This mulberry BBQ sauce is sweet, acidic, salty and spicy all at the same time, making it the perfect condiment for all of your summer grills and culinary creations.
Those tiny, textured berries come just in time for summer, and if you just bought a nice bag of them and want to put them to use, this is the perfect recipe to try out.
If you’re one of those who always assumed berries were a fruit that you could enjoy as flavors in an ice cream, or use as a topping for your pancakes, or maybe just turn into a jam, you’re in store for a surprise!
You’ll be surprised at how mulberries actually taste pretty darn good when turned into a savory mulberry barbecue sauce.
When it is blackberry and mulberry season and you have your hands on some of these delicious, tangy berries, take a few minutes out and whip this easy savory sauce up.
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What's So Great About the Recipe?
As someone who’s always loved making condiments, sauces and dips at home, I have been on the lookout for a robust, flavorful barbecue sauce recipe for quite some time now, and I didn’t find one that tickled my taste buds in the right spots.
Until this recipe. I don’t know how, but it was just the wicked deliciousness of the sweet and slightly tart mulberries that so beautifully complemented the flavors of the other ingredients that really captured my heart.
Ingredients For the Mulberry BBQ Sauce
In addition to the fresh mulberries, you'll need just a few other pantry staples to make this barbecue sauce.
Mulberries: Fresh, ripe mulberries form the base of this barbecue sauce.
Olive oil: Olive oil adds richness to the sauce and ties the flavors from all the ingredients together.
Tomato sauce: I used a bit of tomato sauce too for that extra tangy and sweet flavor.
Apple cider vinegar: A dash of apple cider vinegar can liven up and enhance the flavors of the mulberries in the mulberry BBQ sauce.
Dried mustard: Dried mustard brings in a nice bit of earthiness to the sauce.
Smoked paprika: I used smoked paprika because it adds a nice bit of heat and flavor to the sauce.
Worcestershire sauce: Worcestershire sauce adds its powerful punch of flavor and its rich, saucy texture to the sauce.
Brown sugar: Brown sugar beautifully balances the other flavors of the sauce with its sweetness.
Blackstrap molasses: This one’s optional, but it adds a nice bit of flavor to the BBQ sauce.
Seasonings: I used a bit of garlic powder, onion powder and salt to add some extra flavor to the sauce.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make the Mulberry BBQ Sauce
In a medium saucepan, cook the mulberries with ¼ cup of water on medium heat for 6 to 10 minutes, until the berries start to soften. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for 2 more minutes.
Move the cooked berries into a fine mesh sieve with a bowl underneath it. Mash the berries with the back of your spoon and strain out as much liquid as you can.
Transfer the liquid back to the saucepan and add all the spices, sauces and seasonings and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes on low heat.
Remove from heat, allow it to cool down and pour it into a glass jar or a container.
Substitutions & Variations
- If you don’t have smoked paprika, you can make do with some chili powder instead.
- Adjust the amount of paprika and chili powder you’re adding in- if you like things spicy, you can always add more.
- If you don’t have tomato ketchup that the recipe calls for, you can add a bit of tomato paste instead.
- Ran out of vinegar but still want that tanginess? You can just use some pickle juice instead.
💭Top Tip
Ideally, it is best to make this sauce in a big batch and store it for later- the sauce develops flavor as it ages.
Equipment
How to Store the Leftover Mulberry BBQ Sauce
You can store the mulberry BBQ sauce in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, if not more. Just use a clean glass jar or container with a lid, and use a clean spoon every time you decide to serve it.
If you want the sauce to last longer, you can freeze it too!
Just make sure you use a freezer safe container that’s clean and ideally has an airtight lid.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- Make sure you use a heavy bottomed saucepan or pot to make this barbecue sauce. This will keep the sauce from burning and will ensure even heat distribution.
- Based on your personal preference, you can leave the BBQ sauce chunky or smooth.
- If your sauce seems too thick and you want to adjust its flavor, you can add some chicken stock or just plain water into it.
- If you’re not too fond of the spice, you can just use some black pepper instead of the smoked paprika that the recipe calls for.
- If you want the mulberry barbecue sauce to have a bit of texture, you can choose to process it in a blender or a food processor after cooking it, and then adding the spices to the pulsed mulberry mixture.
How to Serve the Mulberry BBQ Sauce
This delicious homemade BBQ sauce is sure to become your favorite summertime condiment. Here are a few good ideas to inspire you to put it to use.
With Grilled Meats
My favorite way to serve this tangy mulberry BBQ sauce is to slather it on some fried chicken or any other grilled or fried poultry for that matter.
With Veggies
I also love teaming it up with any veggies for grilling, or just adding a spoonful of it to my homemade stir fry dishes like my teriyaki veggie stir fry.
I also love the idea of slathering some of it over my skillet charred corn.
As a Dip
You can also serve this mulberry sauce as a dip to go with any of your favorite breads or chips, or even just slather it on your sandwich that needs a bit of flavor.
Related Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Mulberry BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 oz tomato sauce
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- ½ teaspoon dried mustard
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
- 2 cups berries
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, cook the mulberries with ¼ cup of water on medium heat for 6 to 10 minutes, until the berries start to soften. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for 2 more minutes.
- Move the cooked berries into a fine mesh sieve with a bowl underneath it. Mash the berries with the back of your spoon and strain out as much liquid as you can.
- Transfer the liquid back to the saucepan and add all the spices, sauces and seasonings and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes on low heat.
- Remove from heat, allow it to cool down and pour it into a glass jar or a container.
