Sticky Honey Garlic BBQ Sauce (Roasted + Fresh Garlic)

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A glossy, deep-amber grilling sauce built on two kinds of garlic: a whole head roasted until it's sweet and jammy, plus fresh cloves bloomed in butter for bite. Honey goes in twice — once to cook down and thicken, once off the heat so its floral flavor survives. Thick enough to cling to wings, ribs, thighs or salmon, and balanced with cider vinegar and soy so it tastes like barbecue instead of candy.

Ingredients

• 1 head garlic, whole
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 pinch kosher salt

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 1/4 cups ketchup
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp molasses (not blackstrap)
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp dry mustard powder
• 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup water

• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Slice the top 1/2 inch off the head of garlic to expose the cloves, set it cut-side up on a square of foil, drizzle with the olive oil, add a pinch of salt, and wrap tightly. Roast 40–45 minutes, until the cloves are soft, browned at the edges, and slide out under gentle pressure. Let cool 10 minutes, then squeeze the pulp into a small bowl and mash smooth with a fork (you should have 2–3 tablespoons).
2. While the garlic roasts, melt the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the minced fresh garlic and cook 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly, just until fragrant and barely blond — do not let it brown or the sauce will taste bitter.
3. Add the tomato paste, smoked paprika, mustard powder, black pepper, onion powder, and cayenne. Cook 1 minute more, stirring, until the paste darkens a shade and the spices smell toasted.
4. Whisk in the ketchup, 1/2 cup honey, 1/3 cup cider vinegar, soy sauce, Worcestershire, molasses, water, and the mashed roasted garlic. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat, whisking to dissolve everything.
5. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, 20–25 minutes, stirring every 4–5 minutes and scraping the corners of the pan. Keep it at a lazy blip, not a boil — honey and ketchup scorch fast. The sauce is ready when it has darkened to a deep mahogany, reduced by about a quarter, and coats the back of a spoon so a finger drawn through leaves a clean line.
6. Pull the pan off the heat. Stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons honey, the 1 teaspoon vinegar, the salt, and the sesame oil if using. Tasting off the heat matters: the raw honey brightens it and the sauce will taste sweeter warm than it does cold.
7. Taste and adjust — more vinegar if it's cloying, more salt if it tastes flat, a pinch more cayenne for heat. For a glass-smooth glaze, blend 20 seconds with an immersion blender or push through a fine-mesh sieve; for a rustic sauce with visible garlic, leave it as is.
8. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes, then transfer to a jar. Use warm as a glaze or chilled as a dipping sauce.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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