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Jun 8 2013

Bacon BBQ Sauce

Find the recipe card at the end of the post. Make sure to read the content as it contains chef tips, substitution options, and answers to FAQs to help you succeed the first time around!

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This is just…

words just can’t describe how amazing…

Bacon BBQ Sauce

Trust me on this one. Make this Bacon BBQ Sauce…

This sauce is sweet, spicy, tangy, zippy, bacon-y, it’s full bodied and robust.

Bacon BBQ Sauce2
Bacon BBQ Sauce1

It’s thick and rich and did I mention BACON-Y????

In some upcoming recipes, you’ll see just how I used this sauce… other than eating it straight off the spoon!

Look at these GORGEOUS BBQ Boneless Beef Short Rib Sliders!!!  Tell me these don’t scream SHOVE ME IN YOUR FACE RIGHT NOW?!!!

BBQ Boneless Beef Shortrib Sliders1

And this!

THIS!!!

Grilled Pizza (either on the bbq or indoors) with Shredded Beef Short Ribs and Bacon BBQ Sauce!

Like literally, I ate an entire one myself!

GrilledBBQBeefShortRibPizza

A word on canning

Do NOT use a water bath method on this. Per the National Center for Home Food Preservation, all meats must be pressure canned however they do not condone canning cured meats. Others have done it and I as well however with this recipe. I would advise doing your own research on this and contacting them directly for any updated instructions.

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Bacon BBQ Sauce

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5 from 31 reviews

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  • Author: The Kitchen Whisperer
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 35
  • Total Time: 45
  • Yield: ~ 3 cups of sauce
  • Category: Sauce
  • Method: stove top
  • Cuisine: bbq, sauce

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 1/2 lb bacon, chopped into 1” pieces
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoon garlic, minced
  • 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/3 cup whiskey (Jack) or beef broth
  • 4 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 cups ketchup
  • 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 3 tablespoon dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder or 1/2 cup strong coffee
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoon Spice Rub *See Note

Spice Rub

  • 2 tablespoon sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon celery salt
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon fresh black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 2 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 4 tablespoon dark brown sugar

Instructions

Make the Spice Rub

  1. Add the spice rub ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine. Cover tightly and set aside.
  2. You will have extra so store in an air-tight container.

Make the Bacon BBQ Sauce

  1. Heat a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottom pot over medium heat, and add the bacon. Cook, stirring, until the bacon is browned and crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of bacon grease from the pot and discard.
  2. To the pan, add the onion, garlic, tomatoes, and 2 tablespoon spice rub mix. Stir and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes or until the onion begins to soften.
  3. Add remaining sauce ingredients (whiskey/broth, Worcestershire, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, dark brown sugar, espresso powder, honey and maple syrup) and bring to a low simmer. Add the cooked bacon; stir. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
  4. Remove from the stove and allow to cool if leaving chunky. If you want it smooth, use an immersion blender to smooth. Transfer to a covered container (I prefer glass) and store it in the fridge.

Notes

The Spice Rub recipe makes more than what is called for in this recipe. I would recommend making a batch of it, measuring out what you need for the recipe, and then putting the rest in a jar with a lid for later.

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114 responses

  1. JZ
    September 19, 2014

    Has anyone tried this on chicken wings?

    thanks

    Reply
    1. Joe
      September 21, 2014

      I actually have and it’s killer! We deep fried the wings then basted the wings with this sauce and broiled them just for a few minutes to get the sauce all sticky on it. Then I served it with extra sauce on the side.

      Definitely rocks on wings!

      Reply
  2. Weezercooks
    June 11, 2014

    Is there a recipe somewhere for the spice rub? 🙂

    Reply
    1. TKWAdmin
      June 11, 2014

      It’s in the recipe. The formatting got messed up when I fixed an Apple iPad bug. I’ll fix it tonight. Sorry

      Reply
    2. TKWAdmin
      June 11, 2014

      Formatting all fixed and it’s listed in the recipe 🙂

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
  3. Dannie
    April 5, 2014

    Thanks! I have decided that this year I *will unpack my pressure canner and use it, so this will be the one rrcipe to start with! LOL Any idea how long this would need to process?

    Reply
    1. TKWAdmin
      April 5, 2014

      Dannie,

      One thing I’m not that well versed with is pressure canning. I do know you’ll probably have to add a trace of citric acid as well. My advice would be to contact one of the more well known canning jars company and ask them. Even though this is for meat pasta sauce the same principles would apply (I would think).
      http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_03/spaghetti_sauce_meat.html

      Let me know how it turns out and please share your success with pressure canning. I’d love to share that with the rest of the TKW Family!

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
  4. Dannie
    April 4, 2014

    Have you (or anyone) ever canned this using a water bath? It would make an amazing Christmas gift, along with the rub! Thanks for the recipes.

    Reply
    1. TKWAdmin
      April 4, 2014

      Hi Dannie!

      You cannot use the water bath method on this as it contains meat. You’ll have to use a pressure canner with this.

      Canners nowadays aren’t that expensive. This jarred makes amazing gifts!

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
  5. doug
    September 25, 2013

    “1/2 lb bacon, chopped into 1” pieces”

    is this a solid slab of bacon cut into one inch cubes or slices of bacon cut every 1 inch. if it is slices of bacon, what thickness of bacon do you recommend.

    Best,
    Doug

    Reply
    1. TKWAdmin
      September 25, 2013

      Hey Doug, great question, thanks! I bought thick sliced bacon though I have made it with regular sliced bacon as well. The thickness depends on how much ‘texture’ you want in your sauce. I thought about using slab bacon but I didn’t want ‘cubes’ if you will in the sauce. These pieces are just the perfect size.

      If you use cubes, while the outside would be crispy the inside would still be rather ‘soft’ and I think that as a texture in bbq sauce wouldn’t be a welcome addition.

      For me I prefer the thick sliced bacon cut into 1″ strips. It renders down nicely and has just enough texture to give you a blast of bacon in every bite.

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
      1. doug
        September 25, 2013

        Thanks for the quick reply. This looks awesome. Going to give the short rib pizza a go on the grill tomorrow. pretty excited.

        Reply
        1. TKWAdmin
          September 25, 2013

          You are most welcome! I’m so excited too! What time should I be there to help you eat it? Tee hee 🙂

          Reply
  6. chris
    June 17, 2013

    What kind of spice rub? Is this a store bought or hone made mixture?

    Reply
    1. jamie
      June 17, 2013

      im wondering about the rub also? is there a special recipe?

      Reply
      1. TKWAdmin
        June 18, 2013

        Hi Jamie,

        Thanks for bringing the omission to my attention. This bbq sauce was part of the BBQ Boneless Beef Short Rib Sliders (https://www.thekitchenwhisperer.net/2013/06/10/bbq-boneless-beef-short-rib-sliders/) that used this rub. I had the recipe there but didn’t put it in here. I’ve updated the recipe above.

        Best Kitchen Wishes!

        Reply
    2. TKWAdmin
      June 18, 2013

      Hey Chris,

      Sorry about that! I missed putting it in the recipe. It’s now fixed.

      Spice Rub

      2 Tbl sea salt
      1 Tbl celery salt
      1 Tbl smoked paprika
      2 tsp ground cumin
      2 tsp garlic powder
      1 Tbl fresh black pepper
      1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
      2 tsp mustard powder
      4 Tbl dark brown sugar

      This makes more than enough Spice Rub for the recipe so jar the rest for another use (awesome on chicken!)

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
  7. Jojo
    June 17, 2013

    Everyone LOVED the sauce and the sliders, we also had BBQ hamburgers (etc.) so I was able to send everyone home with little cups of sauce, rolls and meat for a treat the next day. Of course, everyone wanted the recipe. Thank you again.

    Reply
    1. TKWAdmin
      June 17, 2013

      That is so awesome to hear Jojo! You’re like me – make extra and send everyone home with a ‘goodie’ bag 🙂 Love it!

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
  8. Jojo
    June 15, 2013

    Just made the sauce. Oh my, you said “trust me.” Well kiddo you have earned my trust BIG TIME. This is a wonderful sauce, so good, so many uses. Not having JD on hand I went to the liquor store and purchased (2) mini bottles which one is not quite enough for 1/3 cup but the second one leftover so only need to purchase one next time. Also cooked the ribs yesterday but not quite to the point I would like them – put in the fridge overnight so this morning I was able to remove all the accumulated fat off the top, pull them out & remove any remove any fatty areas that remained on the meat and they are now cooking again, will be done just in time for company and the addition of this fabulous sauce. Thank you so much, will be a staple around here for sure.

    Reply
    1. TKWAdmin
      June 15, 2013

      Yeah!! Jojo I am THRILLED to hear this! I am beaming from ear to ear! This sauce is just… I’m speechless! And with those shortribs! Lord have mercy! Try that sauce on chicken next time you grill! Use the same dry rub and then when the chicken is almost done, baste it with that sauce!

      HEAVEN!

      I can’t wait to hear what your company has to say about it!

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
  9. Jojo
    June 14, 2013

    The short ribs are in the crock pot! Just the smell is wonderful and the same for the rub. Cannot wait to try these. On my way to the state owned liquor store for some JD to make the sauce. Thank you so much for posting this recipe.

    Reply
  10. The Contessa (Linda)
    June 8, 2013

    This is a “must try soon” recipe. Thank you for sharing

    Wishes for tasty dishes,
    Linda
    Tumbleweed Contessa

    Reply
    1. TKWAdmin
      June 8, 2013

      Hi Contessa!

      You are most welcome! Have a fantabulous day!

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
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