No. 5 Sauce


 
Today I made my first batch with a few alterations/additions (in blue):

1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce
1 tablespoon rub (ChefSteps Rib Rub)
1 tablespoon molasses
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Juice from half of a medium sized lemon

The results were AMAZING! This is the first homemade sauce that I've been really impressed with and that is not through lack of trying! I think the Rub that I added really helped as it is a wonderfully flavorful rub. I added the extra onion and garlic powder because there isn't any of that in the rub.
 
Coud you actually tell the diff with only 1/4 tsp (1/8th??) ? It would tend to get lost/overpowered by the sheer quantity of the other ingredients. IMO.
 
I made the sauce and I must say its good. Kids loved it.

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Mike Willis said:
Tony, did you use the original 5 ingredient recipe or one of the modified recipes (like Rory's posted above)?
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I did the original. My kids liked that one and so did maribel and I.

On the same thread I also did the recipe below with heat and that was good also.

The pic I took was the original. No. 5 sauce.
 
just finished a quadruple batch----I used blueberries (fresh) and dried dates blended as the fruits, added pepper, pretty much everything else to spec (bottled lemon juice, didn't have fresh limes), other than I drizzled a small amount of toasted sesame oil into it - I think that was a good addition! I'll have to wait for meat drippings until I get to the fam bbq.
 
My two cents. I have made my own sauces all my life until Sweet Baby Ray's came on the market. #5 sauce is the first sauce I've made in over a decade, its still simmering now and it's not going on Q until tomorrow but I like it! I made it exactly per recipe, next time I'll add less vinegar and try some chilli sauce in place of some ketchup and some heat, probably Cayenne, but it's a damn good base! Highly recommend!
 
I too am a big sweet baby rays fan. However, on PB and after making this #5 sauce...wow...I really liked it. It's a light but string flavor if that makes any sense. I think you are right on. I was wanting just a hair less vinegar (liked it just fine but want to try less) and I also was thinking chili sauce might make a good replacement for ketchup. We do the same thing in our meatloaf.

If you like sweet BR sauce, add some brown sugar and quite a bit of onion powder...great on Ribs!

Steven Paul said:
My two cents. I have made my own sauces all my life until Sweet Baby Ray's came on the market. #5 sauce is the first sauce I've made in over a decade, its still simmering now and it's not going on Q until tomorrow but I like it! I made it exactly per recipe, next time I'll add less vinegar and try some chilli sauce in place of some ketchup and some heat, probably Cayenne, but it's a damn good base! Highly recommend!
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Steve Petrone said:
No. 5 Sauce

1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce
1 tablespoon rub

Opional but v. good: 1/4 cup meat drippings
(whats left in the foil after the rest)

Simmer to marry the flavors and thicken as desired.

P.S. My rubs are low salt.
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I Know this post is 10 years old but i tried this yesterday for the first time and it was great. Super easy. This will definitely be one of my new go to sauces!
 
Hey Bob...Ive been sidetracked for a year or so opening two Marcos Pizza shops in Knoxville. It's not BBQ but I'm enjoying it. My next pork butt cook is wednesday cooking for 50 at a senior's center.
 
Jeff Holmes said:
I too am a big sweet baby rays fan. However, on PB and after making this #5 sauce...wow...I really liked it. It's a light but string flavor if that makes any sense. I think you are right on. I was wanting just a hair less vinegar (liked it just fine but want to try less) and I also was thinking chili sauce might make a good replacement for ketchup. We do the same thing in our meatloaf.

If you like sweet BR sauce, add some brown sugar and quite a bit of onion powder...great on Ribs!
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I did just that Jeff, also added some liquid smoke, garlic powder and black pepper, then reduced it slightly and honestly people like it more than the sweet baby rays!

Hey Steve! Thanks for the recipe it's absolutely great! Good luck with the launch of your restaurants.
 
Going to add my voice to the many over the years singing the praises of this simple but absolutely wonderful, deliciously complex sauce.

Love the vinegary tang, but was curious what people have tried to make the ketchup slightly less dominant. The ketchup seems less up front when it's warm though.

Seems more like an awesome zingy ketchup than BBQ sauce to me.
 
Posting in an old thread here, but the original recipe calls for 1 TBS of rub? What rub might that be, and does it matter?
 
Rusty, you are supposed to use your favorite rub. It makes the sauce uniquely yours. I use Benoits Cajun seasoning in mine...

Regards,

John
 
John Sp said:
Rusty, you are supposed to use your favorite rub. It makes the sauce uniquely yours. I use Benoits Cajun seasoning in mine...

Regards,

John
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At the moment, Slap-Yo-Daddy seems to be my favorite.

Seems like an odd recipe that allows one to fill in the blank.
 
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