I wish I had a recipe for you. My last batch was blueberry, and awesome, but it was just thrown together because the berries needed using and I have no idea what was in it, other than the usual suspects.

Since you haven't found a sauce that's just right, I encourage you to look at the ingredients of whatever was closest (you can find them online) and start experimenting. Think about the seasonings most of all. Like do you need a bit of smoky flavor? Liquid smoke is literally just that. The smoke condenses (becomes liquid rather than vapor) as it cools in mad scientist equipment and that's what's in the bottle. Or you can add a smoked ingredient, like smoked Spanish paprika. Some people use actual char. Or you can roast your tomatoes/peppers/onions with some damp wood chips.

For a "bit" of heat, you can use prepared ingredients, from cayenne powder to sriracha sauce, but if you want a bit more, and more depth of flavor, try fresh or dried peppers with a bit more oomph. You can choose a pepper with naturally the right kind of heat, like guajillos, perhaps, and use a good amount, or you can use an intense pepper (with gloves and goggles) and just a bit of it. Habaneros (Scotch bonnets) have a distinctive, delicious floral flavor. Ghost peppers are insane.

I don't use a lot of barbecue sauce, so usually make only a couple of quarts and freeze what I don't use right away. Right now, I have a couple units of the blueberry, and a couple of the more tomato-y recipe I invented for FOAS which is good as a carrier for pulled meats.

Making barbecue sauce is fun! I hope you find what you're looking for.

Thanks pillog, we do like a smoky touch, maybe even More then that. You seem to have a good idea of what I’m in search of. I personally have a rather bad desire for salt that I have to rein in for others. Hubby says he doesn’t like tomatoes, but he will use ketchup on a few things religiousl.y.

I don't buy bottled sauce, they're all too sweet for my tastes, although many people like Diana's bottled sauce.

I've made one over the years which calls for sauteeing onions and simmering the sauce.

I tried the bbq sauce that AnnT posted a few years ago, and it's now the only one I use. I love that it doesn't need to be cooked.

This is her recipe.........I cut the yellow mustard in half, I don't like it that spicy.

I mix it in a bowl, then transfer it to a plastic squeeze ketchup bottle.

TBQ Sauce
Source: Windsor Newspaper

1/2 cup Ketchup
1/2 cup prepared mustard
1/2 cup vinegar white
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 cup white sugar.

Combine in a jar.

Good ketchup (Simply Heinz) has a heap of flavor and can enhance a barbecue sauce. I usually start with tomato puree or paste, but you don't need tomatoes.

Since you like smoky, you can roast/grill some sweet peppers, onions, garlic (be careful lest it scorch), even dense leaves like dino kale, and blend most of them to puree or liquify them with a blender, or run them through a food mill a few times. Taste that base and start a little seasoning going--just a little. Add the reserved roasted veg and add fresh onion, hot peppers, and other barbecue sauce-like stuff you please, and cook it down. Adjust the seasoning. Perhaps add some herbs and spices, some grated carrots or fruit for sweetness that isn't sugary, Or maybe just give it a healthy swig of ketchup for sugar, salt and tomato umami. :) Speaking of umami, bbq sauce is a great place to use mushroom salt or dried mushrooms, for some earthiness and depth.

This is pretty simple. Fun to make your own and get it just the way you both agree. As long as you have a blender...

A 28ounce can of whole tomatoes. One large or two small onions, 2-3 inch chunks, a whole head of garlic, peeled into cloves, red bell pepper chunks.

Spread out the tomatoes equally on a parchment lined sheet pan. Rub off the included sauce and reserve in the can. lay the onions, garlic, peppers around the tomatoes and roast in a 325º oven for 45 minutes. Check after one half hour. We want roasting and not much char. Ok if the tom/veg slightly overlaps. (a couple fresh hot peppers optional)

Add the can juices to a sauce pan on low heat. One half cup of AC vinegar to the can to rinse and into the pot.

Add...

One tBsp each of smoked paprika, dry mustard powder, worcestershire, chili powder to taste, salt/pepper to taste. Low simmer while the tom/veg roasts.

Onions should be limp and juicy/slightly caramelized. Sauce pan off while the veg cools a bit, then into the blender. All back into the saucepan and taste.

Only then do we add maybe some sweet but usually not. More heat? Maple syrup...dark brown sugar...(I use coconut palm sugar if any). 1/3rd cup dark beer. or more vinegar if too thick.

I do add more spices like cumin, coriander, but that is personal experimenting. The onions add so much sweetness I wait to add any sugars.

I use my own roasted garden toms but sometimes early Spring that is not possible if I've run out of my freezer stash. Just my opinion but I believe spices need to be heated to bloom. Even better dry pan roasted. It just takes an hour while doing other things and we freeze in 1/2 pint containers for the winter months. A stalk of diced rhubarb is a nice addition and thickener.

My secret ingredients added at the end,

Wow sleeve dog! That looks perfect!

We do sometimes bbq outside even with snow on the ground but we also do oven chicken thighs, ribs, pork shoulder in the winter months. If you like a wet mop/sauce at the table like some bbq joints in the south offer, for dipping, we just take a bit and thin with more vinegar/hot sauce in another small sauce pan and take it to the table hot. We love a hot wet dip😜

Oven bark does need some sugars to caramelize further if the onions are not enough. A sprinkling at the end of cooking with broiler on is about just enough sweet for us. Nice sweet/salty balance.

Canned whole tomatoes are so different. I can only get one brand in Canada. Fortunately a good one with lots of rich sauce after removing the whole tomatoes. (not sure the brand)

My favorites in the US are (I think) California grown. Favorites left to right.

Pandemic panic I have a few cans of Bianco. Like the panic case of fancy Spanish tuna, I'll use them eventually. 😂

Slleevendog, have you tried the new (at least to me😜) canned fire roasted tomatoes. My husband loves them. I think they will go well with your recipe. I’ll let you know..

Sleeve, your sauce sounds wonderful! These are the San Marzano tomatoes that Costco sells.

Yes, and excellent. Did not want to go there since we smoke/roast tomatoes and tomatillos end of August through now. You will get that char in the oven but not like a grill/smoker. One last tray of hatch chilis to go. In the oven as we speak. no time to fuss with the smoker. ..some last tomatoes still hanging on as well as a dozen aji Amarillo peppers. Leaves are 1/4 Fall orange just now falling. Mostly green still. No hard frost yet.

What is fun, at least for us, an hour of barely hands-on time, gives us our own salsa/sauces/bbq without much effort.

Last couple of days, mostly last weekend...stacks of quarter pints for the freezer. ...tomatillo/hatch, bbq.

I'm glad that is a good brand of tomatoes, it's the ones I buy regularly. :-D.

There aren't many brands to choose from of Marzano tomatoes.

Lindac92, I agree. Love Sweet Baby Rays Hickory & Brown Sugar and no longer make my own. Haven't tried the other flavors.

I like a sweet & spicy BBQ sauce 😊

I buy Trader Joe's organic - they have Brown Sugar and Kansas City Style

I mist saw this chef make these on “The Kitchen”. They looked so good. I may try them. Or the sauce alone looks good.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/big-moes-memphis-style-chicken-5299579

Number 5 BBQ Sauce is my go-to as a quick put-together, or as a starting point. If you read the entire thread (link at the very end), you'll see how very versatile this basic recipe can be!

Number 5 BBQ Sauce (it's the fifth homemade BBQ sauce the guy made, therefore the name)--here's the basic recipe:

1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce
1 tablespoon rub (low salt)
Opional but very good: 1/4 cup meat drippings (whats left in the foil after the rest)
Simmer to marry the flavors and thicken as desired.

Sooz's notes and my variation:

Recipe can be halved. This is what I use and it's a slight variant on the original Number 5 BBQ sauce.

1 C ketchup

1/2 C cider vinegar

1/3 C brown sugar

1 T Worchestershire sauce

paprika—however much you want, maybe 3 tsp?

1/4 tsp liquid smoke

couple squirts of Franks Hot Sauce

squirt of honey

Whisk together. You can heat this up if you want the flavors to meld more quickly.

Some people also add pan drippings to this sauce and say it's delicious.

Number 5 BBQ sauce link

Now you're talking but I would also add some molasses....told you I like it sweet!!

I make pretty much everything from scratch, but for some reason, I've never had the urge to make bbq sauce or ketchup. I buy a standard bbq sauce from the grocery store and doctor it up to my taste. Most of the time it's Kraft Chicken & Rib along with a bit of honey, hoisin, sweet chili sauce, soy, ginger paste, dry mustard, garlic powder, chipotle pepper flakes and whatever else I can think of. It always turns out.

IMO, it is the rub that one uses on BBQ that makes the difference. For most meats around here the BBQ sauce is offered on the side as a condiment. Chicken pieces and pulled pork are the exceptions to that rule for me.

If you want to try commercially available BBQ sauces I suggest that you order one of the various variety packs like these in the below links. These are all from famous BBQ joints located here (Kansas City) in the BBQ capital of the world ;-)

Jack Stack

Gates

Joe's Kansas City

Zarda

ETA: I'll often mix a couple different commercial sauces together to make a different taste. Like a hot/spicy sauce and a sweeter sauce.

I also like it just a little sweet and a little hot.

I use KatieC's Chipotle Catsup for BBQ sauce, I can a couple of batches each year so I have it on hand, but it could easily be frozen, I think. I'm basically a coward when it comes to hot peppers, so I leave out the jalapenos but leave in the poblanos and have settled on 3 chipotles with some of the sauce.

HarvestForum
Smoky Chipotle Ketchup

Recipe By :Katie

5 lbs. ripe tomatoes -- coarsely chopped
1 large onion -- finely chopped
1 large poblano chili -- finely chopped
2 jalapeno chilies -- coarsely chopped
4 canned chipotle chilies -- (2-5) chopped
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. celery seed
1 1/2 tsp. mustard seed
1 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients in large, heavy nonreactive pot and bring to a boil over
medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and sauce is reduced by one-fourth.

Puree in a food processor or food mill, or use a stick blender. Strain through a sieve if desired. Bring to a boil and simmer until quite thick and dark brownish red.

Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month, or process in a boiling water bath:
15 minutes at 0-1000 ft., 20 minutes at 1001- 6000 ft. and 25 minutes
above 6000 ft.

Thanks, KatieC!

Annie

I love that Chipotle ketchup recipe Annie! I think I have about a dozen half pints left in my pantry from the 2019 gardening season. It takes awhile to cook it down. I make it according to the recipe and use the whole can of Chipotles and the Adobo sauce. I've never thought of using it as a BBQ sauce. I bet it would be good on grilled chicken. I'll have to try that.

I've used this recipe from Sue (cookingrv) for years as a basting sauce. I love Ann T's version of TBQ as posted by Jasdip as a dipping sauce for ribs or on pulled pork.

Lone Jack , a few years ago we took a road trip across the US and part of the adventure was tasting ribs from all the States/cities claiming to have the best. Luckily for us we were actually taken by some CF pals to some of the famous joints in several cities. Ribs seem to be a religion to some!

We had ribs in Texas, Nashville, NC, SC, OK, St Louis and of course Kansas.....in our opinion Kansas ribs were the best, followed by St Louis!

Ribs (BBQ Sauce) - Roadhouse Grill (Sue)

2 TBSP vegetable oil

1/4 cup fresh onion -- Minced

1 1/2 cup Water (I use chicken broth)

1/2 cup Tomato paste

1/2 cup Brown sugar

2 TBSP honey

1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

1 3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp liquid smoke flavoring

1 tsp Jim Beam whiskey

1 tsp smoked, regular or half sharp paprika

1/4 tsp black pepper -- Fresh Ground

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp paprika

Hot sauce as you like

Make the sauce by heating the oil in a medium

saucepan over medium/high heat. Saute the onions for 5 minutes or until

they start to brown. Add the remaining ingredients and bring mixture to

a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour, uncovered, or until

sauce thickens. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to use on your ribs.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Sauce / Slathering Sauce / Mutha Sauce is my favorite. It's sold in the NE US. Here's the recipe. It makes lots.

Yieldmakes 6 to 7 cups

Ingredients

1. • 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1 cup minced onion
• 1/2 cup minced green pepper
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
• Pinch each of kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 can (28 ounces) tomato sauce
• 2 cups ketchup (preferably Heinz)
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup cayenne pepper sauce
• 1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 tablespoon Liquid Smoke (optional)

Preparation

1. 1. Pour the oil into a large
      saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Toss in the onions, green
      peppers, and jalapeños and give them a stir. Season with a pinch of salt
      and pepper and cook til soft and golden. Add the garlic and cook for 1
      minute more. Dump in everything else except the Liquid Smoke. Bring to a
      boil, then lower the heat so the sauce simmers. Simmer for 10 minutes.
      Swirl in the Liquid Smoke and let the sauce cool. Pour it into a
      container, cover, and store in the fridge til ready to use.
2. Variation: Hot BBQ Sauce
3. Add 2 or 3 seeded and minced
   habanero peppers (about 1 1/2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon) along with the
   onions, peppers, and jalapeños. Also add 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
   along with the other ingredients for extra punch.

Danger!!!
Working with habaneros can cause plenty of personal pain and suffering
if you’re not careful. Never touch the cut flesh or seeds with your bare
hands. While it won’t sting your hands (unless you’ve got a cut), the
volatile oils from the peppers get into your pores and can be
transferred to your eyes or other moist, sensitive areas on your body
long after you’re done cookin’. Even washing your hands doesn’t help. So
wear latex gloves while working with habaneros and be sure to protect
your<br/>hands while cleaning up your cutting board and knife as
well. Then toss out the gloves.

The Vancouver Sun
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
17 Apr 1936, Fri • Page 20

Barbeque Sauce

1/2 cup butter

3 tablespoons vinegar

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Few grains cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon grated onion

1/4 clove garlic (bruised)

3 cups water.

Put all the ingredients into a saucepan, bring to the boiling point and simmer

20 minutes.

• CLIPPED BY
  wargarden2017 · 10 seconds ago

CLIPPED FROMThe Vancouver Sun
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
17 Apr 1936, Fri • Page 20

I just noticed that Aldi has the MuirGlen organic 'fire roasted' cans for under 1.50$ a can. Probably the smaller cans but still a good deal.

Remembered that we like to take a cup or so of the finished sauce, depending on how many feeding, and add some butter and a bit of chicken or bone broth, served warm, for a dip at the table or a mop to finish on the grill....last 20 minutes or so.

I do remember the table warm dip at Coopers in Llano, Tx. It was kept in at a big vat kept warm on a burner alongside the help-yourself condiment table. It was very thin and memorable. Ladle into small wide cups. Read that they use a stock made from the smoked bones. I'm not even sure if they use tomatoes. No memory if they have other room temp sauces in squeeze bottles but most restaurants have a few and bottles of hot sauce. Franklin has three house sauces. One has coffee or maybe espresso.