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This Homemade Plum BBQ Sauce will become your new favourite condiment. Its deep rich flavour is tangy, and fruity with a spiced and smoky undercurrent. An incredibly versatile sauce which can be used as a dipping sauce, to accompany grilled meats or for basting and marinades. Soy free, gluten-free, vegan and no tomatoes.
Jump to:
- Why you’ll love this Plum BBQ Sauce
- Full list of ingredients needed
- How to make it
- Tips and troubleshooting
- How to sterilise the jars
- How to store
- Can BBQ sauce be water bath canned?
- How to process BBQ sauce for water bath canning
- How can you use the sauce?
- Smoky Plum BBQ Sauce
- Green Plum BBQ Sauce
- More sauce recipes you’ll love
- Plum BBQ Sauce
If your plum tree is bursting at the seams then this Spicy Plum Barbecue Sauce is a delicious way to make the most of your bounty. By using fresh plums for the sauce base instead of the usual tomato it really gives the sauce such a lovely fruity flavour.
Barbecue Sauce is often second fiddle to tomato ketchup but actually I much prefer it. The complexity of flavours that Homemade BBQ Sauce boasts is second to none and I think it’s a much more versatile sauce.
This Plum BBQ Sauce for canning is one that you’ll be making each year and stockpiling in your larder to be used in every season. Oven Baked Pork Ribs or Chicken Wings in the cooler months and slathered over pork tenderloin, veggie kebabs and grilled meats in the summer.
Why you’ll love this Plum BBQ Sauce
- Fresh plums give the sauce a gorgeous fruity flavour.
- Easy recipe. You put everything in the preserving pan at the same time, cook it all up then blend into a sauce.
- Perfect marinade for meats or tofu.
- Make a large batch of this BBQ Sauce for canning and reap the rewards in so many meals and recipes for the following year.
- No weird ingredients or stabilisers like xanthan gum which you get in so many grocery store sauces.
- This sauce has no soy sauce, no tomato paste and is gluten-free and vegan.
- This recipe makes a double batch which is perfect for giving away as delicious gifts.
If you need more ways of using up your plums, have a look at these recipes: Green Plum Jam (such a great recipe when you need to lighten the load of your plum tree before they ripen up), Plum and Beetroot Chutney, Plum Brown Butter Almond Cake, Gluten-Free Nectarine and Plum Cobbler, Homemade Brown Sauce.
Full list of ingredients needed
- Fresh plums.
- Celery.
- White onions.
- Fresh garlic.
- Fennel (the vegetable, not the spice).
- Orange.
- Maple syrup.
- Coffee powder. Optional but does amp up the smoky rich flavour.
- Sweet smoked paprika.
- Red chilli flakes.
- Mustard powder.
- Ground mixed spice. If you find it hard to get hold of then make up a 5 minute batch of my Homemade British Mixed Spice blend.
- Ground cumin.
- Cider vinegar. (not apple cider vinegar)
- Soft light brown sugar.
- Salt. I use kosher salt which is softer in flavour.
- Ground white pepper.
How to make it
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Place all the chopped ingredients in a large pot together. (Stones removed from the plums).
- Bring up to a boil then turn down to simmer for 1 hour.
- Blend it together until smooth.
- Cook the sauce for a further 1 hour on a medium heat until reduced and thickened.
- Blend for a final time to ensure the sauce is completely smooth.
- Decant into sterilised jars and bottles and seal immediately.
Tips and troubleshooting
- The best pan to use in any type of preserving is a large stainless steel pan.
- Getting the right consistency of the sauce is key. This is why I recommend blending the sauce once the vegetables have totally softened then reducing the blended sauce to have more control over the desired consistency.
- Plums contain a lot of pectin so the sauce does also thicken once it has cooled down. So if you are concerned that your sauce still seems a little runny after its total cooking time then don’t worry it should be a lovely ketchuppy consistency once it has settled in its jar for about 24 hours.
- If you have any doubts you can always bottle one jar of the BBQ sauce up, leave it 24 hours to settle and make a judgment. Although if you do this you must store your unbottled sauce in the fridge overnight and bring up to a thorough boil again before you bottle and store.
- You can blend your sauce using a stand blender or immersion blender.
How to sterilise the jars
To sterilise the jars place the very clean jars you would like to use in an oven pre-heated to 160°C/ 140°C for 20 minutes. Sterilise the lids by dropping them into a saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes with a splash of vinegar. I don’t sterilise my lids in the oven as they tend to ruin.
How to store
This Plum Barbecue Sauce can be stored in a cool dark place for up to 1 year, as long as the jars have been properly sterilised and sealed.
As soon as the sauce has been opened then store in the fridge for up to 1 month.
Can BBQ sauce be water bath canned?
Yes. For UK standards there is no requirement to process this sauce once bottled in a water bath canner. However, it can be the preferred option for many people to ensure rigid food safety measures.
How to process BBQ sauce for water bath canning
- When you are filling your bottles, make sure there is at least â…› inch space between the sauce and the top of the jar which allows for expansion.
- Fill a large preserving pan with water, fitted with a wire rack at the bottom, and bring up to boil. Boil for at least 10 minutes on a rolling boil.
- Then carefully place your filled bottles of BBQ sauce into the pan onto the wire rack. The water level should be at least 2 inches above the height of the bottles.
- Process the bottles for 15 minutes, with the water still at a hard boil, making sure that the water level doesn’t drop.
- Use a jar tongs for lifting your jars/bottles in and out of the boiling water.
How can you use the sauce?
This Plum BBQ Sauce is a lovely alternative to ketchup or brown sauce.
It’s a great condiment alongside any grilled meat at a bbq and also works really well as a marinade for chicken wings or cocktail sauces.
Try it with these recipes
- Delicious as a glaze over Homemade Meatloaf.
- Dipping sauce for Sweet Potato Fries, Sausage Rolls or Popcorn Chicken.
- Dolloped on top of your Juciest Burgers, and don’t forget to add that slice of cheese!
- Actually it’s pretty incredible served alongside your Cauliflower Cheese too – especially with a few rashers of bacon.
Smoky Plum BBQ Sauce
If you really want to amp up the smoky vibe then I recommend adding some liquid smoke. About 3-4 drops works really well. You could also swap half of the maple syrup for black treacle (blackstrap molasses) for real dark smoky vibes.
Green Plum BBQ Sauce
If you have a lot of green plums to use up, as we did last year when our plum tree collapsed under its own weight then you’ll be pleased to know that this sauce works really well with green plums too.
I recommend adding 150g more brown sugar if you are using green plums to make up for the tartness but if you like your sauces on the less sweet side then feel free to keep the recipe as it is.
It is also harder to remove the plum stones from green plums. You might like to boil up the plums first and fish out the stones from the softened plum puree before you add the other ingredients, if you are having difficulty.
More sauce recipes you’ll love
- Green Tomato Ketchup
- Homemade Brown Sauce
- Blackberry Hoisin Sauce
- Chinese Damson Sauce
- Roasted Tomato Freezer Sauce
- Cranberry Clementine Sauce
- Courgette Relish
I urge you to give this Plum BBQ Sauce a try. If you do then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating which helps others find the recipe on Google. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own culinary creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.
Plum BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 kg plums
- 2 celery sticks - diced
- 400 g onions - peeled and diced
- 6 garlic cloves - peeled and crushed
- 1 bulb fennel - remove core and dice
- 1 orange - zest and juice
- 100 g maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons coffee powder
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
- 1½ teaspoons red chilli flakes
- 1½ teaspoons mustard powder
- 1 tablespoon ground mixed spice - see notes
- 1 teaspoons ground cumin
- 600 ml cider vinegar
- 550 g soft light brown sugar
Instructions
- Quarter the plums and destone them.
- Place the plums with the rest of the ingredients in a large stainless steel preserving pan. Stir together well.
- Turn the heat on and bring to a boil. Turn to a gentle simmer for 1 hour.
- Blend the sauce with either a stand blender or immersion blender.
- Bring up to a gentle boil again and cook for 1 more hour until the sauce has thickened and reduced slightly.
- Blend for a final time for an ultra smooth sauce.
- Decant the sauce into sterilised bottles. You can choose at this point to process in a water bath canner. Store in a cool dark place for up to 1 year.
Notes
- Makes 8 x 250g bottles.
- If you can't get hold of ground mixed spice then use my Homemade British Mixed Spice recipe.
- This recipe makes a double batch, you can half the recipe if you don’t have as many plums to use up. Although any extra jars I recommend giving away as gifts.
- This recipe can be made with unripe green plums but you will need to add a little more sugar if you want to maintain the same sweetness. See the main body of the post for more details.
How to sterilise the jars
To sterilise the jars place the very clean jars you would like to use in an oven pre-heated to 160°C/ 140°C for 20 minutes. Sterilise the lids by dropping them into a saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes with a splash of vinegar. I don’t sterilise my lids in the oven as they tend to ruin.How to store
This Plum Barbecue Sauce can be stored in a cool dark place for up to 1 year, as long as the jars have been properly sterilised and sealed. As soon as the sauce has been opened then store in the fridge for up to 1 month.Water bath canning
Follow the instructions in the main body of the post for processing in a water bath for canning.- US customary measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups
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