Homemade Amish Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Amish cooks don't overthink barbecue sauce. Where commercial versions load up on preservatives, corn syrup, and ingredients you can't pronounce, the Amish approach is characteristically direct — a handful of pantry staples, mixed together, applied generously to good meat.

Most Amish-made barbecue sauces that I have sampled are on the sweet side (think lots of brown sugar!) with a hint of tang.

This recipe comes from the Flat Rock, Illinois Amish settlement, a small but welcoming community in southern Illinois that I've had the pleasure of visiting.

This is a recipe for homemade barbecue sauce that is commonly used among the Amish, this one comes from the Flat Rock, Illinois Amish settlement.  Yum!

Why Amish BBQ Sauce Is Different

Most commercial barbecue sauces are built around high fructose corn syrup and artificial smoke flavoring. This Amish version uses brown sugar for sweetness and liquid smoke for that just-from-the-grill flavor. But, yeah, in addition to having a "clean" label, most Amish barbecue sauces tend toward the sweet side. By the way, and, no, I am not doing a commercial for it here, but I have seen Amish people buying commercially sold barbecue sauce and then the brand they tend to gravitate towards: Open Pit Barbecue Sauce. I saw one Amish grillmaster practically doing a commercial for it! (oh what the heck, you can order it from our Amazon affiliate link here)

What to Use This Sauce On

Short answer: everything!

This is a genuinely all-purpose sauce. It works as a brush-on glaze during the last few minutes of grilling, a dipping sauce for grilled chicken, a base for pulled pork, or stirred into baked beans for extra depth. Amish cooks often make a double batch and keep it in the refrigerator for the week — it holds well for up to two weeks in a sealed jar.

Tips for Making Amish BBQ Sauce:

Adjust the sweetness: The ¾ cup brown sugar makes this a moderately sweet sauce. If you prefer tangy over sweet, drop it to ½ cup. If you like it sweeter, go up to a full cup.

Liquid smoke goes a long way: The 1½ teaspoons is the right starting point but taste before adding more — liquid smoke is potent and a little extra can tip from smoky to medicinal quickly.

Catsup vs. ketchup: Yes, the recipe calls for catsup — that's simply the older term for the same thing. Use whatever brand you have on hand. Amish cooks often use store-brand or bulk-purchase ketchup from their local bulk food store.

Make it spicy: Add ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper or a tablespoon of hot sauce to give it some kick. Not traditional, but good.

Canning note: Some Amish cooks in Illinois put this up in jars for shelf storage. If you want to do the same, process in a water bath canner for 15 minutes. [Verify this with a reliable canning source before including — I'd want to confirm the acidity is sufficient for safe water bath canning]