This recipe has it all; a sweet, spicy, robust flavor with a hint of smoke.

If you don’t like heat, the Serrano pepper is optional in the recipe. It could be replaced with a different pepper, or none at all. The brown sugar and aged balsamic are a must. The brown sugar gives the BBQ sauce a sweetness and allows the sauce to get the charred look and caramelized taste. The aged balsamic gives it some depth with a sweetness and tartness while the Worcestershire & soy sauce give the sauce a robust flavor. Chili powder helps combine all the flavors. The ketchup gives us the look and feel of the BBQ sauce we all know and love. Last but not least, the liquid smoke gives your palate the flavor of something cooked on a BBQ grill.

I’m guessing you will create your own recipe after you make this recipe. This one allows you to see how easy it really is to reason through making homemade BBQ sauce. If you like certain ingredients…you add them. If you don’t like certain ingredients…you take them out. You’ll definitely want to use your favorite ketchup and make it as thin as thin as you like just by adding a little water or apple juice.

Wherever this road takes you, I hope it leads you down a road of new-tasty creations.

Check out the aged balsamic vinegar I used in the recipe below.

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