Bacon Bourbon BBQ Sauce

What more can you ask from a BBQ sauce recipe then combining bacon and bourbon into a smooth, tangy BBQ sauce with a touch of pepper on the finish.

Blending bacon and bourbon create a velvety smooth, rich bbq sauce, with a medium heat level and tons of umami flavors. Bacon Bourbon BBQ Sauce is easy to make, keeps in the fridge for a few weeks, and tastes great on burgers, chicken, ribs, and just about anything else.

Bacon Bourbon BBQ Sauce

3.85 from 13 votes

Print Pin Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings: 40 oz

Ingredients

• 4 slices of bacon
• 1/2 cup white onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic

Wet Ingredients

• 32 ounces ketchup
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 6 tbsp bourbon, divided
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2-1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp liquid smoke

Dry Ingredients

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp Ancho chili powder
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 bay leafs

Instructions

• To start, sweat the bacon, onion, and garlic in a large pot on low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add tomato paste and ketchup to the fray, along with the chicken stock, 4 tbsp of bourbon, apple cider vinegar, molasses, honey, lemon juice, liquid smoke, and Worcestershire sauce.
• In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper along with the Ancho chili, mustard, and chili powders.
• Stir the dry ingredients into the sauce, making sure they're completely incorporated. Add the bay leaves and let the sauce simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Blend everything together using an immersion blender or working in batches with a regular blender.
• Add the final 2 tbsp of bourbon and let the sauce simmer on low for another 30 minutes or so. The longer the sauce cooks, the thicker it will get, and the more concentrated the flavors will be.
• When the sauce has finished cooking place it in a squeeze bottle or sealed container and store in the fridge.

Notes

Using pieces of bacon, onion, and garlic gives the sauce a nice body, but also mean it needs to be blended, using either an immersion or regular blender. If it's not blended, it will end up chunky, and the flavors won't be quite right. I usually just blend the bay leaves right into the BBQ sauce.

Like this recipe?Follow us @umami_site