10 Barbecue Sauce Recipes that are Beyond Basic

A good barbecue sauce recipe is gold. And finding just the right barbecue sauce to keep on hand is essential for good summer grilling. Most people think of barbecue sauce as a combination of tomato, vinegar and sugar (and if it's store-bought, so much sugar). But really, anything is possible. There are some incredibly creative barbecue sauces out there! What you'll find below are ten interpretations to broaden your idea of what barbecue sauce can be. A list that will hopefully inspire some new creations on your grill this summer. 

1. Homemade Vegan BBQ Sauce (Lazy Cat Kitchen)
This sauce has a lovely orange color. One that goes perfectly with the suggested sweet potato fries. The base is an apple, a tomato with apple vinegar - cloves and coriander round out the spice profile.

2.  Giddy Swamp, South Carolina Mustard Barbecue Sauce (Bubba Mac / Food 52)
Along with Alabama white sauce, this is a regional classic that is not commonly found outside of the south - it originated with German immigrants. Surprise your guests with this one, use it to marinate veggie kabobs, or seitan and to put between some toasted hamburger buns.

3.  Char Siu Style Roasted Eggplant (Pickled Plum)
Char Siu is Chinese barbecue pork that uses a specific marinade to achieve the flavor. This is an easy veggie riff, calling for just six ingredients. This recipe is for char siu eggplant, but you can swap in different veggies and certainly tofu and tempeh would be delicious with the sauce as well.

4.  The Best Vegan BBQ Sauce (Gluten-Free) (Moon and Spoon and Yum)
This is a Vegan/GF take on classic barbecue sauce is quick to make. On the sweeter side of the spectrum, it relies on coconut sugar as the sweetener.

5.  Vegan Alabama White Sauce  (86 Eats)
Here's a vegan take on a Southern classic. The prep is easy, requiring just a blender. One interesting ingredient here is giardiniera - Italian pickled vegetables -  lending this sauce a special flavor profile.

6.  Coffee BBQ Sauce (Tasty Kitchen) 
Coffee and barbecue sauce make a winning combination. The technique this barbecue sauce recipe uses is  to simmer it down for 40 minutes. The thick texture is perfect for slathering just about anything you want to throw on the grill.

7. Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce  (Edible Perspective) 
This barbecue sauce recipe starts with two cups of chopped rhubarb and a handful of other ingredients simmered down, then blended. The result is thick, sweet and flavorful.

8.  Jamaican Jerk Grilled Eggplant Recipe (Went Here 8 This) 
This recipe uses only five ingredients for the jerk marinade, no simmering, but you should leave it to sit for a few hours to meld and combine. The rest of the magic happens on the grill!

9.  Homemade Vegan BBQ Sauce (Making Thyme for Health)
This is another vegan take on classic barbecue sauce, which uses a combination of smoked paprika, garlic powder, mustard and vegan Worcestershire to create a strong flavor profile

10.  Baked Tofu Chunks with Star Anise Marinade (Skinny Ms) 
This marinade is deceptively simple: five ingredients promising to be special. Star anise, rice wine and Sichuan peppercorns, and a bit of coconut sugar. It's adapted from Bay Area chef Philip Gelb, who offers popular dinners on Feastly.

This is a topic we'll return to in the future - so please let me know if there's any recipe that should be considered in the comments!

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