Homemade BBQ sauce is easy to make and it tastes so much better that that squeeze bottle of chemicals with a two-year shelf life! And you can use it on anything! Chicken, ribs, burgers, steak… 🙂

The original recipe for this BBQ sauce was from a newspaper column in the San Jose Mercury News in 2013, I modified it just a bit (bourbon!), and all these years later it’s still my go-to BBQ sauce. You can dress up this recipe to suit yourself.  You’ll probably want more hot sauce, maybe some liquid smoke, or you might even want to use beer or red wine in place of some of the coffee—but make the original first, then decide how you want to make it yours.

If it’s a rainy day where you are, and you were lucky enough to get country ribs on sale, too, soak the ribs in BBQ sauce, and place the ribs in a large shallow pan. Cover with BBQ sauce. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 400° for approximately 1½ hours.

Polly’s BBQ Sauce

Makes 4 cups

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ cups strong brewed coffee
• ¼ cup bourbon (or additional coffee)
• 2 cups ketchup (yessss, I use ketchup…)
• ¼ cup favorite mustard
• ¼ cup brown sugar (or honey)
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tablespoons cider or balsamic vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon hot sauce

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan.  
2. Bring to a boil over medium heat.  
3. Lower heat.  Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  
4. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to a week.  

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