Name: Neely's BBQ Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 1 min
Total time: 1 min
Ingredients: 2 cups ketchup; 1 cup water; 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar; 5 tablespoons light brown sugar; 5 tablespoons sugar; 1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper; 1/2 tablespoon onion powder; 1/2 tablespoon ground mustard; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Slather your next barbecue with the Neelys' BBQ Sauce recipe from Down Home with the Neelys on Food Network.

Neely's BBQ Sauce

ketchup

water

apple cider vinegar

brown sugar

sugar

black pepper

onion powder

mustard

lemon juice

Worcestershire sauce

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for 1 hour 15 minutes.

I was skeptical at first but the sauce turned out great, I really like it.  Thanks for sharing. 

It's for ketchup lovers. If you don't like ketchup, find a different recipe. 

Best ever! It's great for anything bbq! Found this several years ago and its my go to always!

Mr &amp; Mrs Neely,  I want to thank you for sharing. I worked in Memphis for 5 years. I use to frequent Interstate BBQ. Your sauce is one thing that I was missing since I moved. My whole family here in Canada love it. Faire Family Eats

I haven’t tried this because I am allergic to mustard. Does anyone know of a good BBQ recipe without mustard?

Honestly the best! I’ve been making this one for years and it’s just so delicious!!!

Been making this BBQ sauce since the 1st time I saw it. A huge family favorite!

I will never buy store bought BBQ sauce again this sauce is great.

We loved this recipe. I had no dry mustard so used Dijon. Substituted soy sauce for Worcester because my husband is allergic to Worcestershire. I love garlic so added a few substantial shakes of garlic powder. <br />Otherwise no changes and it was delicious, flavorful without being overly sweet or vinegary. It did start out very liquidy but after cooking the prescribed time it thickens perfectly. 

5 ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ <br />This is my go to bbq sauce. If I try others I always go back to this one. Makes great Brunswick stew too. Thank you to the Neely’s!!!

I’ve tried many different recipes and keep coming back to this one because it’s the best. Just sweet enough, just spicy enough, just tangy enough.  One word of caution however - make sure you simmer it the full hour and 25 minutes or it won’t taste right and it won’t be thick enough. Something wonderful happens after that time and it can’t be rushed. 

Added a bay leaf, 1/2 tsp of paprika and tsp garlic powder

This is THE basic barbecue sauce. So delicious as is and can be adapted to suit every taste. Now, I add up 1 tsp. ground cumin, 1 tsp. powdered garlic, 1 bay leaf and 1 Tbsp. paprika. But delicious as is.

I’ve made this recipe probably a dozen times now. It’s a good all purpose sauce. I add garlic powder and sometime a dash or three of smoked paprika. 

Made a few adjustments so that it had the flavor i was wanting in a bbq sauce. But this is a great starter bbq sauce to try, and work with

I used this with ribs today, and it was delicious! Great balance of sweet and savory.  I find many barbecue sauces too sweet, but this sauce is perfect.

This recipe followed me thru relationships and different life stages. Still always go back to this recipe because it's the best.

I made this recipe, but added some additional spices and ingredients to make it my own. I threw the cayenne pepper to it in order to put a nice hot kick to it. It's a balance of sweet and heat. 

i have made it twice now the wife loves it she says i cant ever buy it again

Made this last night and it was fantastic. Definitely will make again. 

This is basically the same base I use for my typical sauce. Instead of the white sugar I substitute local honey and also add a tablespoon of liquid smoke. 

This is a good base for experimenting with different ingredients, ie: spices, beverages, and spirits. 

Absolutely divine! Yes, I could drink it!!! 

Just finished making your BBQ sauce - only thing I changed was put in 1 TBS of white sugar and it tastes awsome. I only used Horne's BBQ sauce for years and now that it is no longer available I thought this would be pretty close in taste. This sauce is fantastic. Thanks so much for a great recipe. Hank in Cambridge Canada

So good! I didn’t have ketchup so I used tomato sauce.  I also substituted lime juice and added some hot sauce. Great on pulled pork.  Keeps well in the fridge.  Try it; you will be glad you did. 

My go to for pulled pork, smoked brisket, and ribs.<br />Love this sauce 

This is the best Barbecue Sauce I have ever had

Our favorite BBQ sauce and were from Texas.

A family favorite! We use it for everything and especially for holidays goodies like little smokes and my famous meatballs. Our children use it for dipping and we make homemade campfire sauce with it!! Thank you!!!<br />

We were out of BBQ sauce so I made this and we all really liked it! I will definitely make it again!

Love this easy recipe.  My family can’t get enough of it.  It is really great on baby back ribs that I roast in my crock pot.  Thanks for this special sauce.

Absolutely delicious! I always make homemade sauces for a bbq. My family always requests this one. It’s perfect! 

Made it yesterday as written. For me, it was way too sweet - I like my sauce more tangy than sugary sweet. The two flavors that come through loud and clear are the tomato and the sugar; if you want a richer, more varied flavor I'd suggest removing sugar (I'm going to try half next time) and adding other ingredients (more fresh onions, maybe some hot peppers, etc.)

Best bbq sauce!  Kids loved it even more than their favorite bbq place to eat here in Texas!  

I use this recipe all the time. It’s my go-to any time I need bbq sauce. 

Hands down, the best bbq sauce. I made it tonight in a pinch as I had everything except mustard powder and holy moly - it’s amazing. The house smelled great, this tasted great, was incredibly easy...

I think that it's the best sauce you can make. Much better than anything you can buy in any store<br />

Soooooo good!!!  I’m so glad I made this!  Will definitely make again.

This sauce is amazing!! It is great on grilled hamburgers. Put it on both sides just before they are done and let it carmelize!! Great for ribs or just about anything you want to put it on!!

This has become my go to BBQ sauce recipe because it is so easy to make and super tasty! I reduce the white sugar from 5 to 4 Tbs to cut down the sweetness slightly. Today I’m making a double batch and plan to add some habanero to half for my hot pepper loving husband.

This is a GREAT base recipe that you can change to meet your own preferences. I first lightly sautéd an onion to put in the sauce, used beer instead of water and I added a lot of different spices. The house smelled amazing and the sauce is so good I eat it on everything!

Can you can this. So I can make bigger batch. If yes ,what's the best way?

Absolutely love this recipe!  I make a few substitutions for items I always have on hand.  I sub in yellow mustard for the ground mustard, granulated onion for onion powder, lime juice for lemon juice, and raw cane sugar for both the white and brown sugar.  I also only use organic Heinz ketchup because it has just the right sweetness/tartness for the BBQ sauce.<div><br /></div><div>Question: Is this recipe safe for canning?  The ingredients look like they're likely all under 4.6 pH with the exception of the water, which gets partially reduced.  It would be awesome to be able to have a few cans of this on hand.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for the delicious recipe!</div>

Made this BBQ sauce to too pulled beef sandwiches.  Husband loved it!  I took the advice of a couple of reviewers and added dried inion and fresh minced garlic.  I had no Worcestershire or lemon, so I subbed lite soy sauce and white wine.  It was amazing, not to sweet or soucy.  Will be making this again.

This was delicious!  The only thing I changed was instead of the apple cider vinegar I used a maple bourbon balsamic vinegar.  Everyone loved it.  I put it on oven baked drumsticks.  I will prolly not buy store bought bbq sauce ever again. 

This is an amazing recipe! Easily customizable too if you want it spicy, or more sweet, or more vinegary. Would recommend! 

I’m really not a big fan of BBQ sauce, but once I made this,  (several years ago) I was hooked! It’s got the perfect amount of Tangy-spicy-sweetness to it! I’ve not made any other BBQ since!! <br />LOVE IT❣️❣️❣️<br />Thanks,<br />Stace

I LOVE this BBQ Sauce.  Ever since I made it, it has been my go to every time.  

Delicious and easy! I substituted garlic powder for onion powder and it was great.

Awesome sauce! I think what makes it is the lemon juice, adds a nice bright flavor.

I did not have all the ingredients but it still tasted delicious!

This is a great sauce !   It’s good on Beef, Pork, &amp; Chicken.<br />I have even used it in the crockpot, when I made a Pot Roast.  It was a great meal.

Perfect! Been making this sauce for a few years now. 

Made this yesterday and it was delicious.  After 45 minutes of simmering, I put it in the slow cooker with some chicken thighs and breasts and let it cook for about 5 hours - wonderful!  Can understand how some may want to spice it up or add their own flare but great base and we loved it as is.  

The best bbq sauce EVER! You cant go wrong with this one. We use it on everything  

I’ve made this many times over the years. You can’t go wrong with this one.

Excellent recipe for pulled pork. I did use corn starch to thicken it up a bit, but the flavors are awesome. My wife said "This is really sweet".

Love this recipe! I didn’t have onion powder so I substituted half of a finely grated small white onion. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly and it was a big hit with my family. I thought it might be too sweet, but I found it to be the perfect blend of sweet and tangy. <br />I served this with bone-in chicken breasts tonight and I plan to make a barbecue chicken pizza with the leftovers. I bet the addition of a little liquid smoke would be great if you were looking for more of a smoky flavor, but we thought it was just right as is. <br />

This has been my base for years now. I like about 2/3 cup of ACV and some pepper flake so it smacks you in the back of the throat a little and cuts through fattier meats. Winner!

This is a great tasting sauce. It is now my go to sauce. Thank you for sharing !!! 

My family are bbq fanatics. We love tomato based bbq sauce here in Tennessee. This recipe is better than any store bought brand available and we have tried many. It’s really perfect.

Sweet, tangy, mild, this is everything I want in a BBQ sauce. It's perfect.

I added onion flakes and chopped garlic to give it more texture 

Best BBQ sauce ever! I use it on ribs all the time :) I added a little cayenne to give it a lil kick.

Delicious. I used it on some smoked ribs today, and I'll definitely be making it again. 

This bbq sauce is amazing! Added in some orange blossom honey for a little sweetness. 

My go-to BBQ sauce...everyone loves it!!!

Not sure why this has so many good reviews it tasted like ketchup. Doctored it up and now it’s better. 

Live in Texas but love the kick of a good vinegar based bbq sauce.  This is easy, uses common ingredients and cures that hankerin for a Carolina sauce.  Well done Neely crew!!

So good. I did add molasses, extra brown sugar, applewood smoked salt, and some bbq spice to it while it was cooking down. Just my taste buds though.

Best BBQ sauce ever.  Hands down.  Don't change anything.

Excellent BBQ sauce, and I've made several times now. I followed the recipe exactly. Well balanced, delicious! Used it in the past to make BBQ pork/chicken sliders, which turned out amazing.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/apps/api/playback?path=/etc/sni-asset/food/videos/0/01/016/0169/0169402

The Neelys share the recipe for their world-famous barbeque sauce.

Neely's BBQ Sauce

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hours, 15 minutes

Total: 1 hours, 20 minutes

Servings: 2

Author : The Neelys

Ingredients

Instructions

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