How To Can Peach BBQ Sauce

This safe, tested recipe from Ball and Bernardin is a fruity, delicious way to preserve peaches! This is a great option if your family doesn’t eat a lot of jam or jelly and the best part is that it’s easily customizable!

How To Safely Customize Peach BBQ Sauce

First, you can swap out the apple cider vinegar for a vinegar of your choice, as long as it is still diluted to 5% acidity. It must be at least 5% acidity, which you can check on the ingredients list on the bottle.

Second, you may safely replace the sweet bell peppers for any other kind of pepper! That means a different color, a different level on the Scoville scale, a sweet pepper for a hot or super hot pepper, etc.!

And, finally, you may add to or take away from the amount of red pepper flakes you use in your sauce within reason. I personally would only add about 1 teaspoon extra of dry spices to ensure I didn’t add too much non-acidic ingredients and throw off the pH balance that makes a recipe safe for water bath canning.

How To Use Peach BBQ Sauce

The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving says this sauce is delicious on chicken and fish, but my family loves it on pork! It’s extra delicious as a marinade on smoked or grilled meats, and the combination of the sweet peach and the bite from the vinegar and pepper flakes blend beautifully!

Recipe Video

Recipe

Modified from the Ball Zesty Peach BBQ Sauce recipe.

Ingredients

6 cups peaches, chopped, pitted, and peeled
3/4 cup bell pepper, chopped (I used red and orange peppers)
1/4 cup hot pepper of choice, chopped (I like a mix of jalapeno and habanero)
1 cup onion, chopped
3 Tbsp. garlic, minced
1 1/4 cups honey
3/4 cup vinegar (feel free to use any 5% acidity vinegar)
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp hot pepper flakes (add more for more spice, less for less spice)
2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp salt

Instructions

Combine all ingredients to heavy bottom stock pot.
Heat over medium high heat until it comes to a full rolling boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Use an immersion blender to blend the sauce until it is smooth.
Simmer for another 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly but is still thin.
Store sauce in refrigerator or continue with canning instructions.

Canning Instructions

Fill clean, warm jars with sauce, making sure to leave 1/2-inch headspace.
Clean jar rim off to ensure no sauce is on it.
Put a clean lid on and screw on band until fingertip tight.
Put in water bath canner.
Fill remaining jars until sauce is gone.
Process in a water bath canner for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude.
Remove jars and set on towel or wooden cutting board to cool for 12-24 hours.
Remove bands and check seals. If any jars failed to seal, store in refrigerator and use first.
Wash jars and store without bands on.