Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce – On Pork Chops

A Sweet n Sour Chunky Style Barbecue Sauce made from Rhubarb #nightshadefree #rhubarb #barbecue #grilling #sauce

Here it is, a Sweet n Sour Chunky Style Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce. It’s great on pork chops or slathered onto a burger. The best way to use up your rhubarb harvest.

Preserving a Bumper Rhubarb Crop

The daylight hours are shortening and I have picked the last bunch of rhubarb from my very productive plants. Since I’ve been busy making  jam, pickles, and preserving right now I wanted to make something great with the last of the rhubarb.

Not that Rhubarb and Strawberry jam or Rhubarb Muffins aren’t special, I just wanted to try something…new. I’ve never made my own barbecue sauce before and I was thinking that maybe the tartness of the rhubarb might bring something special to a home made sauce.

After a quick google search I found out I wasn’t the only one who thought so. This made my decision to try making my own Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce an easy one.

Tomato Free Barbecue Sauce

This recipe also uses no tomatoes (for you tomato free people out there) and doesn’t rely on using ketchup, which many recipes do. I think that’s cheating.

A measuring cup full of brown chunky barbecue sauce and a red brush.

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I’m not going to show you lovely pictures of bubbling brown goo because that is what the barbecue sauce looked like while it was cooking on the stove. Plus we all know what rhubarb looks like right

I’ve been dreaming up ways to use this slightly spicy and sweet, tart barbeque sauce.  I thought it would go with pork best of all. So, I had hubby grill me up some pork chops and slather the sauce on while they were grilling.

He doesn’t always do such a photogenic job while barbecuing but since I told him these were for a blog post he upped his game.

I’m not sure what to do with the sauce next but thought of pulled pork are running through my head. Do you ever get a dish in your mind that won’t leave until you make it?

A perfectly grilled pork chop covered with brown rhubarb barbecue sauce.

Plus…a thought about the word ‘Barbecue’.  I’ve always thought there was a Canadian and American spelling of the word like there are for many other words. For example, neighbour/neighbor or exercize/exercise.

I just assume that spell checker is set to highlight American spelling and ignore it. However, today I looked this word up because it intrigued me.

The shortening of the word Barbecue to BBQ confuses some people (myself included) into thinking that there is an alternative spelling to the word. One that includes a ‘q’ as in Barbeque. So now we know the presence of a ‘q’ in place of ‘c’ in the word Barbecue is not correct.

Pin it HERE

Pinterest images of a chunky brown barbecue sauce slathered on a grilled pork chop. Rhubarb stalks in background.

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Yield: 6 Cups

Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce

A Sweet n Sour Chunky Style Barbecue Sauce made from Rhubarb #nightshadefree #rhubarb #barbecue #grilling #sauce

A mouthwatering tomato-free Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce that is great on pork chops or slathered onto a burger. It's a great way to use up your rhubarb harvest!

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 stalks fresh rhubarb; trimmed and chopped
  • 1 (12 fl oz) can cola
  • 1 tsp almond flavouring
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 sweet onion; chopped
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup Crosby’s molasses
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 2 star anise
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low.
  2. Simmer until rhubarb and onion are very soft, about 45 minutes, stirring often to prevent the sauce from scorching.
  3. Cool the sauce, then place into a blender, pulse a few times to get the sauce moving before leaving it on to purée. Purée in batches if necessary until you achieve a smooth sauce.
  4. Use immediately for grilling (try it on pork chops or chicken) or preserve the sauce in jars for later using the hot water bath method.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 56Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 58mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 0gSugar: 12gProtein: 0g

Nutritional calculation was provided by Nutritionix and is an estimation only. For special diets or medical issues please use your preferred calculator.

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21 comments

  1. Jackie baginski

    Do you recall approximately how much 4 stalks of rhubarb might be in cups? ( mine is chopped & frozen) Any help is appreciate. I am eager to try this recipe ,Thank you!

    Reply

    1. Bernice Hill

      Oh gosh! It’s been a while…I’m going to say 6 or so cups. The recipe yields 6 cups and there’s an onion involved. Everything will shrink slightly as it cooks down. If I’m canning I always sterilize one extra jar than the recipe says.

  2. Jacqueline Debono

    Lucky you having homegrown rhubarb! I’ve tried to grow it without success and here in Italy it’s not a common fruit! But I love it! This bbq sauce sounds wonderful! Going to pin for next time I find some rhubarb!

    Reply

    1. Bernice Hill

      I have heard this from my Italian friends. It grows so easily here, it’s difficult for me to understand why it wouldn’t grow anywhere! I hope you find some rhubarb soon Jacqueline!

  3. Colleen

    Can’t wait to try this. I also have a bumper crop, so thanks for the inspo!

    Reply

    1. Bernice Hill

      No problem! Happy barbecuing!

  4. mdivadomestica

    Must try it! Sounds delicious!

    Reply

  5. cheri

    What a great way to use rhubarb, I bet it is delicious!

    Reply

  6. foodisthebestshitever

    Ah you did it! Looks damn fine, my friend!! 🙂

    Reply

  7. thebrookcook

    What a great new way to use rhubarb- wonderful!!

    Reply

  8. Sheryl @ Flowery Prose

    Love this idea! I have some frozen rhubarb – I imagine I could use it if I made sure it was drained well after thawing.

    Reply

    1. dishnthekitchen

      yes, that would be a good idea. It also has a long cooking process so you could just lengthen that and it would work too.

  9. Dale

    New indeed. A great idea for an intriguing ingredient. You’ve inspired me. 🙂

    Reply

    1. dishnthekitchen

      Thanks Dale!
      BTW what did you do with the kohlrabi? I have two sitting on my counter right now. I’m thinking fritters 🙂

    2. Dale

      Ha! Hold tight. Recipe is coming on Saturday. 🙂

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