I’m a sauce girl through and through. I love to dip stuff in sauces albeit it ranch, Italian gravy, marinara, BBQ Bacon Sauce (god that stuff is truly amazing!), pizza sauce, Alfredo and so forth. So when Mr. Fantabulous asked me the one day to make honey bbq wings, I knew right away what sauce I wanted. See I have been making this sauce for eons. Well okay not eons but ever since I discovered Sweet Baby Ray’s. I love that sauce and since you all know me well enough you know I have to try to make something like that. Now I still love that sauce but I actually like mine better. It’s certainly not a copycat recipe but rather just another type of sauce. It’s sweet with some background tang for excitement.
As I was making this sauce I think I ate about 2 cups worth from tasting, adjusting, re-tasting. By the time it was done I was stuffed! LOL It has the perfect balance of sweet and tangy with that hint of hotness. The longer it cooks the thicker it gets plus as it cools it thickens.
But the flavor is just incredible! I’ve used this on baked chicken breasts were it gets all thick and sticky on the chicken, as a wing sauce and even as a pizza sauce.
Now you can make a few jars of this BUT it has to be kept in the fridge. You can jar this but you need to use the water bath method on this. See the notes in the recipe on how to do it.
Sticky Honey BBQ Sauce
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Ingredients
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 3/4 cup molasses (not blackstrap)
- 3/4 cup honey
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp chili powder (or Tabasco sauce)
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a medium sauce pan over medium heat.
- Whisk to combine.
- Bring to a low boil and reduce to a simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes for a thin sauce, 1 hour for a thicker sauce.
- Store in the fridge.
Notes
To can this you need the following:
Water Bath Canner
Canning Set
Pint Jars with lids and rings
1. PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
2. LADLE hot sauce into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.
3. PROCESS jars in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.
This sauce is great; I added some spicy mustard and used Trader Joe’s White Modena Vinegar instead of white vinegar (because that’s all I had); came out fantastic. I made a double batch so I used about 1/4 cup of spicy mustard.
Hi Marcia!
Yeah! I’m so happy you loved it as much as I do. Oh great addition of the spicy mustard; yum!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
i cant find molasses in my country. only have blackstrap molasses. can i use that one or change with sugar or brown sugar maybe corn syrup
My son is not a big meat person. He’ll do veggies and starches but typically refuses anything that isn’t chicken nuggets. I put this sauce on some wings tonight and I got him to eat 4!!!
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WOO HOO! Score one for us! 🙂 That’s awesome and I’m thrilled he loved these! Thank you so much!
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I want to put in jars and give as gifts. Why a water bath method? Isn’t there enough acid (ketchup/Vinegar)in this. When putting finished “hot” sauce in “hot” sterilized jars, the jars seal while cooling down. Just looking for input.
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Hi Kevin,
So I did exactly what you asked years ago thinking “hot liquid” in hot sterilized jars and it’s OK to can. Unfortunately I found out the hard way that doesn’t work. See when you use the water bath method you’re actually taking hot liquid, in a hot jar and submerging it in boiling water. What that does is actually create a vacuum seal around the jar thus preventing it from turning and becoming contaminated. By boiling it you’re removing all air in the jar ensuring you have an air-tight seal.
Trust me on this, don’t skip the canning method if you want to preserve this.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
★★★★★
I loved this sauce and wanted to make a batch to give out as gifts as well as keep plenty for myself but was curious on how long this will last both canned and once opened? I have not really ever canned anything so have no baseline to go off of and it normally doesn’t last long enough around my house to test out how long it is good for. I’m sure I will get asked when I hand it out so wanted to see if there were any baselines to go by?
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Hi Dast!
I’m thrilled you love this stuff – I do too!
When you can this you can go with the Water Bath method. 16 ounce jars will take about 20 minutes in the water bath. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.
Canned should last at least a year unopened. Opened in the fridge I would say a couple of months.
Best Kitchen Wishes and Merry Christmas!
★★★★★
I tripled the batch and have it going now. I added some fresh habanero peppers seeds and all (5 of them). Also am using apple cider vinegar but everything else is to the recipe. I’m gonna be using it on chicken wings for a card club tomorrow night (making it a day early). So far it smells awesome. Hoping for sweet heat. Waiting for it to get thick. Debating on corn starch or a viagra for it to harden up. Kidding. This smells and so far tastes amazing. Thicken up and we have a winner.
OMG Kurt you made me belly laugh so hard! LOL It will thicken up; it’ll take a little while longer due to how much you made. Just give it patience grasshopper and you’ll see.
Let me know what you think!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
★★★★★
Didn’t even know you replied. Yes, it did thicken up. It was a hit on my wings and everyone loved it. I’ve made it several times since. It’s great on everything I have used it on. I like the sticky sauces better as it makes for a great glaze too. I recently smoked a 14 pound brisket and some of it I pulled using this sauce to make pulled brisket BBQ. The only negative about this sauce is it’s so fricken good it forces me to make more stuff to put it on and I’m damn near ready for a weight watchers meeting or signing up for the biggest loser. At any rate, thanks for providing your recipe, it’s a keeper.
HAHAHA Kurt you so made my day! If you lived closer to me we could go work out together…and come back to eat some killer pulled brisket BBQ 🙂 Have you tried the bacon bbq sauce yet on my site? Seriously, it should be illegal!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
★★★★★
No. I haven’t seen it yet. But as soon as I read bacon, it became mandatory. ????
I’ll check it out.
Oh Kurt you don’t understand my love of bacon. I have yet to find a dish or recipe where I couldn’t incorporate some form of bacon into it. And by bacon I mean real bacon, not that Canadian “bacon” ham crap *wink*
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★★★★★
Thanx so much for this recipe. Just what I was looking for. If it turns out like I think it will, I’ll be using this bbq sauce on EVERYTHING!!
You are most welcome Ginny! I have a ton of sauces on the website. My newest favorite that has been going viral is my Maple Chipotle BBQ Sauce. All sauces are here: http://www.thekitchenwhisperer.net/category/recipes/sauces-toppings/
Best Kitchen Wishes!
★★★★★