Best-Ever Barbecue Sauce
Submitted by YumYumInMyTumTum
Best-ever barbecue sauce in the Cajun style with crispy bacon, dark caramelized onions, honey, citrus, and toasted pecans. A rich, complex Paul Prudhomme-influenced sauce that earns its name.
YIELD
48 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
40 minREADY
60 minThis isn’t a quick BBQ sauce. It’s a project, but the result is something so dimensional it makes bottled sauce taste like ketchup. The technique borrows heavily from Cajun cooking: bacon renders first to build a smoky, fatty foundation, then onions cook covered until dark caramel-brown for deep, almost burnt-sugar sweetness.
The seasoning mix (white pepper, black pepper, cayenne, garlic and onion powders) gets bloomed in the bacon-onion fat for a full minute before any liquid hits. This wakes up the spices and integrates them into the fat, where they coat every other ingredient that follows.
Whole orange and lemon rinds and pulp simmer in the sauce for 10 minutes, infusing serious citrus depth before they’re plucked out. Skip this and you have a flat, one-note sauce. Include it and you have something that tastes like restaurants charge twenty dollars to dip ribs in.
Pecans are the surprise. They blend smooth at the end and contribute a buttery richness and slight thickening power that’s impossible to identify but unmistakable in the final mouthfeel. Dry-roast them first to amplify the flavor.
Finishing with a swirl of butter brings the sauce together with glossy emulsification, then a quick blender pass smooths everything into a sauce-shop-worthy puree.
Use on grilled chicken, pork ribs, or smoked brisket. Makes 5 cups, so plan to share or freeze.
Pro Tips
- Don’t burn the onions. The recipe specifies dark brown but not burned, and burnt onions ruin the entire pot. Cover the pan and stir occasionally; covered cooking traps moisture and prevents scorching.
- Use thick-cut bacon. Thin bacon disappears entirely; thick bacon contributes flavor and texture.
- Cool 30 minutes before blending. Hot liquid in a blender expands violently and can blow off the lid.
- Strain through a fine-mesh sieve after blending for a glassy, restaurant-style finish if you prefer no texture.
- Refrigerate up to 3 weeks. Freeze portions in jars for 6 months. The flavor only improves with time.
Variations
Ingredients
Directions
Combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
In a 2-quart saucepan fry the bacon over high heat until crisp.
Stir in the onions, cover pan, and continue cooking until onions are dark brown, but not burned, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the seasoning mix and cook about 1 minute.
Add the stock, chili sauce, honey, pecans, orange juice, lemon juice, orange and lemon rinds and pulp, garlic, and Tobasco, stirring well.
Reduce heat to low; continue cooking about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Remove orange and lemon rinds.
Continue cooking and stirring about 15 minutes more to let the flavors marry.
Add the butter and stir until melted.
Remove from heat. Let cool about 30 minutes, then pour into a food processor or blender and process until pecans and bacon are finely chopped, about 10 to 15 seconds.
This sauce may be used to barbecue chicken, pork or ribs.
Makes about 5 Cups.
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