This dish comes from my yia yia and is a Kyparissia family favorite. Serve as an appetizer or a whole meal with tzatziki, Greek salata, pita, or pasta. They taste best when served at room temperature and are great as leftovers. Try substituting 100% beef if you don’t like lamb.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 45 mins |
| Servings: | 32 |
| Yield: | 4 cups |
Ingredients
- ¾ cup bourbon whiskey
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ onion, minced
- 2 cups ketchup
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ⅓ cup cider vinegar
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons liquid smoke flavoring
- ½ tablespoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅓ teaspoon hot pepper sauce, or to taste
Instructions
- Combine whiskey, garlic, and onion in a large skillet over medium heat; simmer until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, salt, black pepper, and hot pepper sauce; bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Run sauce through a strainer if you prefer a smooth sauce.
Reviews
This recipe is great!
I added chipotle and molasses.
This BBQ sauce is so easy to make and so much flavor. I use it on everything. I suggest you double the recipe because you’ll always want it and don’t want to run out. I added a little bit more whiskey and hot sauce because I like it worth a little more spice… not heat
We love this for our pulled pork. It is the best!!!
I made this recipe using Willet Bourbon, doubled up on the liquid smoke, added a dry rub and red pepper flakes to set it on fire. I’ve made three gallons of it so far. Fantastic on wings.
Too much going on. You don’t need fresh garlic or onion for a sauce. If you were going to add them, you should have carmelized them and then processed them down before adding them to the sauce. Way too much liquid smoke – a little bit of chipotle chili powder would be better. Too much Worcestershire – two tablespoons would be plenty. Way too much whiskey. A couple of shots would suffice – plus, you’re wasting alcohol. LOL
Love it!
I have made this several times. I usually use half honey and half molasses. Every time I make this I get nothing but complements. Even have people at work asking me to make it for them
Excellent recipe, great flavor profiles! Absolutely fabulous on Ribs! Great on chicken or pork chops, too. Made it 5 times now. I make the recipe exactly as written, but tend to simmer down the onion/ whiskey part a bit longer than suggested. I’ve used cheap and mid-price Whiskey Bourbon, and either way it’s delicious! Liquid Smoke really makes a difference in the flavor profile. (My first batch was without it.) I dump it in the food processor to purée the heck out of it for a smooth sauce because we just didn’t like the texture otherwise. I wouldn’t skip that step, even though it’s no fun cleaning the food processor. Ha. Planning on making a massive batch to pressure can and give as gifts!
This sauce drew rave reviews each time I’ve served it. I make small variations each time, but essentially it’s very minor .
Update… When I originally tried this sauce it seemed really great, especially after just making it. I bottled the leftover and kept in in the fridge for a week or so. The second time around the taste of tomato ketchup/paste was very noticeable. Not that this is bad (if you like ketchup) but be forewarned that doing BBQ ribs or chicken, ketchup will be the first thing you notice. I’ll keep looking for another sauce…
Perfect- very tasty!
I use an immersion blender to break up the onion and garlic. No reason to use top shelf bourbon. A basic 90 proof Makers or Four Roses Yellow Label work perfectly. I received a bottle of Banana infused bourbon, looking forward to giving that a try.
So good!! I used 2 tsp Tabasco for heat! It’s the bomb.com!
I used this holiday whiskey and it the sauce was amazing!!! New family favorite! Thanks for sharing!
This was fantastic! I gave it 4 stars because I did make 2 changes based on preference. I increased the liquid smoke and I also increased the spice. Great recipe! My husband asked me to make a large batch to keep on hand in the fridge for anytime use.
It was a big hit in my house no leftovers
It’s a great recipe. I’ve made it multiple times in large batches. I made it again recently, but took one reviewers suggestion to add 1 Tbsp molasses (I used black strap) to the recepie to add depth of flavor and body. THIS WAS THE TRICK that sent it over the top. It made the sauce more savory and less tomato-y. It perfected the sauce for me.
Nice balance. I added some diced chipotle peppers to sub for the hot sauce. It added an additional depth of (mild) heat and extra smokiness. I paired it with Angus beef meatballs for a New Years treat. Absolutely delightful!
OMG – why have I been buying BBQ sauce? This is amazing and super tangy!
Amazing. Super tasty. Highly recommend!