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14 Homemade BBQ sauce recipes that might make you throw out the bottles

Sometimes all you need to enjoy phenomenal barbecue is a really spectacular sauce. So go beyond the bottle: Regardless of how much work you want to devote to making it, there’s a sauce suited to every set of tastebuds!

1. Homemade barbecue sauce from Kansas City

Image: Gimme Some Oven

Thick and sweet, this classic homemade molasses and honey-based barbecue sauce from Kansas City tastes great on everything. It takes less than 30 minutes to make, and is tasty slathered on beef, pork and chicken alike.

2. Bourbon and brown sugar barbecue sauce

Image: Cooking with Curls

Thanks to layers of blackstrap molasses and chipotle chili powder, this bourbon and brown sugar barbecue sauce sneaks in a nice, warm whiskey kick.

3. Alabama white sauce

Image: Free Range Katy

If you’re from Alabama, you’re probably familiar with Big Bob Gibson’s mayonnaise-based white barbecue sauce. Slathered on a plump piece of wild game at the end of a nice, long sizzle on the grill, this legendary peppery barbecue sauce may sound odd, but it tastes amazing.

4. Sweet-and-spicy strawberry barbecue sauce

Image: Chili Pepper Madness

Made with spicy cayenne peppers, Sriracha, a full pound of strawberries and a little tequila for good measure, this sweet-and-spicy strawberry barbecue sauce is a deliciously offbeat departure from the standard bottled sauces.

5. Habanero-maple barbecue sauce

Image: The Forgotten Teaspoon

Distinctly sweet maple flavors mingle with the unbridled heat of habaneros in this unforgettable habanero-maple barbecue sauce.

6. Rhubarb barbecue sauce

Image: Local Kitchen

Rhubarb, raisins and allspice come together to make this punchy, fruity rhubarb barbecue sauce a surprising summer hit.

7. Homemade barbecue sauce (refined sugar free)

Image: Sugar-Free Mom

Skip the high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors for this healthier, homemade barbecue sauce that will still have them singing your praises — just without the refined sugar.

8. South Carolina mustard barbecue sauce

Image: Self Proclaimed Foodie

A not-so-well-kept secret of South Carolinian pitmasters, Carolina mustard barbecue sauce pairs perfectly with smoked pork and chicken.

9. North Carolina vinegar sauce

Image: The Meatwave

Maybe even more than the much-vaunted South Carolina mustard sauce, a simple squeeze bottle of North Carolina vinegar sauce can take a pulled pork sandwich from good to amazing.

10. Vegetarian slow cooker honey-bourbon barbecue sauce

Image: Vegetarian Ventures

This authentic taste of the South can be slow-cooked in your Crock-Pot — best of all, this honey-bourbon barbecue sauce is a vegetarian option.

11. Thai peanut barbecue sauce

Image: Half Baked Harvest

These gorgeous ribs with Thai peanut butter sauce are the meal of choice for the adventurous world travelers who are feeling a bit, well, barbecue blasé.

12. Honey-garlic barbecue sauce

Image: The Stay At Home Chef

Whisk yourself up a batch of this easy honey-garlic barbecue sauce for some truly mouthwatering barbecued chicken.

13. Spicy peach barbecue sauce recipe

Image: Add a Pinch

Sweet and spicy, this spicy peach barbecue sauce features only three ingredients, and the best part is, one of them is bottled sauce! (Hey, everyone loves a shortcut sometimes.)

14. Jamaican jerk barbecue sauce

Image: Grill Girl

Dizzyingly aromatic, this pungent Jamaican jerk barbecue sauce is packed with the island flavors of the Caribbean — a terrific way to really dig into some grilled chicken or pork.

More on barbecue

16 Texan-approved recipes your backyard barbecue needs
How to slow-smoke ribs in the oven, no grill required
10 Dry rub recipes to up your barbecue game (INFOGRAPHIC) 

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