Slathering on a good barbecue sauce is an easy way to take grilled meats from good to great – here’s a flavor-packed paleo BBQ sauce recipe that’s both sweet and spicy.
I guess the style of this thick and brick-red BBQ sauce falls somewhere between Kansas City and Texas – the honey and molasses makes it kind of sweet, and it gets its subtle spiciness primarily from the cayenne which you can easily adjust up or down to suit your own personal taste.
The prep is really simple for this one – a single pot and a little extra time to let it simmer is about all you need. You just throw everything in and let the low heat do most of the work for an hour or so to give the flavors time to fuse together. [av_sidebar widget_area=’Lockerdome’ av_uid=’av-tvjtrj’]
When you’re grilling, usually the best time to add the sauce is shortly before the meat is done. You want the meat’s surface and your seasonings to form a little crust first, then you can mop on this magical sauce when the meat’s is hot and bubbly with fat.
So for these low and slow-cooked spare ribs over indirect heat, we added the sauce about 30 minutes before removing them from the grill. Another way is to move the ribs directly over the heat source, brush on the sauce and let them cook for about 10 minutes per side.
For faster and hotter cooked meats such as chicken, painting on the sauce about 5 to 10 minutes before the meat is done will usually give you the best results. Most sauces can easily go up in flames and blacken pretty quickly on a hot grill. You just want to give the sauce enough time on the chicken to get hot and sticky – leave it on too long and you’re likely to end up with a charred mess. The best way to learn is to fire up that grill and go for it!
This paleo BBQ sauce recipe is a great one to try for your next summer grilling adventure – not too sweet, not too spicy – just a lot of great traditional barbecue flavor to please your hungry crowd. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 1/4 cup of beef broth
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 3 Tbsp raw honey
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 Tbsp onion flakes
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp cayenne (adjust according to how hot you like it)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a pot and whisk to blend
- Bring pot to a simmer. Cook low 1 hour up to 1.5 hours. Watch sauce and adjust burner to prevent scorching. Stir occasionally
- After 1 hour, taste and make any necessary adjustments (add more cayenne if you would like it spicier, or more honey if you want it sweeter)
- This is a thick sauce; add more broth or a little water to thin if desired
- Serve warm - ideal as a side dip, or use to baste grilled meats –only apply about once or twice shortly before removing the meat from the grill
- Unused sauce should stay fresh in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks or longer
Hey, thought you might like to know that your recipe title says “auto draft. ” Probably not so great for SEO. :)
Ooops…thanks so much Jana, I totally spaced filling in the title. Yep, we gotta keep Google happy don’t we? :)