This post was last updated on February 25th, 2022 at 12:21 pm
With barbecue season fast approaching (though it never ends for some people), I wanted to share my recipe for a homemade BBQ sauce. It’s my humble attempt to “reverse engineer” Stubb’s Legendary Bar-B-BQ Sauce and encourage you to try replicating your favorites.
As a big Stubb’s fan, I’ve never had success swapping it for cheaper store-brand or generic alternatives. At Frugalmatic, we’re always open to saving money, but sometimes store-brands and generics come at the cost of quality. Other difficult-to-replace items from our pantry or refrigerator include Brownberry Bread (Catherine Clark’s Original Recipe), Premium Saltines (unsalted tops), Grape Nuts, and Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise.
If you’re determined to save but refuse to sacrifice quality, there is another way: the homemade version. Making foods from scratch can be a good way to both save money and practice your culinary skills. It’s highly frugalmatic, too, because of the extra physical activity involved, especially kneading bread!
Many people bake their own bread, and while I occasionally bake biscuits, I’ve never been able to get into a routine of regularly baking my own bread. Like a lot of families, we eat plenty of baked goods, but making them from scratch can be too time consuming. I’d rather focus on preparing meals to avoid having to eat out, and so I’m content to continue to buy bread from the store.
I might have considered trying a homemade mayonnaise, except that it includes raw eggs. Having experienced a bad bout of food poisoning years ago, I don’t mess with raw eggs. I cook eggs to death. Making mayonnaise isn’t in my future, but that’s not to say it couldn’t be in yours.
Homemade BBQ sauce is great for 3 reasons
Homemade barbecue sauce, however, is an ideal candidate for three reasons. No. 1: The ingredients are common and economical. No. 2: It’s simple to make. No. 3: The sauce’s high acidity allows it to be stored for long periods in the refrigerator.
I prefer Stubb’s because it’s less sweet than most other leading brands. The vinegar and spice give it a nice kick. To “reverse engineer” Stubb’s, I studied the ingredients list and guesstimated the proportions of the ingredients based on their listed order and similar proportions found in other barbecue sauce recipes. This process is as much art as it is science, and I’ve made several variations of this recipe along the way, each time tinkering with different ingredient quantities.
Many products, including Stubbs, contain xanthan gum and guar gum as a thickener. I used corn starch instead.
To add smoke flavor, I used smoked paprika and smoked garlic powder (because I already had these ingredients on hand) instead of using liquid hickory smoke.
Along with sharing the recipe itself, I’ve also listed the ingredient expenses, so you can see how making this sauce might save you a few dollars. And if you really like to barbecue, all the more savings.
Read: Use your morning routine to fight inflation
I’ve seen Stubb’s priced anywhere between $3 and $4.50 for an 18-ounce jar, so your exact savings will depend on how much you pay for Stubbs versus the ingredients used in the homemade version. I was conservative in tabulating the cost of my homemade version, using listed prices. You can likely make your version for less if you can buy these products on sale. At a whopping $0.32 for 2 tablespoons, the molasses proved the least economical of all! It is, however, one of the keys to giving the sauce its Stubb’s-like flavor.
Andrew’s Reverse Engineered Sauce
| Ingredients | Ingredient cost |
|---|---|
| 1 ½ cups tomato puree | $0.75 |
| ¼ cup white vinegar | $0.04 |
| 3 tbs. white sugar | $0.04 |
| 2 tbs. molasses | $0.32 |
| 1 tsp. brown sugar | $0.01 |
| 1 ½ tsp. salt | $0.02 |
| ½ tsp. black pepper | $0.04 |
| ½ tsp. hot chili powder | $0.04 |
| ¼ tsp. smoked paprika | $0.02 |
| ¼ tsp. onion powder | $0.02 |
| ¼ tsp. smoked garlic powder | $0.02 |
| 1 tsp. corn starch (mixed in 1 tsp. water) | $0.01 |
| TOTAL COST | $1.33 |
Combine liquid ingredients in saucepan: tomato puree, white vinegar and molasses. Mix well. Bring to boil and then reduce heat.
Add dry ingredients: white sugar, brown sugar, salt, black pepper, hot chili powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, smoked garlic powder. Mix well
Add corn starch mixed in 1 tsp. of water. Mix well.
Simmer for 20 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally.
Voilá: homemade BBQ sauce!
I like to slather this sauce on about 5 minutes before removing my meat from the grill. I run the risk of burning the sauce if I put it on too early in the grilling process.
Have a happy BBQ
Happy barbecuing. Let us know in the comment section if this recipe worked for you or, more importantly, if you created a sauce that is now your favorite. Because like I said, this is my “humble attempt” at reverse engineering Stubb’s. I’d love to know if you think you’ve created an improvement.