Recipe
Cola BBQ Sauce
A cola-based BBQ sauce built on a reduction technique that concentrates the flavor without making the sauce watery. Sweet, tangy, and smoky with an optional bourbon kick.
Prep
5 min
Cook
20 min
Total
25 min
Difficulty
beginner
Yield
Method
stovetop
I got an email one day that asked if I was interested in coming up with a BBQ sauce using Pepsi’s new product Pepsi Natural. I’m a real big fan of Pepsi Throwback and of colas in general, so the proposition was somewhat intriguing. I’d seen cola BBQ sauces around and was always interested in trying one. So here’s what I came up with.
The first thing that I noticed was that the Pepsi Natural is not nearly as sweet as your standard soft drink. It’s perfectly pleasant to drink and quite refreshing, just not so super-sweet. In order to make this work without the sauce being way too watery is to reduce the Pepsi Natural into a more concentrated form. I tried it with and without the reduction technique and the reduction was the crowd favorite. The bourbon is totally optional, it worked great without it.
What You Need
Ingredients
- 1 bottle of cola (12 oz)
- 1 can (6 oz) of tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp of mustard
- 1 Tbsp of worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp of your favorite BBQ rub
- 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 Tbsp bourbon (optional)
Step by Step
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
In a medium sized sauce pan simmer the 12 oz bottle of cola until its volume is reduced to 4 oz. Stir in the other ingredients and remove from heat.
Pro Tips
- The reduction step is critical — without it the sauce is too watery
- Tested with and without reduction; reduction was the crowd favorite
- Bourbon is optional but adds depth
- Works with any cola, though less-sweet varieties produce a more balanced sauce