I needed a decent barbecue sauce without tomatoes because my stepmother is allergic to them. I am hence relying on the rhubarb to provide me with that taste. creates a special sauce. If you are not using real smoke when grilling, add the liquid smoke flavoring.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 50 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 10 mins |
| Servings: | 28 |
| Yield: | 4 cups |
Ingredients
- 4 stalks fresh rhubarb, trimmed and chopped
- 1 (12 fl oz) can almond-fruit flavored soda (such as Dr Pepper®)
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 sweet onion (such as Vidalia®), chopped
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground dried chipotle pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons liquid smoke flavoring
Instructions
- Combine rhubarb, soda, apple cider vinegar, sweet onion, brown sugar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, cinnamon, allspice, salt, black pepper, cloves, ground chipotle, garlic powder, and liquid smoke in a saucepan; bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low. Simmer until rhubarb and onion are very soft, about 45 minutes, stirring often.
- Pour the sauce into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel and pulse a few times to get the sauce moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches if necessary until sauce is smooth.
Reviews
I thought the original recipe turned out too be sweet and acidic. I doubled the salt and added a tablespoon of soy sauce to help tame the sweet and acid. I also splashed in a little bourbon. I used smoked paprika and liquid smoke because I like a smoky flavored BBQ sauce. After I puréed the sauce I continued to cook my sauce down because I like a thicker sauce. With these changes it turned out pretty good!
Delicious sauce – I have so much rhubarb in the garden this year I want to can the sauce for gifts…. has anyone tried canning this? If so please share which method and time. Thanks!
Too much spices
This was super easy to make, I’m always looking for new ways to use rhubarb. I froze the sauce for use later, and used it to make pulled pork. The family loves it so it’s a keeper. 🙂
Really tasted good. Couldn’t taste the rhubarb at all. The only thing I will do different next time is to put all the ingredients into the blender first, except the soda and pulse about 8 to 10 times and put all ingredients into the sauce pan. .
Love this recipe. Great way to use rhubarb. I used it in slow cooker pulled pork and it was awesome! Thanks for the recipe!
Tripled recipe, added 2 dried chipotle, cooked 90 min and made just over 9 pints of awesome sauce!!
Great! I used red cayenne pepper instead of chipotle. It was tangy with a little kick. My husband liked it. I’ll probably never buy bbq sauce again! I canned it in jars for food storage. It made 3 wide mouth pints. Next time I’ll double the batch.
LOVED IT. Something else to do with rhubarb. I followed the recipe except that I did add cornstarch to thicken it a little. I didn’t have chipotle for one batch so used cayenne pepper. I doubled the recipe so I could can some for future use and used a hot water bath. Family and friends gave this rave reviews on pulled pork. I think it could be a little spicier but that’s easy to adjust. This will become a family favorite.
Awesome! I don’t usually write reviews but after making this recipe I had to. With a big patch of rhubarb, I was getting tired of pies,and jams and thought I would give this recipe a try. I didn’t use the smoke, and used paprika rather than chipotle, because it was what i had. It’s so good my husband went out and bought chicken to BBQ so he could use the sauce. (I just caught him dipping his fingers in the sauce 🙂
Very tasty way to use up some rhubarb! I left out the allspice and chipotle powder because I didn’t have any on hand and instead added a generous sprinkle of cajun powder and paprika. I also used about 8 stalks of rhubarb because mine is quite skinny. We love to eat this on eggs and as a dip for steak.
I did not care for this recipe.
Fantastic !!! What a refreshing change from traditional BBQ sauce ! I didn’t have clove or chipolte pepper so I omitted that and added just a dash of Liquid Smoke. I’ve used this sauce on Salmon, chicken and veggie burgers. Thank you SO much, an absolute keeper.
I’m super excited to try this on food. We just got done making it without the liquid smoke (didn’t have any on hand)it was a little sweet so we added a 1/4 t. of dried habanero after we blended it and brought it back to a boil to thicken it up a little (added a little corn starch) to can it. We also doubled the recipe to share with family and friends. Thanks so much for a great alternative to rhubarb pies. To hot to turn the oven on today so this was a perfect way to use up our fresh rhubarb.
Omg!! What a fabulous taste this has. I am tired of desert’s made with rhubarb. This is the BEST sauce ever and so easy!! I’m a Canadian who now lives and is a citizen of the good old USA. My Canadian friends think it tastes like HP sauce and the Americans think it tastes like Lea & Perrins steak sauce!!! Wow again yummy!! I used Dr Pepper for the almond taste! Try it! You’ll live it too!
Okay, I really like this. I used Pepsi Max and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract. Used smoked chipolte hot sauce in place of powder. Skipped the liquid smoke and added 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika. I thickened it a bit after I pureed the sauce with about 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch disloved in a small amount of the sauce. Stirred into remaining sauce, heated until just to start to boil and thicken. Stir constantly to prevent burning.
I love a tangy, vinegar based bbq sauce. I love rhubarb and enjoy trying it in a new way every year in addition to the old favorites. This, is totally going to be an old favorite. I did not have Dr pepper or Worcestershire sauce on hand so I used a can of Pepsi and red wine vinegar instead. Delicious! Tangy, but not overpowering. Excellent on pulled pork sandwiches. I must stop at the store tonight to pick up some more rhubarb as well as the correct indigents to make more of this wonderful sauce for canning and use throughout the summer. Thank you so much for a completely different use and way of looking at the ‘pie plant’.