Must Try Apple Bourbon BBQ Sauce Recipe
Dive into flavor with this must-try apple bourbon BBQ sauce! Sweet apples, rich bourbon, and smoky spices blend perfectly to elevate your grilling game.
This recipe makes a delicious, homemade BBQ sauce that you simply must try! You will want to put this tangy, easy to make sauce on everything.
This is one of those super easy recipes that will teach you how to create your own BBQ sauce! This sauce combines homemade apple sauce made from fresh apples with aged bourbon for a distinctive flavor that your are going to love.
Too busy to make this right away? Pin it for later! Pin this recipe to your favorite board on Pinterest and it will be there when you’re ready!
It’s the perfect dipping sauce to make in the fall during apple season! We love it on this smoked pulled pork, bbq burger and chicken wings.
You can easily control the smoky flavors, sugar content and level of heat by creating your own sauce this barbecue season.
Apple Bourbon BBQ Sauce Recipe
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Supplies
Ingredients
Start with a few simple ingredients from the grocery store. The full list can be found in the recipe card below.
- Apples, cored, peeled and sliced – 1 cup of store bought apple sauce may be substituted for the apples, butter and tablespoon of brown sugar.
- Butter – salted or unsalted.
- Brown Sugar – dark brown sugar or light brown, whatever you have.
- Ketchup – the perfect barbecue base.
- Red wine vinegar – I’ve used apple cider vinegar in a pinch.
- Kentucky Bourbon – use your favorite bourbon of choice.
- Worcestershire sauce
- Salt, paprika and black pepper
Instructions
1. Core and peel the apples, slice and then cook them on the stovetop on medium heat in a small sauce pan with butter and one tablespoon of brown sugar.
2. Once fork tender and easy to mash, cool and add to a medium bowl.
3. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix.
4. Use a handheld blender to blend everything to a smooth consistency.
5. Serve immediately or cover and store in the fridge until ready to use.
Note: you can also pour the sauce into a traditional blender or use a food processor to blend.
We made delicious smoked burgers on the Traeger the other day and I have to say that this perfect barbecue sauce was my favorite part! The natural sweetness of the apples and smoky notes of bourbon are sure to tantalize your taste buds.
How to store sauce?
This apple butter bourbon sauce can be kept in an airtight container for a few weeks. We like to store this natural BBQ sauce in a mason jar in the fridge to use all summer long.
This great sauce comes together perfectly with the ingredients listed, however you can play with the original recipe by adding a few things to those basic ingredients. Give your homemade bbq sauce a depth of flavor that you can call your own. Simply add or substitute ingredients to your liking.
We also love this amazing Alabama White Sauce Recipe that you should totally try! Try these variations when creating your own barbecue sauce…
Substitutions
- Use tomato paste or tomato sauce instead of ketchup, just add water for less sugar than the base of ketchup.
- Add yellow mustard, dry mustard or mustard powder.
- Apple cider vinegar or white vinegar can be used instead of red wine.
- A dash of cayenne pepper will add extra heat to this homemade sauce
- Add onion powder, garlic powder or hot sauce to taste
- This easy BBQ sauce is perfect for adding to all kinds of dishes!
What should you use this sauce on?? Pretty much everything! It’s teenager and dude approved!!
BBQ Sauce Suggestions
- pork chops
- smoked chicken
- french fries
- BBQ chicken
- barbecue ribs
- smoked hot dogs
- pork shoulder
- chicken nuggets
- smoked brisket
I am sure that there are other things that this BBQ sauce would be amazing paired with! Just try it and tell us which one was your favorite.
Be sure to check out these 20+ Best Smoker Recipes on a Pellet Grill too!
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Apple Bourbon BBQ Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 apples cored, peeled and sliced
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup bourbon
- 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Core and peel the apples, slice and then cook them on the stovetop on medium heat in a small sauce pan with butter and one tablespoon of brown sugar.
- Once fork tender and easy to mash, cool and add to a medium bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix.
- Use a handheld blender to blend everything to a smooth consistency.
- Serve immediately or cover and store in the fridge until ready to use.
Notes
Nutrition
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