As many of you know, I am a judge at the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest held every May in Memphis, Tennessee. Boy that’s a mouthful. But it’s also a mouthful of great barbecue! And though I generally believe that if you are doing competition barbecue right you don’t need sauce, if you are going to put sauce on it this is the competition sauce you need. Thick, rich, and sweet and with a little heat on the back end, this one is a competition superstar for pork and chicken. And it’s so easy to make. (My wife likes it so much, she eats it on chips.)
Making this competition barbecue sauce is no competition; it’s a one-pot wonder. Truly, it’s dump, heat and go. Here’s how you make it (a recipe card is at the end).
In a 5 quart or larger pot, add:
- 32 oz. Tomato Sauce. You can get away with 2 15-oz. cans. Tomato sauce is liquid tomato, not chunks or puree.
- 32 oz. Ketchup (While we are a Heinz family, your favorite brand is what you want)
- Two 12 oz. bottles of Chili Sauce. Again, we are a Heinz family.
- 2 cups Apple Cider Vinegar. I’ve used store-brand and the fancy ones. I can’t tell the difference. It’s ok if you can.
- 2 cups Brown Sugar
- 1 cup Honey. I use standard clover honey. You can go fancy. It would probably be good with your favorite brand of hot honey, but then omit the hot sauce below.
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 1 cup of your favorite dry rub. Here’s mine.
- 2 Tablespoons hot sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Liquid Smoke
Bring to a boil, stirring often, and then simmer on medium low for at least 30 minutes. Keep coming back to stir it to break up the sugar and rub or it will burn on the bottom. Taste it and adjust the flavors. It’s ok if it is a bit vinegary now; that will dissipate as it cooks.
At this point, you are done. If you want to bottle it, you can follow the instructions in my Bottling Your Own Barbecue Sauce recipe. That link has pictures. If you don’t need those, here’s what you do:
Fill clean, new, sterilized glass mason jars 
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.
- 32 oz. Tomato Sauce. You can get away with 2 15-oz. cans. This is liquid tomato, not chunks or puree.
- 32 oz. Ketchup (While we are a Heinz family, your favorite brand is what you want)
- two 12 oz. bottles of Chili Sauce. Again, we are a Heinz family.
- 2 cups Apple Cider Vinegar. I've used store-brand and the fancy ones. I can't tell the difference. It's ok if you can.
- 2 cups Brown Sugar
- 1 cup Honey. I use standard clover honey. You can go fancy. It would probably be good with your favorite brand of hot honey, but then omit the hot sauce below.
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 1 cup of your favorite dry rub. Here's mine.
- 2 Tablespoons hot sauce
- In a 5 quart or larger pot, add all ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring often, and then simmer on medium low for at least 30 minutes.
- Keep coming back to stir it to break up the sugar and rub or it will burn on the bottom.
- Taste it and adjust the flavors. It's ok if it is a bit vinegary now; that will dissipate as it cooks.
- To bottle this for longer-term storage:
- 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. Process means to boil them for the 15 minutes. Make sure the jars are covered by two inches of boiling water while they process.
- 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.
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