Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce

There’s a reason Dr. Pepper is a favorite of so many people, and that’s the unmistakably unique flavor. And if there’s one thing that’s at the top of the list of ‘que fans it’s flavor. We’re always in search of ways to pull more flavor out of the meats we smoke, get the right balance of it in any rub we make, and put more of it into a sauce when we used it. So that makes Dr. Pepper a prime candidate for a sauce ingredient, and I think we’ve got a winner here.

This sauce is great for pork, but works well with chicken, too. It’s okay for beef, but may not have as much of a peppery or other spicy finish that you might be used to with beef. Of course, it goes perfectly with the Dr. Pepper Ribs I made, featured in another post. But you can’t go wrong with pulled pork, either.

There’s a commercially made, officially-licensed sauce available in stores, but I didn’t really care for it. So many sauce makers seem to think everyone wants “a little kick” in their barbecue sauce, even the ones that are supposed to be sweet and smoky. So while this one may have a little tangy flavor from the apple cider vinegar and the vinegar in the ketchup, as well as mild undertones of spice from the black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder, it’s definitely all about the sweet and smoky. If you want spicy, you can put it in your rub or add something to this recipe to make it your own.

• 2-1/2 cups Dr. Pepper (2 12-oz. cans or bottles, if you don’t want to measure)
• 2-1/2 cups ketchup
• 1-1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Combine everything in a large pot on the stove, and whisk together over low heat until all the ketchup is dissolved into the rest of the mixture. Turn it up to medium and bring it to a rolling boil. Turn it back down to low and stir occasionally while it simmers, about 20 minutes. Let it sit and cool to thicken up.

It makes roughly a quart, so have a couple of pint-size Mason jars ready.

You may also want to check out my Dr. Pepper-Bourbon Brine.