Grilling season is here, and I just had to share one of my favorite BBQ sauces – Mustard BBQ Sauce. While most BBQ sauces are tomato-based and require hours of cooking over a wood fire to get that wonderful smoked flavor, this one is as fast and easy as collecting your ingredients and mixing them in a bowl.

We can thank Germans for the popularity of mustard. I love German food, and this mustard BBQ sauce from South Carolina is just another way they have influenced American food. I love the cultural diversity in the United States, which, of course, affects the flavors you find. Thank you very much!

BBQ is a typical southern dish (all the way back to colonial times). What a way to make cheaper, tough cuts of meat tender and delicious! While every region has its own recipe, this particular BBQ sauce is from South Carolina, where many Germans settled, bringing their beloved mustard. And so was born Carolina Gold sauce, aka mustard BBQ sauce.

What Does Mustard BBQ Sauce Taste Like?

Imagine the zing of mustard and the tang of apple cider vinegar balanced by the sweetness of honey and brown sugar, and then heated up with the spice of garlic, onion, and cayenne pepper for a mouthwatering sauce or marinade for pork (chicken would be good, too). Drooling! I could eat it all by itself.

Where Can I Use My Mustard BBQ Sauce

Where do I start? Any meat would be happy smothered in this mustard-based BBQ sauce. I personally love to dip my French fries in it instead of ketchup. Steamed veggies drizzled with this awesome sauce helps even the most veggie-hating child eat what’s good for him. It’s so versatile that you can even replace the mustard with it in almost any recipe. For example, you could try my Honey Mustard Chicken and replace the Creole Cajun Seasoning, mustard, and honey with a ½ cup of this BBQ sauce. Yum!

Immaculate Bites Mustard BBQ Sauce Recipe Ingredients

Yellow mustard – The plain yellow mustard that you can find in any grocery store. No need to worry about the fancy (expensive) ones.
Honey – A touch of natural sweetness offsets the acidity of the mustard and vinegar.
Minced garlic – You can easily get this in a jar, but mincing fresh garlic gives it so much more flavor. See how HERE?
Minced onion – an essential flavor in BBQ sauce, and many other sauces, for that matter. Save your fingers and your tears by learning how to cut an onion properly.
Light brown sugar – adds sweetness and is easily found in any grocery store.
Apple cider vinegar – adds acidity that balances sweetness and adds umami.
Ketchup – See? It does have tomatoes, sort of.
Worcestershire sauce – A delicious flavor enhancer from England that adds a zing you might not notice when it’s there, but you will if it’s not.
Cayenne pepper – Some like it hot, and this will add some heat!
Freshly ground black pepper – so much better fresh than what’s already ground.
Salt to taste – An essential flavor enhancer that we all know and love and wouldn’t know how to live without.

Alternative Ingredients

Yellow mustard – You can replace yellow mustard with honey mustard by increasing it to 1¼ cup honey mustard and eliminating the honey. You might want to eliminate the sugar, too, so it’s not too sweet.
Honey – If you have honey mustard but no honey, you can replace ½ cup of the mustard with ¾ cup honey mustard.
Brown sugar – Brown sugar is white sugar with molasses. Replace the brown sugar with the same amount of white sugar and add ¼ teaspoon of molasses. If you like your sauce less sweet, you could leave it out or replace it with a ½ teaspoon of blackstrap molasses.
Apple cider vinegar – If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, you can use rice or white wine vinegar (red wine vinegar will ruin the sauce’s color). It will minimally affect the flavor, but that isn’t a bad thing. If you prefer a less acidic sauce, you can replace it with hard apple cider. Ooo, that’s sounds good.
Cayenne pepper – If you prefer less heat, you can leave it out or replace it with mild paprika.

Storage and Making Ahead Instructions

This incredible sauce tastes even better after a day or two. It will last for 2 or 3 weeks in the fridge. If you want, you can make a larger batch and store it for future use by canning it in a water-bath canner in pint jars.

More Easy Sauces for Your Cookouts

How to Make Mustard BBQ Sauce

Quick and Easy Sauce

Combine ingredients & whisk: In a medium bowl, combine mustard, honey, minced garlic and onion, brown sugar, vinegar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and cayenne pepper. Whisk all the ingredients together until thoroughly mixed.
Add seasoning: Season with salt and pepper to taste. Adjust the ingredients to suit your taste buds with more vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Note: Use immediately or store in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 weeks.

Mustard BBQ Sauce