch the foam subside, and taste again. If it is still too vinegary, add some more. (That’s a serious BBQ sauce making geek trick I just taught you.)

Now it’s time to bottle this magic.

Bottles for bottling

Bottle it and sterilize it via the water bath method. You need a giant pot like this , and can get them pretty inexpensively at the big box stores. Make sure you get one with a bottle rack inside. That’s the thing to the right of it, on the counter. Fill up the pot so that the water will cover the jars by 2 inches, and get it boiling hot. I like to heat up the kettle next to it too, so that I have extra water hot and ready, just in case I need it.

Bottling kettle

Fill clean, new, sterilized glass mason jars within 1/8 inch from the top with hot barbecue sauce and process in that boiling hot water bath for 15 minutes. Make sure the jars are covered by two inches of boiling water while they process.

Bottling sauce

Barbecue Bottles in the water bath

Pull the bottles out after 15 minutes of boiling, let them cool and listen for the pops as the jars seal, check the seals and tighten the mason jar twist lids, add a mighty nice label (or do what I do and just write on it with a magic marker), and stock them in your pantry.

Bottling Your Own Barbecue Sauce
 
Print
This is tomato-y and sweet, with a nice underlying heat and spice. It is an easy sauce to make, and if you make it in bulk like we did, you can bottle it and keep it for a good long while. This made 13 lucky pints of goodness.
Author: WooPigFoodie
Cuisine: BBQ
Ingredients
  • 114 oz (7lb 2 oz) jug of Heinz ketchup
  • 2 C Worcestershire sauce
  • 3 C cider vinegar
  • 1 T onion powder
  • 1 T garlic powder
  • 2 T black pepper, freshly ground
  • 2 C white sugar AND
  • 1 C brown sugar (you can use all brown sugar, but it will make it much darker)
  • 10 C water
Instructions
  1. Mix all ingredients together in a large pot.
  2. Bring to a boil and cook it for 10 minutes, then cook over medium heat for 30 minutes more.
  3. Put the sauce through its final taste tests, adding spices as you like them. If it tastes too vinegary, you can add more sugar, or you can take the bite out of the vinegar by making a volcano… I mean, adding ⅛ teaspoon of baking soda. Stir it in, watch the foam subside, and taste again. If it is still too vinegary, add some more. (That’s a serious BBQ sauce making geek trick I just taught you.)
  4. Bottle it and sterilize it via the water bath method. You need a giant pot for this, and can get them pretty inexpensively at the big box stores. Make sure you get one with a bottle rack inside.
  5. Fill up the pot so that the water will cover the jars by 2 inches, and get it boiling hot. I like to heat up the kettle too, so that I have extra water hot and ready, just in case I need it.
  6. Fill clean, new, sterilized glass mason jars within ⅛ inch from the top with hot barbecue sauce and process in that boiling hot water bath for 15 minutes. Make sure the jars are covered by two inches of boiling water while they process.
  7. Pull the jars out after 15 minutes of boiling, let them cool and listen for the pops as the jars seal, check the seals and tighten the mason jar twist lids, add a mighty nice label (or do what I do and just write on it with a magic marker), and stock them in your pantry.
3.5.3251

 

Filed Under: BBQ, Recipes

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ikepo Abiru

    January 14, 2017 at 2:30 pm

    Hi! Thanks for the tips, how long does the sauce keep for roughly?

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      January 14, 2017 at 4:22 pm

      Ikepo, it keeps a couple of years if you do jar it using the water bath method. I store it in my pantry and check and make sure it is still sealed before I open it. If it doesn’t look or taste right or has fermentation signs, toss it out!

      Reply
      • Mistie Manning

        January 10, 2020 at 4:17 am

        Can I add fresh garlic and grated onion to this recipe and still water bath can it?

        Reply
        • WooPigFoodie

          January 10, 2020 at 7:32 am

          Yes! You sure can! It is terrific with fresh grated onion and garlic. Just make sure you process the whole length of time. Take care!!!

          Reply
  2. Nova

    February 19, 2017 at 1:40 pm

    How long does your sauce last once it’s been opened? So if I’m giving it as a gift what’s the fridge life on it ?
    Thank you

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      February 19, 2017 at 2:01 pm

      That’s a great question! My general go-to is to try and use within two weeks of opening. (While originally sealed it lasts just about forever. At least a couple years.) Since this has been cooked and canned, you might get far longer when opened. I keep my fridge cold and only pour out of it, not dip food into it, and get a month or two just fine. I toss it after a month or so, so I make it in little jars of 8 or 16 ounces, so it’s always fresh. I hope you enjoy your sauce!!!

      Reply
  3. Alexander Kelley

    October 9, 2017 at 10:34 pm

    I looking to bottle my sauce what can you do for me

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      November 1, 2017 at 10:01 am

      You’ll want to bottle yours in a local commercial kitchen following your local health laws, or contact what is called a co-packer. Search for one on Google.

      Reply
    • Kyle

      January 2, 2018 at 11:56 am

      Hey I saw you comment about bottling your own sauce I want to do the same….I just emailed you to ask how is it going?….And what did you have to do?

      Reply
      • WooPigFoodie

        January 16, 2018 at 5:51 pm

        Hey Kyle, so you just need to follow the recipe from above. That will guide you through the process. You’ll want to water-process your barbecue sauce when you’re done, to seal the jars up from the bad stuff. Good luck!

        Reply
  4. Kyle

    January 2, 2018 at 11:54 am

    Hey woopigfoodie, I want to bottle and sell my bbq sauce.Can I use ketchup instead of tamato puree are tamato paste?

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      January 16, 2018 at 5:50 pm

      Yes, you sure can. Most folks use a ketchup base. You can buy in in the big gallon cans over at the warehouse store.

      Reply
  5. Treasure

    July 14, 2018 at 3:16 pm

    Hi there! This looks awesome! Is there any adjusting I need to do if I put the sauce in smaller jars? Thanks!

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      July 14, 2018 at 8:38 pm

      Hi TD! You’re good to go, no changes to the recipe needed for smaller jars. You’ll still heat them as long, but since you’ll just cover the jars with an inch of water you’ll be putting in less water in the water bath than if you used larger jars. That will making the preserving step faster! Good luck!

      Reply
  6. Tabetha

    August 12, 2018 at 4:26 pm

    Does it thicken after its cooled?

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      August 12, 2018 at 7:56 pm

      Yes, Tabetha! It will thicken as it cools. You can keep reducing it in the pot to make it even thicker if you don’t think it is thick enough. If you’ve already canned it and only later think it’s too thin, you can also pour one jar into a pot and reduce it over medium low heat for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally until it reduces down. Have fun!!!

      Reply
  7. Jenna

    August 15, 2018 at 12:31 pm

    What if you didn’t do the hot water bath how long will the sauce last?

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      August 15, 2018 at 9:02 pm

      Hi Jenna! It will generally last as long as any other homemade sauce. So, maybe a month in a cold fridge. Perhaps 6 months if you were to freeze it.
      The water bath process is super easy to do, so if you plan on making a batch for keeps or gifts you should definitely do the water bath method! Have fun and be safe!

      Reply
  8. Jeremy Losinno

    August 21, 2018 at 4:43 am

    Is the 10 cups of water for the canning process? Or does this actually go into the sauce? Seems like a lot of water.

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      August 21, 2018 at 6:14 am

      Hi Jeremy! Yes, the 10 cups of water are for the sauce. (This makes about 4 gallons.) For the water bath, it takes about 3-4 gallons of water, too. When making the sauce, add more or less water to get to the thickness you prefer!

      Reply
  9. aaron parsons

    September 24, 2018 at 2:30 pm

    Just so you know it doesn’t look like your recipe on the bottom doesn’t have the Worcestershire sauce.

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      January 10, 2019 at 8:36 am

      Thank you Aaron! I have it fixed now!

      Reply
  10. Catherine

    January 13, 2019 at 5:01 pm

    So, I was thinking of using this recipe but putting it in 12 oz bottles with lug lids. Would the water bath processing time and jar head space stay the same? The last thing I want to do is get someone sick by not processing it correctly! Thanks for helping out this newbie.

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      January 15, 2019 at 7:52 am

      Hi Catherine! I have only used the screw down Ball-type lids before, but yes,even changing to this size you will process for the same time and cover with the same amount of water. I used the timing and instructions for the ketchup recipe from my Ball jar cookbook to come up with that so feel free to explore Ball on the web further!

      Reply
  11. Angie

    April 19, 2019 at 6:56 am

    I want to start make my own sauce I don’t know how to start, can you tell me

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      April 19, 2019 at 7:58 am

      Hi Angie!

      Just find a recipe that looks tasty and follow the above bottling instructions.

      Take care!

      Reply
  12. Michael

    May 12, 2019 at 1:32 pm

    I have my own BBQ sauce recipe that consists of ketchup, smoke, pepper, and sugar. All are store bought. Do I need to heat up the sauce first before canning? Will that change the consistency? And how do I go about bottling and selling my sauce? I’m new at this. Thank you.

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      May 12, 2019 at 6:58 pm

      Hi Michael! Yes, you would want to heat it up since the canning method needs everything hot to kill any bacteria for a long and safe shelf life. Heating should not change the consistence of these ingredients. If you intend to bottle and sell commercially, google a “co-packer” in your area. They’ll bottle it for you. If you want to do it yourself, check with your local health department. They may require you to prepare it in a commercial kitchen or you may fall under a “cottage industry” exception that doesn’t. They will help you understand that! Good luck!

      Reply
  13. Jason Parrish

    July 1, 2019 at 12:00 pm

    Can I use a pressure canner instead of the hot water bath method?

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      July 2, 2019 at 12:04 pm

      Hi Jason! I have not used a pressure canner myself, but a google search shows that the National Center for Home Food Preservation has instructions for a method to do so! Good luck!

      Reply
  14. Micheal

    April 6, 2020 at 7:19 pm

    I made my own sauce and was looking how to can. But after reading your recipe, I noticed you added 10 cups of water. I added no water to mine. I’m just wondering did you boil it to cook down and thicken? Or was it thinner than a regular prepackaged bottle of sauce. Hope that makes sense.

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      April 21, 2020 at 6:38 pm

      Hi Micheal! I vary on how much water to add, and I do cook it down somewhat when I add water. I like to add water in general just to make sure that everything mixes up well. It does make it thinner. If you want it thick, you don’t need to add water. I actually made some today (I’ll put the new recipe up in a link above) and did not use much water, just about 1/2 cup since I was cleaning out the ketchup bottle! No worries; you can add or leave out water as you like!

      Reply
  15. sienna ross

    April 19, 2020 at 4:37 pm

    Hi,
    I want o avoid canning, what do I need to do if I want to preserve in a plastic bottles to put on the shelves?

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      April 21, 2020 at 6:35 pm

      Hi Sienna, for that you need a professional! You should Google “co-packer” and your city and one should come up. They will use a different process to make it safe. That’s not something to try at home! Take care!

      Reply
  16. Rainey

    June 2, 2020 at 10:00 pm

    Can you add honey to this recipe for honey BBQ sauce? If so, how much?

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      June 3, 2020 at 6:11 am

      Hi Rainey! Yes, you can add honey! You’ll want to eliminate the 2 cups of white sugar and add about 1 1/2 cups of honey instead. Still add the 1 cup of brown sugar. Taste the bbq sauce and see if it is balanced and adjust accordingly with more honey or vinegar to your taste! Great luck to you!!!

      Reply
      • Mike

        July 31, 2020 at 10:44 am

        how many pints or quarts does this make

        Reply
        • WooPigFoodie

          September 21, 2020 at 4:35 pm

          This makes about 16 pints or 8 quarts! If you add more ingredients or more water add that volume to your math too!

          Reply
  17. Kathy Hand

    June 13, 2020 at 9:22 pm

    Hi. I want to make it a little spicy. Can I add chopped jalapeños to the recipe? If so how much?

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      June 13, 2020 at 10:42 pm

      Kathy, you sure can! The heat is harder to control with fresh jalapeños than jarred or canned. At these quantities you could easily use a whole cup of canned jalapeños with some juice on top of that. Generally, I would add in the jalapeños to taste. See how 1/4 cup treats you and go from there. Stir, let it simmer for say 30 minutes then taste again and add more as needed. Have fun!

      Reply
      • Kathy

        June 25, 2020 at 5:11 pm

        Thx!! I’ll give it a try. 🙂

        Reply
  18. Jamie

    September 3, 2020 at 9:03 am

    Can I add honey to the recipe even though I already added the 2 cups of white sugar?

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      September 3, 2020 at 9:26 am

      Jamie, yes, you sure can! It will be a bit sweeter but that’s perfectly fine. You could add a touch more vinegar if you wanted to balance it!

      Reply
  19. Barbara

    February 25, 2021 at 2:25 pm

    I didn’t add any water and it still seems too thin. I used members mark catsup from Sams.

    Reply
    • WooPigFoodie

      February 25, 2021 at 3:00 pm

      Hi Barbara! If it’s too thin, continue to cook it. That will reduce it down by evaporating water out of it. Keep tasting it until it has the right thickness and taste for you. If you go too far, you can just add some water back.

      Reply

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Welcome to my Southern-focused food blog! I'm an avid lover of all things Southern. I fish, hunt, cook, run, bike, grill, smoke, hike, and photograph throughout the wonderful world of Arkansas and its surrounding states. Follow me as we explore the very best food in the Old and New South! Learn More →

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