This homemade barbecue sauce offers the perfect balance of tangy, sweet, and smoky!
Yield: 32 half-pints or 16 pints
We love this delicious homemade BBQ sauce on BBQ Chicken Pizza, BBQ Meatballs, and
The original recipe, titled Smoky Sweet Barbeque Sauce is from The Ball Mason Jars website which you can find here. I made a few alterations based on preference and what I had on hand. I felt comfortable making these changes, however, home canning is a science that should be followed very closely. I encourage you to review the original recipe and make changes that are recommended as safe and that you feel comfortable with.
Check out our other Home Canned BBQ Sauces!
For home canning you’ll need a few tools:
Water Bath Canner with a canning rack
Pint-sized canning jars with lids and rings
Canning jar lifter
Wooden skewer or canning debubbler tool
Do I Have To Can This BBQ Sauce?
If you’re not a home canner yet, no worries! You can still make this homemade BBQ sauce. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or frozen for up to 3 months.
Do I Have to Use a Water Bath Canner?
If you have a water bath canner, you’ll want to use it here. I don’t have a separate canner for water bath canning, so I just use my pressure canner with the rack. However, I do not lock the lid in place and allow the canning lid to sit slightly ajar.
If you don’t have a water bath or pressure canner, no worries! You can simply use a large stock pot with a makeshift rack. Your pot should be tall enough so that the water covers the jars.
To make a DIY canning rack, you can simply tie five or six canning rings together and place your jars on top. If you have an Instant Pot rack you can use that instead. The main thing is you don’t want to place your jars directly inside the pot. Air and heat need to be able to circulate around the jars completely to ensure proper processing.
Ingredients
24 pounds peeled Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 ½ cups apple cider vinegar
1 ½ cups bourbon
2 cups sugar
6 Tablespoons molasses
½ cup garlic powder
1 cup caramelized onion powder
1 ½ cup tomato powder (or 12 ounces tomato paste)
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tablespoons liquid smoke
1 ½ Tablespoons chili powder
1 ½ Tablespoons paprika
½ teaspoon ground mustard
Directions
Prepare tomatoes by first thoroughly washing them and removing any minor blemishes. Use a paring knife to form an X on the bottom of each tomato. Using a slotted spoon, carefully dip the tomatoes (maybe three or four at a time) into a large stockpot of boiling water. Leave the tomatoes in the boiling water until the skins begin to slip off (approximately 30-60 seconds)
Carefully, remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and place them immediately into a large bowl of ice-cold water. Remove the cooled tomatoes to a large bowl and continue processing the remaining tomatoes.
Remove the skins and cut out the stem and tough part of the core. Chop tomatoes and add to a large stainless-steel stockpot.
Bring tomatoes to a boil then reduce heat and simmer on low for 30 minutes.
Using an immersion blender, puree tomatoes until smooth.
Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to avoid scorching. Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 1 ½ - 2 hours or until sauce has thickened and appears darker in color.
While the sauce is simmering, prepare jars for the canning process. (See Helpful Tips)
Once your sauce is ready for canning, carefully remove the jars from the pot using your canning jar lifter, and empty the hot water back into the pot. Place the hot jars on a prepared kitchen towel, and begin ladling in the sauce ensuring to leave a ½ inch headspace.
Debubble the sauce to ensure there are no air pockets.
Using a paper towel with a little vinegar, wipe the rims of each jar. Place lids and rings on the jars then add jars to the prepared canner.
Process half-pints and pints for 20 minutes, adjusting for altitude if needed. Carefully remove lid from canner and allow the jars to rest in the open canner for 10 minutes before removing.
Using a jar lifter, carefully remove jars from canner and place on prepared kitchen towel.
Allow jars to remain undisturbed for 12-24 hours.
Check lids for proper sealing. Wipe down jars with a little dish soap and water. Wipe dry and store in a cool, dark cabinet.
Helpful Tips
To prepare jars for canning, I like to place my clean, room-temperature jars into my canning pot with room-temperature water. I allow my jars and water to come to the same temperature at the same time. You don’t want boiling water; you’re just heating everything up.
Place a clean kitchen towel on the counter space where you intend to place your hot jars once removed from the canner.
Ensure your lids and rings are free of any damage and are near your hot jars.
Tomatoes should always be treated as a low-acid food when it comes to water bath canning, and acid must be added to each jar of tomatoes and tomato products to ensure a safe-to-consume product.
When placing your rings onto the jars, you want to tighten them with just your fingertips. If the rings are too tight your lids will buckle and can result in an unsealed jar. If you don’t tighten them enough, the water can seep into your jar and ruin your product.
Check the lids for proper sealing. Remove the rings from the jars and gently press the center of the canning lid on each jar. If the lid pops back up, your lid did not seal properly unfortunately. It happens! If it is just one jar, place that one in the refrigerator and use within a couple of weeks. If it is several jars, remove all of the lids, wipe the rims of the jars with vinegar, add new lids, and reprocess again in the canner.
If you enjoyed this home canned Sweet and Smoky BBQ sauce, let us know by leaving a comment down below and clicking the heart button at the bottom right of the page!
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