Safety classification
Tested
Testing authority: National Center for Home Food Preservation
Safety reviewed: 09/21/2026
Processing details
Safety classification
Tested
Testing authority: National Center for Home Food Preservation
Safety reviewed: 09/21/2026
Processing details
Tested source
This page follows NCHFP: Barbecue Sauce. Keep every tested proportion, preparation step, jar limit, headspace, time, pressure, and altitude adjustment.
Preparation timeline
- Prepare the correct canner and permitted jars.
- Use vinegar labeled 5% acidity and the exact tested formulation because barbecue-sauce acidity varies. Reduce slowly only to the source-described ketchup consistency.
- Complete the tested hot-pack cooking sequence.
- Fill jars to 1/2 inch headspace.
- Process using one complete schedule below.
- Cool 12–24 hours and check seals.
Equipment
- Correct boiling-water or pressure canner for the selected tested process
- Half-pint or pint jars, lids, and bands
- Nonreactive cookware
- Measuring tools,
canning funnel, jar lifter, headspace tool, and timer - Gloves for hot-pepper recipes
Visual method guide
- Prepare equipment and jars.
- Measure ingredients exactly.
- Cook for the full tested sequence.
- Fill to 1/2 inch.
- Process with the correct complete row.
- Cool and verify seals.
Safety essentials
Use vinegar labeled 5% acidity and the exact tested formulation because barbecue-sauce acidity varies. Reduce slowly only to the source-described ketchup consistency.
Do not alter ingredient proportions, vinegar strength, jar sizes, or the reduction procedure.
Refrigerate any jar that does not seal or follow current NCHFP corrective guidance within 24 hours.
About this recipe
Barbecue Sauce is a tested NCHFP hot-pack recipe yielding about 4 pints.
Before you begin
Read the complete source procedure and choose the exact tested process before filling jars. Prepare all equipment so filled jars can be processed promptly.
Tested source
This page follows NCHFP: Barbecue Sauce. Keep every tested proportion, preparation step, jar limit, headspace, time, pressure, and altitude adjustment.
Barbecue Sauce — NCHFP
Ingredients
- 4 quarts ripe tomatoes peeled, cored, and chopped
- 2 cups celery chopped
- 2 cups onions chopped
- 1 1/2 cups sweet peppers chopped
- 2 hot red peppers chopped
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon canning salt
- 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
- 1/8 to 1 1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 1 1/4 cups vinegar 5% acidity
Equipment
- 1 Boiling-water canner
- 4 Pint canning jars Half-pints may also be used
Directions
- Cook tomatoes, celery, onions, sweet peppers, and hot red peppers until soft, about 30 minutes.
- Press through a food mill or sieve and cook until reduced by about one-half, about 45 minutes.
- Place peppercorns in a spice bag. Add the bag, garlic, sugar, mustard, paprika, salt, hot pepper sauce, cayenne, and 5% vinegar. Cook slowly, stirring frequently, until ketchup consistency, about 1 1/2–2 hours. Remove the spice bag.
- Fill hot half-pint or pint jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, adjust headspace, wipe rims, and apply lids.
- Process in a boiling-water canner for 20 minutes at 0–1,000 ft, 25 minutes at 1,001–3,000 ft, 30 minutes at 3,001–6,000 ft, or 35 minutes above 6,000 ft.
Recipe Notes
Private Notes
Questions or results?
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Tried this recipe?
Share your results how it turned out.Serving suggestions
Use as a glaze or condiment for grilled foods, beans, sandwiches, or roasted vegetables.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the acid or vegetable proportions?
No, except only where the cited source explicitly permits a named substitution.
Can I use larger jars?
No. Use only half-pint or pint jars.
What if a jar does not seal?
Refrigerate promptly or follow current NCHFP corrective guidance within 24 hours.
Recipe context
Do not combine this record with another preservation formula.
Troubleshooting
Verify the exact acid, ingredient proportions, jar size, headspace, complete processing row, and seal. If processing is interrupted, do not treat the jar as shelf stable.
Source & provenance
Garden planning for this recipe
Plant, space, variety, zone, and timing estimates live on dedicated ingredient pages:
Typical canning season
Season: Summer, Fall
Months: July, August, September
How much of the main ingredient should I grow?
40–80 lb of Tomatoes per person per year
This is an annual planning range that includes preserving and typical fresh use. Plant, row-foot, and square-foot estimates are shown only when compatible cited yield or spacing data is available.
Garden yields vary by cultivar, climate, soil, pests, and care. Always measure the exact prepared ingredient amount required by the tested canning recipe.