Diluting Bbq Sauce: Easy Ways To Make It Less Intense

Thick BBQ sauce is a common problem, especially if it's been left on the stove for too long. While it may be tempting to add water to thin it out, this will only result in a loss of flavour. Luckily, there are several other ways to dilute your BBQ sauce without compromising its taste.

How to Dilute BBQ Sauce

Using apple cider vinegar

Diluting BBQ sauce with apple cider vinegar is a great way to thin out your sauce without compromising on flavour. Apple cider vinegar is a particularly good option if you're making a Carolina BBQ sauce, as vinegar is a key ingredient.

How to Dilute BBQ Sauce with Apple Cider Vinegar

Firstly, it's important to test the apple cider vinegar with a small amount of your BBQ sauce. Take half a cup of your sauce and put it in a separate bowl or container. Then, add half a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and stir. Taste the mixture to check if the flavour and consistency are to your liking.

If you're happy with the mixture, you can continue adding the rest of your sauce, maintaining the same proportion of half a cup of sauce to half a tablespoon of vinegar. Keep whisking the sauce until you reach the desired consistency.

Adjusting the Dilution

The amount of apple cider vinegar you add will depend on the acidity of the vinegar, your taste preferences, and the desired thickness of the sauce. If you want a thinner sauce, you can add more vinegar, but be cautious as it's easier to over-thin your sauce than to correct it.

Storage

Once you've diluted your BBQ sauce to your desired consistency, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The vinegar in the sauce will prevent spoilage, but over time, the breakdown of ingredients may affect the freshness of the flavour.

Adding spirits like rum or whiskey

Choosing the right spirit

When selecting a spirit to add to your BBQ sauce, consider the flavour profile you want to achieve. Rum and whiskey can provide a similar colour to your sauce, giving it that signature hue. Rum can have notes of vanilla, bourbon, and spice, while whiskey will give your sauce a warm, sweet taste with hints of spice. If you're using a sweeter alcohol like rum, you may want to reduce the amount of added sugar in your recipe to balance the overall flavour.

Amount to add

The amount of spirit you add to your BBQ sauce will depend on your desired potency and the other ingredients in your recipe. As a general guideline, you can add between 1/4 to 1/2 cup of whiskey or rum to your sauce. If you're using rum, a good rule of thumb is to add about 1/4 tablespoon per cup of BBQ sauce. For whiskey, you can follow a similar ratio, adding about 1/4 to 1/2 tablespoon per cup of sauce.

Cooking instructions

When adding spirits to your BBQ sauce, it's important to cook the alcohol out of the sauce before serving. Simply add your desired amount of spirit to your sauce and simmer or boil it for a few minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate. This step is important, especially if you plan to serve the sauce to children or those who do not consume alcohol.

Recipe ideas

Whiskey BBQ Sauce:

Combine 3/4 cup whiskey, 4 cloves garlic (minced), 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup cider vinegar, 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons liquid smoke flavouring, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, and 1/3 teaspoon hot pepper sauce in a large skillet over medium heat. Simmer until the garlic and onion are translucent, then stir in ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, salt, pepper, and hot pepper sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Rum BBQ Sauce:

Start with a tomato puree base and add fresh green chillies and a generous helping of golden or spiced rum. You can also include other ingredients like onion, garlic, brown sugar, ketchup, and apple cider vinegar to taste. Simmer the sauce over low heat for at least one hour, stirring occasionally.

Feel free to experiment with different types of rum and whiskey, as well as adjusting the amounts to suit your taste preferences. Remember to always taste your sauce as you go and adjust the ingredients as needed.

Incorporating citrus juice

Citrus juice is a great option to dilute your BBQ sauce, especially if you like your sauce with a tangy sour element.

If you are adding citrus juice to your sauce, it is best to start with a small amount and gradually increase until you reach your desired consistency. Start by adding about a quarter of a cup of citrus juice to your BBQ sauce and mix it in. Then, taste the sauce and, if it is still too thick and not tangy, add more juice.

If you are unsure about adding too much citrus juice to your sauce, you can first dilute a small amount of the sauce with the juice. Add the citrus juice in bits to a quarter of a cup of the sauce until you get the right consistency. Then, use the same measurement of citrus juice to dilute the rest of the sauce. Repeat this process until all the sauce is diluted.

Citrus juice can also be used to mitigate the artificial smoke flavour in some BBQ sauces.

Mixing with beef or chicken broth

When it comes to diluting BBQ sauce, it's best to avoid using water, as this will weaken the sauce and reduce its flavour. Instead, you can use a number of other liquids to thin the sauce while retaining its flavour.

If you're barbecuing chicken or pork, a great option is to dilute your BBQ sauce with chicken broth. For beef, you can use beef broth. Simply add half a cup of the broth to half a cup of the sauce and mix thoroughly until you get the desired consistency.

If you want to get creative, you can also use other liquids such as beef or chicken broth as a base and add other ingredients to enhance the flavour. For example, you can add ingredients such as smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, or honey to your broth to create a unique and tasty BBQ sauce.

Here's a recipe for a gut-healing Bacon & Bone Broth BBQ Sauce:

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon bacon drippings
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/4 cup sweet yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon coconut aminos
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/3 cup bone broth
• 1 (7oz) jar or can tomato paste

Instructions:

• Heat the bacon drippings in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Add the garlic and onion and sauté until soft and translucent.
• Add the mustard, apple cider vinegar, coconut aminos, paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt, and sauté for one minute.
• Add the lemon juice, bone broth, and tomato paste.
• Whisk all ingredients together until smooth.
• Bring to a light boil, then reduce to a simmer.
• Simmer for 30-45 minutes.
• Store the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

This sauce is perfect for glazing meat on the grill or as a dipping sauce.

Using beer

Choosing the Right Beer

First, let's talk about the type of beer to use. The general rule when cooking with alcohol is to use a beer that you would enjoy drinking. If you have a favourite craft beer, that's probably a better choice than a cheap light beer. Go with a beer that has complex flavours that will enhance your sauce. A malty beer, such as a stout, lager, pilsner, porter, pale ale, or bock beer, can add just the right amount of flavour to balance out the other ingredients in your sauce.

Amount to Use

When it comes to how much beer to add, start with a small amount and gradually increase until you achieve the desired consistency. As a starting point, try adding about 1/2 cup of beer to your BBQ sauce and simmering it to remove the alcohol. If your sauce is still too thick, you can add more beer in small increments until you get the consistency you're looking for.

Simmering

Speaking of simmering, it's important to make sure that any alcohol in the sauce is cooked off before serving. This is a safety precaution, especially if you're serving the sauce to children or pregnant women. Simmering the sauce for a few minutes after adding the beer should be sufficient to evaporate the alcohol.

Customisation

You can also customise your beer-infused BBQ sauce by adding various ingredients. For example, you can spice it up by adding sauteed jalapeno, habanero, or dried red pepper flakes. If you want to enhance the sweetness, try using honey, agave nectar, molasses, or maple syrup instead of brown sugar. Fruit is another natural sweetener that can add a sophisticated flavour to your sauce. Just a tablespoon or two of dried fruit reconstituted in hot water can make a big difference.

Other Tips

Remember to go slowly when thinning your BBQ sauce. It's easier to add more liquid than to remove it if you've added too much. Taste your sauce as you thin it to ensure that you're maintaining the desired flavour balance. If you need to reheat your sauce, do it gently as BBQ sauce contains a lot of sugar, which can burn easily.

Frequently asked questions