🍖 BBQ Burger Sauce
This is barbecue flavor in a spreadable, creamy form: your favorite BBQ sauce blended into mayo so it clings to the patty and the bun instead of sliding off. It is smoky and sweet with just enough vinegar tang to keep it from being cloying.
🧾 BBQ Burger Sauce — Recipe Card
From I Love Hamburger — ilovehamburger.com
Ingredients
- 0.33 cup mayonnaise (75 g)
- 0.25 cup barbecue sauce (60 ml)
- 1¾ tsp apple cider vinegar (5 ml)
- 0.5 tsp smoked paprika (1 g)
- 0.25 tsp garlic powder (0.5 g)
- 0.25 tsp black pepper (0.5 g)
Instructions
- Whisk the mayonnaise and barbecue sauce together until the color is even.
- Stir in the cider vinegar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and black pepper.
- Taste and adjust — more BBQ sauce for sweetness and smoke, more vinegar for tang.
- Chill 15 minutes so it thickens slightly and the flavors marry.
🫙 Storage
Airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week; the mayo is the limiting ingredient. Do not freeze.
🔁 Substitutions
- Use a spicy or chipotle barbecue sauce to add heat.
- A teaspoon of molasses or brown sugar deepens the sweetness if your BBQ sauce is on the tangy side.
🍔 What to put it on
Pair it with sharp cheddar, crispy bacon, and onion rings or frizzled onions. It especially shines on these burgers:
Burger HQ Picks Handy for sauce-making
Heavy-Duty Stainless Smash Burger Press
A flat, weighty press is the difference between a real lacy-edged smash burger and a sad steamed puck. Round, broad face for full patty contact.
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Check price →Outdoor Gas Flat-Top Griddle
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Check price →Thin Flexible Stainless Turner (Smash Spatula)
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Check price →Steakhouse Burger Seasoning Blend
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Check price →Stainless Grill Accessory Kit
Long tongs, a wide spatula, and a basting brush so you are not fighting your own tools over a hot grill.
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Frequently asked questions
Why mix barbecue sauce with mayo instead of using it straight?
Plain barbecue sauce is thin and slides off the patty; the mayo gives it body so it spreads and stays put, and it softens the sharp sweetness into something creamier and more balanced.
What burgers go best with BBQ sauce?
Anything with bacon and cheddar. It is fantastic on a BBQ burger or a bacon cheeseburger with frizzled onions.