Savor the taste of summer BBQs all year round with this refreshing, tangy, and sweet rhubarb BBQ sauce recipe. It’s perfect for adding tang and zest to grilled foods, or for marinading and tenderizing tougher cuts of steak or roasts. It even goes well with most types of meat, poultry, and even vegetables.
Rhubarb is often considered the realm of summer desserts, like pies, ice cream sauce, and crumbles. However, rhubarb also goes very well in savory dishes, as an addition to marinades, or as a delicious rhubarb BBQ sauce like this recipe. You can also combine cherry and rhubarb to make an equally tasty BBQ sauce, that’s just a bit sweeter too.
Rhubarb BBQ Sauce
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 55 min
- Total Time: 90 min
- Yield: 4 pints 1x
Description
A tangy and tart BBQ sauce, with lots of summer flavors that’s perfect for grilling, or for canning for winter.
Ingredients
- 12 stalks rhubarb (3 pounds)
- 1 medium onion (4 ounces)
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups brown sugar (12 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Rinse the rhubarb, remove both ends, and cut into ½-inch pieces. Add the cut rhubarb to a large saucepan. Peel and dice the onions and garlic and add these to the saucepan.
- Add vinegar, brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, and salt to the saucepan. Simmer uncovered over medium heat for 20 minutes until rhubarb is soft, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Using an immersion blender, purée the mixture until it is smooth. Alternatively, working in batches, puree the sauce in a blender or food processor, returning the pureed sauce to the saucepan. Continue simmering over medium heat until the mixture thickens and coats a spoon, about 35 minutes.
- Ladle the hot barbecue sauce into 4 clean pint jars, leaving a ½-inch headspace. Wipe the jar rims with a clean towel to remove any food residue. Cover securely with warmed 2-piece lids and rings. Process the jars in a water bath canner for 15 minutes plus your altitude adjustment.
- Label the jars and store them in a cool, dark place. For best quality, use within 1 year.
Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce
Prep Time: 15 minutes / Cook Time: 55 minutes / Processing Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 pint jars
A single rhubarb plant can produce 4 to 10 pounds of tart rhubarb stalks in a season. When you get tired of rhubarb pie and rhubarb crumble, try this savory recipe that highlights this bountiful plant. Only the rhubarb stalks are edible. Rhubarb leaves contain toxic amounts of oxalic acid and should not be eaten. Compost the leaves, or use as a mulch around the rhubarb plant itself.
Ingredients:
- 12 stalks rhubarb (3 pounds)
- 1 medium onion (4 ounces)
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups brown sugar (12 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Rinse the rhubarb, remove both ends, and cut into ½-inch pieces. Add the cut rhubarb to a large saucepan. Peel and dice the onions and garlic and add these to the saucepan.
Add vinegar, brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, and salt to the saucepan. Simmer uncovered over medium heat for 20 minutes until rhubarb is soft, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Avoid bringing the sauce to a rapid boil, keep it on a simmer.
If you find the sauce a bit too tangy, add additional sugar or honey for sweetness. If you want a bit more kick in the sauce, add some of your favorite hot peppers to the rhubarb mixture.
Using an immersion blender, purée the mixture until it is smooth. Alternatively, working in batches, puree the sauce in a blender or food processor, returning the pureed sauce to the saucepan. Continue simmering over medium heat until the mixture thickens and coats a spoon, about 35 minutes.
Ladle the hot barbecue sauce into 4 clean pint jars, leaving a ½-inch headspace. Wipe the jar rims with a clean towel to remove any food residue. Cover securely with warmed 2-piece lids and rings. Process the jars in a water bath canner for 15 minutes plus your altitude adjustment.
Label the jars and store them in a cool, dark place. For best quality, use within 1 year.
Variation Tip: Cook the sauce down until it is thick and will mound on a spoon for tasty rhubarb ketchup. Make the barbeque sauce zestier by adding ½ teaspoon chili flakes.
Using Rhubarb BBQ Sauce:
BBQ sauce can be applied as a marinade before grilling, or used as a sauce after grilling. This rhubarb BBQ sauce can be used on lamb, pork, chicken, beef, ribs, and more. It’s a flavorful sauce that can help keep meats moist while grilling or cooking, and can even act as a marinade.
Oxalic acid warning:
Oxalic acid is a plant secondary metabolite that can cause illness in some people, when eaten in large amounts. The body doesn’t have a path to easily clear oxalic acid and it can be stored in organs, joints, and muscle tissue. While one serving of oxalic acid heavy food shouldn’t be harmful, excess amounts can cause kidney stones, arthritis, skin rashes, and other discomfort. Rhubarb, spinach, beet greens, sorrel, are some of the foods that are high in oxalic acid. Please do your own research.
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