When it's time to fire up the grill, it's important to remember the key ingredient: BBQ sauce. There's a reason that we've added sauces to grilled meat for hundreds of years: it's delicious. Let's dive into some BBQ sauce recipes that will set your taste buds tingling.
The origins of BBQ sauce
The vinegar and pepper concoctions that European settlers first added to meat are a world apart from the tangy, sweet sauces that we love today. Over time, we added more ingredients like tomatoes, mustard, and various spices. These developed regionally, which is why we now have such a rich landscape of recipes with BBQ sauce from around the country, each with their own unique blend of sweetness, smoke, and spice.
Pork BBQ sauce recipes
If there's one meat that cries out for BBQ sauce, it's pork - and especially pulled pork. This is tender, succulent Stubb's Pulled Pork that melts in your mouth, slow-cooked to perfection with a blend of smokey, sweet, tangy flavors.
The depth of flavor comes from our Stubb's Bar-B-Q Sauce — the best sauce for pulled pork — along with Stubb's Bar-B-Q Rub. These two ingredients flavor your pork shoulder. Cook it low and slow until it's falling apart, then pile it high on a warm bun.
Of course, you can't talk about pork on the barbecue without talking about ribs. Look no further than BBQ Spare Ribs with Beer Braised Collard Greens. This recipe coats tender, succulent ribs in a rich, smoky barbecue sauce. You bake the greens in a robust beer broth with the ribs, marrying the greens' slight bitterness with the ribs' sweetness. It's a bitter-sweet combination of textures and tastes.
Alternatively, sink your teeth into these Sticky Sweet Ribs, where each bite offers a symphony of flavors and textures. These ribs are expertly seasoned and slow-cooked until they're fall-off-the-bone tender, then generously glazed with Sticky Sweet Barbecue Sauce. The result is a perfect balance of smoky, sweet, and savory notes, with a caramelized crust that gives way to juicy, succulent meat underneath.
Chicken smothered in BBQ sauce
What's the best sauce for BBQ chicken? It depends on your tolerance for spicy flavors, but if you want to dial it up then check out our Sweet Heat Barbecue sauce. Its chipotle chili ingredient gives it a heat that sneaks up on you, and it's perfect in our Famous 3-Step Chicken. This recipe will give you spicy, succulent chicken to go with your favorite side, and the best part about it is that you can cook it low and slow or quickly on direct heat if you need it in minutes.
If you're hankering for a chicken brunch, then we have you covered. This Beer Bar-B-Q Chicken and Cornbread Waffles recipe grills juicy chicken wings smothered in BBQ sauce with a twist: the sauce is infused with beer, orange juice, garlic, and chipotle peppers. Served atop fluffy cornbread waffles, each bite offers a delicious mix of sweet, smoky, and spicy flavors. Add fresh chives for an unforgettable meal that redefines the classic chicken and waffles experience.
You don't have to stick with pork when shredding fall-apart meat for BBQ sauce recipes. In fact, you don't have to use the barbecue at all. Just check out this Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken recipe, which produces succulent chicken smothered in tangy BBQ sauce using your slow cooker. There's no better comfort food during the cold season, and you don't have to stand outside shivering next to the grill.
Delicious BBQ sides
BBQ sauce stands out as the star ingredient in a main meal, but it can also make a great side act. To demonstrate, cook up some Stubb's Cowboy Beans as a hearty and flavorful side dish. Bar-B-Q Sauce combined with browned beef, sausage, bacon bits and chopped red onion brings new life to baked beans in this rich savory recipe that offers just a touch of sweetness.
For something lighter, try our BBQ Pasta Salad. It's a creamy, tangy delight perfect for summer cookouts. The secret here is the mayonnaise, which blends apple cider vinegar, chili powder, garlic powder, and BBQ sauce. You'll never look at elbow macaroni the same way again.
This rich array of BBQ sauce recipes give you options for the summer, or for winter recipes that will help you remember those warm afternoons in front of the BBQ in the back yard.
More BBQ sauce recipes
If you can't get enough of that sweet, smoky tang, here are some other BBQ sauce recipes to keep you going:
