I’ve adapted a family recipe for the crock-pot so break out the barbecue grill this weekend with this Slow Cooker BBQ Sauce recipe. A delicious Southern sweet and tangy sauce, so easy to make that you’ll never use the pre-made bottled sauce ever again!
If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you know I’ve been all about grillin’, smokin’, and chillin’ this summer. I love barbecuing so much that I got another new smoker this past weekend! Yay!! It’s a Pit Barrel Cooker and which is a refined version of a UDS smoker (Ugly Drum Smoker – the kind made out of a 55 gallon drum).
This thing is great since you hang the meat over the coals and the fat drips on the fire creating the moisture and flavors of whatever you’re cooking. Also, due to the design it allows me smoke a shite ton of meat at the same time.
It arrived on Friday and by Saturday morning the coals were lit. Loved it so much that I fired it up on Sunday too! It’s been great, other than some slight user error on a rack of ribs…but that’s a story for another time.
How to make a southern sweet and tangy slow cooker BBQ sauce
I have fond memories of this BBQ sauce. It’s my Mom’s recipe and she’s been making it for as long as I can remember. Every time she made it, I would find myself following the delicious smell into the kitchen and peering into the huge pot.
I would take the wooden spoon that was always next to the stove and gently stir the sauce around the pot, being careful not to disrupt the floating lemon slices. I also had the self-proclaimed title of “official taste tester” and my duty was making sure the sauce was tasting okay. In fact, I took my job very seriously and I would continue to taste many times throughout the day.
It’s a good thing my Mom always made such a large pot of this sauce because I probably ate 2 cups of it while exercising my official title. This BBQ sauce is tangier and has a thinner consistency than most, which I prefer as I’m not a huge fan of thick and overly sweet sauces.
To make the cooking process even a little easier, I adapted Mom’s recipe to cook in a crock-pot or slow cooker. Just set it and forget about it! I have to tell you, her original recipe makes A TON!! It makes something like 20 gallons.
Well, maybe not that much but it does makes a lot. For my recipe, I cut it back to 15 cups 😉 The good news is the leftover will stay fresh in the refrigerator for months or, if you’re really handy, can the sauce in glass jars and they’ll keep in the pantry indefinitely.
So go on make a big batch of Slow Cooker BBQ Sauce and get yo grill on this weekend!! Happy grilling 🙂
- 4½ cups all-natural ketchup
- 2 cups water
- 1¼ cups brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup Worcestershire sauce
- ¾ cup onion, finely chopped
- ½ cup all-natural yellow mustard
- 4 whole fresh garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 5 slices of fresh organic lemon
- 1-2 teaspoons liquid smoke (optional)
- Combine all ingredients in a crock-pot or slow cooker. Cook on high for 3 hours, then reduce to low and cook for additional 2 hours.
- Remove lemon slices and allow to cool before storing in the refrigerator.
** Leftover will stay fresh in the refrigerator for months or, if you’re really handy, can the sauce in glass jars and they’ll keep in the pantry indefinitely
That Pit Barrel Smoker sounds awesome, Karrie! I bet you’re gonna get a lot of use out of that one! Will you also use in it in the Winter month’s? Hubby & I bbq all through the year. He goes out on the deck with a big jacket and cap on despite the snow, lol.
So awesome that this is a recipe adapted from your Mom’s! Those are always the tastiest recipes. I’d say that you were the best official taste tester 🙂 That’s the best job in the world, isn’t it :)?
I’ve been really thinking about making ribs this weekend and if I do, this sauce is happening! Pinned, of course 😉
Have a great weekend, my friend! xoxo
Wow, this sauce looks amazing! Me and my family are crazy about dressings and sauces and I also have some inherited recipes 🙂 Thank you for sharing ❤
Is this low sodium? Lol?
Nice work Special K! i was looking for a good home made BBQ Sauce. May need to fire up the Treager Sunday now.
Making this in the crock pot is such a great idea! We are going to have to change your name to Smokey Ever After! 🙂 Have fun with your new smoker!
Yay to a new smoker, K! I’ve been trying to convince Boy to get a smoker, but I can’t seem to get him on board.. and I miss the one at my mom’s house terribly. Looks like I’ll just have to fly up and partake in your smoking fun!! 😉 A girl can never have too many BBQ sauce recipes on hand, and I’m loving this one! So great it can be made in the slow cooker! Gotta love convenience! Can’t wait to try it, chicka! Cheers to a relaxing weekend with tons of smoked BBQ! Xo
Brilliant! Homemade BBQ sauce is the best – and now you’ve managed to make it even better! Slow cooked?! My boys (and I, of course!!) will love this!! Pinned! Happy weekend, my friend!
What you talking about ANOTHER new smoker? Jimminy! How many do you have and when are you inviting me to a meat fest? And I don’t want no user error on my ribs and I’ll be needing at least 15 cups of that bbq sauce!
Hi Karrie I love the memories of cooking, and loved yours and the part about tasting it.It was the same story in our house except not barbecue sauce, tomato sauce. I lived that you adapted it to the slow cooker. Love that appliance I call it the plop and go. Great looking barbecue sauce and at a glance of the ingredients it sounds like tge grill is on!.
Have a great weekend.
Loreto
This bbq sauce sounds so good!! Love that you made it in a crock pot!
This looks so good. I want to put this barbecue sauce on everything. I think it’s really cool when people make homemade sauces like this.
Karrie, I bet you were the BEST “official taste tester” EVER. 😉 Love that you adapted your mom’s recipe to make this amazing sauce! I feel like I can just maybe dip a fry or two in this sauce, then just finish off the entire bucket. Just cuz. Here’s to tons more awesome cookouts with your UDS this rest of this summer! Pinning, of course! 🙂
What a brilliant share, Karrie! Homemade sauces are the best, and this slow cooker BBQ sounds so wonderful and looks even better. Love the fact that you have adopted your Mom’s recipe.
These look so good! Loving the flavors! definitely on my to make list
You are just too cool for school, girl! Making your bbq sauce!! Seriously, this is way cool. Love it!
I love homemade sauces and this one looks so perfect and flavorful. I want to make this one soon and use it in my recipes. Thank you so much for sharing this!
I am wildly impressed! this looks so delicious- i feel like making different sauces is the best way to switch up my usual dinners. Love that I can use my crock pot!
Well now, doesn’t this look sticky sticky good!
This is perfect! Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂 lovely post xx
Omg… I’ve gotta tell my husband about this smoker! We left ours when we moved from Atlanta and he’s been wanting to get another one ever since. The Pit Barrel sounds exactly like something he’d go ga-ga for! Personally, I’m going ga-ga for your bbq sauce! Nothing beats a great bbq sauce – I just want to pour it over all things grilled! And I’m a big fan of the tangy variety! Very, very nice 🙂
I like the look of this sauce. And I think it likes the look of me too!