A Kansas City Barbecue Sauce that will outshine all others! This has a sweet, smoky, savory flavor that goes great with any barbecue dish! Even better, it uses only natural sweeteners!
When it comes to sauces, dips, and marinades, it doesn’t get much better than this Kansas City barbecue sauce.
I am very picky with barbecue sauces. So much so that I had my basic barbecue sauce finalized about 10 times now and it keeps changing! I decided to step away from it for a bit and change it up to a Kansas City style that has more of a punch to it! A great barbecue sauce has to have complex flavors, not just a tomato taste, and it has to have great texture. That means not too thick and not too thin.
The Basic Ingredients of BBQ Sauces
- Tomatoes in some form (often you find ketchup as the base)
- Vinegar
- Sweetener
- Maybe a spice
- Salt
- And lots of flavor
I am not a fan of ketchup as a base for numerous reasons- too processed, too much sugar, not enough natural flavor. Yes, it is an option, but I think it can easily be done better with the use of tomato paste and water!
I like to use apple cider vinegar because it gives a good zing while also adding lots of great flavor. If you use white vinegar it greatly changes the recipe and lacks flavor, at least for this recipe!
Pineapple is one of the keys to this recipe! Yes it does take an extra step to blend the ingredients but it's worth it. You can't get sweetness from any other ingredient like you do from fresh/frozen pineapple. I've tried peace and mango and no they're not a match.
Blackstrap molasses and maple syrup are such great sweeteners for BBQ sauces. They're more natural and they add more complex flavors. When you use blackstrap molasses it helps take the place of brown sugar and/or white sugar.
Smoked Paprika: You can choose to use regular paprika but you'll be missing out on that smoky flavor so I would highly recommended using smoked paprika for this recipe.
Garlic Granules: Yes, you can substitute garlic powder but granules have a stronger, more mature flavor. If you're wanting to make a BBQ sauce cold and avoid heating it then I would recommend still using granules but letting the sauce sit and marinade to allow them to incorporate a little more. Otherwise you can get a gritty texture.
This is my absolutely favorite BBQ sauce right now and I use it more than my basic BBQ sauce! While it's a bit sweater it's not overpowering and still works great with savory dishes and flavors.
Try this BBQ Sauce with These Recipes
These recipes pair well with my Kansas City Barbecue Sauce:
- Pork Shoulder Roast with Crackling
- Pulled Pork (Serve it Your Way)
- Easy and Delicious Hamburger Patties
- Baked or Pan Fried Chicken Nuggets
Sides
Check out these sides to go with your barbecue sauce:
Kansas City Barbecue Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup tomato paste, no added salt
- ½ cup + 3 tablespoon water
- 3 tablespoon maple syrup
- 3 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
- ¼ cup diced frozen pineapple
- 2 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 8 teaspoon yellow mustard equal to 2 tablespoon + 2 tsp
- 1 ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic granules
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- optional pinch of cayenne
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until pineapple in incorporated. Transfer sauce to a small saucepan.
- Cook on low-medium heat (level 2-3) for 13 minutes. Decrease to Lo for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. It will thicken more as it cools.
- Option to serve somewhat warm or completely chill in the fridge before serving.
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