Skip to main content

Honey-Garlic Tomato Sauce

This is an all-purpose barbecue sauce, with a distinct garlic and tomato flavor. We have used this recipe to rave reviews at the James Beard Foundation and the American Institute of Wine and Food’s “Best Ribs in America” competition. Use it as a finishing glaze or serve it on the side as a dip for any type of barbecue.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 2 quarts

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic
4 cups ketchup
1 1/3 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup vinegar
1 cup apple juice
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon celery seed

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the olive oil in a large nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and lightly sauté. Stir in the remaining ingredients and heat until the sauce bubbles and starts to steam. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. Transfer to a tightly covered jar or plastic container and store refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

  2. Cooking Method

    Step 2

    Stove

Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book Cover
Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book by Chris Lilly. Copyright © 2009 by Chris Lilly. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.
Read More
Chicken salad, pasta salad, and Caesar salad, all in one.
We’ve got grilled lemongrass chicken, a fresh tomato michelada, and stonefruit salami panzanella.
Like basil chicken stir-fry and “company-worthy” cod.
Or sauce. Or dip. Or sandwich spread.
Custom cocktail pouches, house beats, and global matchups were the backdrop of a vibrant, cocktail-fueled fête for soccer fans.
Like “spectacular” breakfast shrimp and a lentil scallion salad.
Muddled melon lends a hot pink hue. Call it the drink of the summer if you must!
Turn a pound of ground beef into this hearty, umami stir-fry.