This homemade barbecue sauce brings a wonderful smoky spice with the chipotle peppers and bacon, but it's also slightly sweet from the sugar and molasses. It is rich and thick and will stick to your ribs or chicken nicely. Get the grills ready!
Chipotle-Bacon-Bourbon Barbecue Sauce Recipe
I'm cranking out barbecue sauces this summer like they're going out of style. Even when I make big batches, they disappear so fast. That's OK. I don't want to make my batches too large because I enjoy the variety. When I run out of one batch, I'll switch it up and go in a different direction.
The last sauce we made was a Peach-Bourbon Barbecue Sauce, and it was delish! I didn't switch it up TOO much this time around, keeping the wonderful bourbon flavor, but now we're bringing in smoky chipotle peppers, and everyone's favorite - DUN DUN DUN - BACON!
Oh yes, chipotle, bourbon and bacon. It's a powerful trio in terms of flavor. I've made this several times before. I would seriously enter it into a barbecue sauce contest with confidence, it's that good.
You can vary up the amount of bacon and chipotle, depending on your personal tastes. In fact, you can vary up ANY of the ingredients. That is one of the beautiful things about barbecue sauce.
They are EXTREMELY forgiving. I've had discussions with barbecue enthusiasts who have no actual recipes for their barbecue sauces. They go into their fridges and start pulling out anything and everything and turn it into a sauce. Crazy! But crazy good, I'll bet.
I prefer a bit more flavor control, though.
Chipotle-Bacon-Bourbon Barbecue Sauce Ingredients
- Bacon Strips.
- Jalapeno Pepper.
- Yellow Onion.
- Fresh Minced Garlic.
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo.
- Tomato Paste.
- Vinegar.
- Light Brown Sugar.
- Worcestershire Sauce.
- Bourbon.
- Molasses.
- Cayenne Powder.
- Paprika.
- Ancho Chili Powder.
- Cumin.
- Ground Mustard.
- Salt and Pepper.
Chipotle-Bacon-Bourbon Barbecue Sauce - The Recipe Method
I make mine VERY thick. This way, I can thin it out if I want to by adding either a bit of water, chicken stock, or more apple cider vinegar. Usually it is a combination of water and vinegar.
Just swirl it all together in a pan and give it a little heat. This is best when you want to serve it from those cool squeeze bottles all the TV BBQ people seem to use, or like you see in BBQ restaurants.
Get all cool!
I like this particular sauce for ribs, though it's ideal for chicken and even shrimp. I hope you like it! Enjoy! Bust out the grill!
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Chipotle, bourbon and bacon are a powerful trio in terms of flavor. I would seriously enter it into a barbecue sauce contest with confidence, it's that good!
- I make my sauce VERY thick. This way, I can thin it out if I want to by adding either a bit of water, chicken stock, or more apple cider vinegar. Usually it is a combination of water and vinegar.
- I like this particular sauce for ribs, though it's ideal for chicken and even shrimp.
Storage & Leftovers
Storing your Chipotle-Bacon-Bourbon Barbecue Sauce in an airtight container in the fridge may allow to keep it for up to 1-2 weeks. To maximize the storage life, make sure to refrigerate your sauce promptly.
Try Some of My Other Popular BBQ Sauce Recipes
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Chipotle-Bacon-Bourbon Barbecue Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic
- 1 7- ounce can chipotle peppers in adobo
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4 tablespoons bourbon
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large saucepan to medium heat and add bacon. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add jalapeno and onion and cook 3 more minutes, stirring often, until bacon is nice and crisp.
- Add garlic and cook 1 more minute, or until garlic browns nicely.
- Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
- Bring sauce to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer 30 minutes with an occasional stir. The sauce will slightly thicken. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Candy W. says
Yet another fabulous recipe from Chili Pepper Madness!! I had just made some pulled pork (in Crock Pot) and wanted to make sliders, using BBQ sauce. Most store-brand sauces leave me cold (ha ha) so I figured I'd make a homemade sauce. Naturally, I checked your site and found a ton of recipes for BBQ sauce; your Chipotle-Bacon-Bourbon sounded ideal. Sadly, I didn't have any bourbon so I substituted Vanilla...about 1 tsp. or so. Sounds kinda weird but recipe still worked great. As usual, your level of heat was perfect. Thanks, Mike, for this recipe and ALL your recipes!
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome!! Glad you enjoyed it, Candy! I love to hear it!
Debbie says
This is my new go to barbecue sauce. I have tried other chipotle bourbon sauces and they don’t compare to this one.
Mike H. says
Awesome. Thanks, Debbie!
Dave Kuykendall says
Can you can this since there is bacon in it ? Thanks
Mike Hultquist says
You may want to omit the bacon, Dave, though it does freeze well.
Tawnia says
I made this today and it’s delicious. I was a little worried about how spicy it would be but it’s perfect for us. The Mr. has Parkinson’s and one issue he has is loss of taste, I was happy to hear him say he could taste this. He likes having something to “dip” meats in and I dislike what ingredients are in commercial sauce. I am going to add it to a bacon wrapped, smoked chicken breast I make too! Thanks again for sharing your recipes!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Great! Thanks, Tawnia! Super happy you both enjoyed it.
Tawnia says
Mike-
I’ve made a few of your recipes and have yet to be disappointed. Thank you for sharing them.
I’m planning to make this but have a question. I can my own tomatoes, drying the skins and grinding into powder. Can I use this powder in the sauce vs tomato paste? Is the tomato paste for flavor or thickening?
Thank you in advance for your reply.
Tawnia
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thank you, Tawnia. I appreciate it. Yes, you can use powder with this recipe. The tomato paste is for flavor and body. You'll get good flavor from the powder, though you might want to work in something else if you need more substance. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Jason says
Hey Mike,
How long would this keep? I assume you would have to store it in the refrigerator.
Have you ever tried making a hot sauce with bacon, bacon grease or some kind of off-the-shelf bacon flavoring like Bacon In A Jar? I have some of that and it is just a combination of seasonings that tastes like bacon so you wouldn't run into a problem with actual meat spoilage.
Jason
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hey, Jason - this should easily last a week covered in the refrigerator, probably longer. I haven't tried making an actual hot sauce with bacon, though I was in a discussion with some other sauce makers and I'm sure it's doable. You're right, though, about spoilage. It really won't last long with bacon or bacon grease in the sauce, though there are some flavoring elements out there to experiment with. If your ph is low enough, though, it should be OK for longer keeping. Let me know if you learn anything new.