As I prepare to start my career as a competition barbecuer, I've been hard at work at honing my sauces to be as delicious and unique as possible, in hopes they'll give me an edge in the fierce battles that lay ahead. While I'm taking the barbecue cop-out and deeming my most recent sauces "secret," I traveled a long road of experimentation with different styles of sauce to get me to where I am today, and those recipes I'm more than happy to share. One the first, and most regular, sauces I made was of the thick and sweet variety, akin to what you'd find in Kansas City.
Although I'm keeping my newest sauces a secret, there's a lot to learn from the processes developed along the way. For example, I've tried a lot of different ways to infuse an onion flavor in the sauce. My favorite has been sauteing onions in butter as first step to just about every sauce. A little browning on the onions gives them a slightly sweet flavor that adds a nice depth to a sauce.
While I tend to prefer medium-thick sauce, if you're talking Kansas City, you're looking at pretty thick sauce. To achieve this, I traded in my usual tomato sauce base for ketchup, which gives the right thickness for a KC-style sauce. From there, molasses and brown sugar were added to build upon the sweetness of the ketchup, then a modest amount of vinegar for the required tang. Mustard, chili powder, and pepper finished off the seasoning department for a slight hint of heat.
That mixture cooks for 30 minutes to ensure all the flavors meld together and sauce gets to the right thickness. Then a whirl in the blender smooths it out and it's ready to go.
A good Kansas City sauce like this shines for its versatility—it works great on everything from ribs to chicken to beans, or it can be a dip or a baste. It also has the deep sweetness with a little tang that's probably the most ubiquitous characteristics of a barbecue sauce everyone is looking for. While this sauce recipe is pretty great as is, it's even better used as starting point for experimentation. There's a lot of room to customize it to your liking, which is exactly how I started out with developing my own "secret" recipes.
Published on Tue Feb 7, 2012 by Joshua Bousel
Print Recipe
Kansas City-Style Barbecue Sauce
- Yield Makes 2 1/2 cups
- Prep 10 Minutes
- Cook 35 Minutes
- Total 45 Minutes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups ketchup
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Procedure
- Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, chili powder, black pepper, and cayenne pepper and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Transfer sauce to the jar of a blender and blend until smooth. Let cool to room temperature, transfer to a jar and store in refrigerator for up to a month.
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Comments
Mike I've never cared for the taste of molasses, to me it tastes burnt and bitter. I've found that I like the flavor of Cane Syrup instead. Not the supermarket brands that are predominately HFCS, but the real stuff made by hand in deep in SE Georgia. It has a sweet, more refined flavor than molasses.
Give it a try. You just might find the "edge" you were looking for to distinguish your sauce from others.
Good luck on the competition. Posted Wed, Feb 8 2012 8:17AM
Chris Good tips on sauce development, Josh. Best of luck in your comps.Posted Sun, Feb 12 2012 4:51PM
Joe Hi, love your blog. I saw where you have the different store bbq sauces ranked on another one of your pages on here and you have nothing ranked "10". I higlly recomend trying B.B. King's bbq sauce from B.B. King's blues clubs, it is the best sauce i have ever had.Posted Sat, Jun 2 2012 3:24PM
Josh @Joe Thanks for the recommendation. I'll be sure to give it a try.Posted Sun, Jun 3 2012 12:16PM
FAQs
A sizable amount of ketchup is added to sautéed onions and garlic, then combined with molasses and brown sugar (for extra thickness and sweetness), a little vinegar (adds the tartness), and to keep the sugar in check you'll need mustard, chili powder, black and cayenne peppers for some heat.
What are the ingredients in city barbeque sauce? ›
INGREDIENTS: WATER, MOLASSES, SUGAR, TOMATO PASTE, CIDER VINEGAR, DISTILLED VINEGAR, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, SALT, CARAMEL COLOR, SMOKE FLAVORS, CHIPOTLE PUREE (CHIPOTLE PEPPERS, CITRIC ACID), SPICES, APPLE JUICE CONCENTRATE, DEHYDRATED GARLIC AND ONION.
What is the flavor of Kansas City BBQ? ›
Kansas City style barbecue is slow cooked with a sweet sauce made from tomato soup or ketchup mixed with sugar, vinegar, and spices. Its flavor profile includes a smoky hickory flavor that comes from the use of hickory wood chips in the smoker to give it an authentic “barbecue” taste.
What makes Kansas City barbecue different? ›
Kansas City–style barbecue is a slowly smoked meat barbecue originating in Kansas City, Missouri in the early 20th century. It has a thick, sweet sauce derived from brown sugar, molasses, and tomatoes.
What makes Kansas City style barbeque special? ›
Kansas City–style BBQ originated in 1908 with pitmaster Henry Perry, who got his start selling smoked meats in the city's garment district. His unique style involved smoking various meats over oak and hickory woods and serving them wrapped in newsprint, slathered in a tangy and peppery sauce.
What is the difference between Carolina and Kansas City BBQ sauce? ›
Kansas City and North Carolina barbecue sauces are like night and day. While Kansas City sauce is all about sweetness, North Carolina sauce is all about tartness. This tangy sauce is made with vinegar, so it really packs a wallop when a person tastes it.
What is the most common ingredient in BBQ sauce? ›
Ingredients vary, but most include vinegar or tomato paste (or a combination) as a base, as well as liquid smoke, onion powder, spices such as mustard and black pepper, and sweeteners such as sugar or molasses.
What's the difference between Memphis and Kansas City barbecue sauce? ›
Even though Memphis BBQ sauce is tomato-based and contains brown sugar like Kansas City BBQ sauce, it also includes mustard and vinegar. Because the BBQ sauce is thin, it makes a great marinade. It can also be mopped or basted on pork shoulders, butts, ribs and fresh pulled-pork sandwiches.
What gives BBQ sauce its distinct flavor? ›
Spices and seasonings: A variety of spices and seasonings are added to BBQ sauce to enhance its flavor. Common spices include paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and mustard powder. These ingredients contribute to the distinct taste and aroma of the sauce.
What is traditional Kansas City BBQ? ›
At any given location, diners may find pork, beef, chicken, salmon, lamb or even vegetarian options, such as jackfruit. The Sauce. A traditional Kansas City sauce is a thick, molasses-based concoction of spicy and sweet flavors. As with any definition, there are plenty of exceptions.
Burnt ends are a mainstay on any KC barbecue menu, and they became famous at Arthur Bryant's, where cooks would chop off the "burnt ends” of slabs of brisket and give them away for free. These little morsels became so popular they ended up on every menu in town.
What is the difference between St Louis BBQ and Kansas City BBQ? ›
St. Louis BBQ is often compared to Kansas City BBQ because the sauces share some similarities, but they're different enough for people to know the difference when they eat them. The St. Louis barbecue sauce is a bit thinner because it contains vinegar, which also makes the sauce less sweet.
What is the difference between Texas BBQ and Kansas City BBQ? ›
And while you can find everything from slow-smoked barbecue to Carolina pulled pork and even Texas brisket, there are two distinct characteristics of Kansas City barbecue that really set it apart. Kansas City barbecue's signature touch is the crisp, charred ends of pork or smoked brisket.
Where is KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce from? ›
KC Masterpiece Barbeque Sauce was created in 1977 by Richard E. "Rich" Davis M.D., a child psychiatrist practicing in Kansas City, Missouri, who had earned his medical degree from the University of Kansas. Davis was born in 1926, in Joplin, Missouri, and died on 6 October 2015 in Leawood, Kansas, at 89 years of age.
Is Kansas City barbecue sauce sweet? ›
**Our original Kansas City Sweet barbecue sauce is sweet and tangy with a dash of black pepper.
