Good for Slathering: Pork; beef; duck; ribs
My students make this barbecue sauce every month in my Southern-barbecue classes. It is the only red sauce that we make in the class, and we always double the recipe because the class slathers it on everything! This sauce has been printed in many places and thousands of students have the recipe, but I couldn't write a sauce chapter and not include it here. The Dr. Pepper gives this sauce an edge over most basic sweet barbecue sauces.
Ingredients
Makes 5 cups
Step 1
1. In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter. Sauté the onion and garlic in the butter until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the flavors have blended. Continue cooking until the sauce begins to thicken, 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper if desired. Remember, the ribs will have plenty of spice rub on them, so don't overseason the sauce.
Step 2
2. Let the sauce cool for about 10 minutes or until it is warm but no longer "boiling" hot. Puree with an immersion or traditional blender-this will make the sauce thicker. Let cool. The sauce will keep, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Step 3
3. Brush it on food 5 to 15 minutes before the cooking time is finished. If desired, serve extra on the side.
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Reviews (12)
Back to TopThis is my go-to sauce recipe. I use Cherry Dr. Pepper and half a can to one can of chipotle in Adobe sauce, seeds and all. Makes great gifts for my friends and family
Deyasmith05
San Antonio, TX
3/2/2020
This is my go-to sweet BBQ sauce. Can't be beat!
cooking queen
Seattle
2/25/2019
How is it that I've never reviewed this recipe before? I've made this sauce for years. We love it with Memphis-style baby back ribs (which means they're no longer really Memphis style -- but that's the kind of rub we use. We serve the sauce on the side). I add a tiny bit of ground chipotle powder to echo the smoke in the ribs. I've seen versions of this where the Dr. Pepper was doubled and then reduced by half, the brown sugar was halved, and a cup or so of dry rub was added. I might try some of those tweaks as well...but this sauce is great as written. I do smooth it out with a stick blender sometimes, too.
scootermom
Vienna, VA
7/3/2014
Not my favorite sweet barbecue sauce, as it was actually a little *too* sweet for my taste. The Dr. Pepper comes through very subtly, which is probably a good thing. We enjoyed this on some ribs for one night, but I will probably try a different BBQ sauce next time.
lschmidt
Portland, OR
6/24/2014
I too love this bbq sauce but have added my own twists. I only had salted butter so I omitted the salt, then melted the butter and skimmed the butter fats before adding the onions and garlic, so it was essentially clarified butter. I also like a nice cherry flavor so I used a mix of half dr pepper half black cherry soda, but I bet cherry dr pepper would also do the trick. I also didn't have the ancho chili powders, but I did have some scotch bonnet sauce which I used about a teaspoon. My wife doesn't like the spicy bbq sauces, so I gotta keep it on the low, for me, I would probably triple that amount or more.
Sagittarian1970
3/2/2014
I also switched out the butter for olive oil, but other than that and since it was my first time making this recipe, I followed it percisely. I love this sauce; the only thing I would change is to cut back on the salt. It's a bit sweet and has a bit of pucker; it's really quite lovely.
AMSeek
Severn, MD
6/30/2013
I've made this a few times, the only changes I made were using olive oil instead of butter (so my vegan friends could enjoy it), and added one or two chipotles in adobo, and smoothed it all out with a stick blender. The chipotles add a little more heat and a little smoke flavor. Makes you want to rub it all over your face.
EchoFoxtrot
10/22/2012
I have made this sauce several times. Only once as written. First time was out of need and it was loves. Second time was as written for a party and RAVE reviews. Third time I made it a little less spicy for my guests. I will continue to make this all the time!!!
JoMaMaNuke
3/23/2012
This is a great bbq recipe. I used Dublin Dr. Pepper (made in Dublin, TX with sugar cane instead of HFCS). You don't taste the sweet Dr. Pepper flavor but it adds a richness to the sauce that we loved. A keeper!
policygirl
9/5/2011
I added a cup of strong black coffee and some mustard......couple extra layers. Everybody loves it!
obeechy1
California
9/3/2011
伟大的秘诀,我从来没有让自己的烧烤sauce before and this was easy and fun to make. I ran out of chili powder but it still turned out fine and I didn't miss it.
wschwaller
Minneapolis
6/21/2010
This was a surprise. It has a little spice or heat to it, but gave it a nice kick over the usual barbecue sauces. The Dr. Pepper doesn't scream out, but the flavor is rich. Makes for a good dinner story.
tombowen
Chicago
6/19/2010
