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Sauce

C.C.'s Favorite Barbecue Sauce

A thick, sweet and spicy barbecue sauce made with tomato juice, brown sugar, mustard, spices, and vinegar.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Mustard and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,169 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

C.C.'s Favorite Barbecue Sauce

Time2 hours

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sauce

  1. Mix brown sugar, mustard, salt, red pepper, black pepper, paprika, cornstarch and allspice in a heavy saucepan.

  2. Combine tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar.

  3. Add a small amount of the liquid to the dry ingredients to form a paste to prevent lumping before adding the balance of these liquids.

  4. Add grated onion.

Cook and thicken

  1. Cook on very low heat, usually 2 hours until thickened.

  2. Stir frequently at the beginning to address cornstarch while mixture is still cold.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

610Calories
17 gProtein
3 gFat
129 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Allspice1 tsp ground (1.9g)5
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Mustard + celerytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,169 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Mustard + allspicetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,928 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  3. Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Pepper + allspicetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,395 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Tomato juice
Forms the liquid base of the sauce and supplies its main body as it reduces.
Cornstarch
Thickens the sauce as it heats, and must be kept from clumping when mixed in.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and helps balance the sharp acidity of the vinegar and tomato.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and balances the sweetness.
Worcestershire sauce
Adds savory depth and umami to the tomato base.

The step that matters

Make a paste with the dry ingredients before adding the liquids. Cornstarch clumps when it meets liquid unless it is first dispersed in a small amount of cold liquid. Adding the rest of the liquid gradually keeps the starch smooth so the sauce thickens evenly.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, sugar, mustard, celery, pepper, allspice, sauce):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Horseradishfits better
  3. Carrotfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, sugar, mustard, celery, pepper, allspice, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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