It's almost huckleberry picking season in Montana, and the perfect time to introduce you to my favorite Huckleberry BBQ sauce recipe! Drizzle it on gourmet elk burgers or slather it on Traeger smoked beef ribs. If you don't have huckleberries, use blueberries instead!
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This huckleberry barbecue sauce is always requested by my family when I make beef or smoked pork ribs. It's tangy, spicy, and slightly sweet. The heat can be adjusted by adding less chipotle pepper and leaving out the hot sauce and cayenne pepper. It pairs beautifully with this BBQ chicken flatbread or air fried BBQ chicken.
The texture can range from slightly chunky to silky smooth, just by blending or straining the BBQ sauce once it's done cooking.
So if you have huckleberries in your freezer from last year's haul, this huckleberry barbecue sauce recipe is a wonderful way to use them to make more room for this year's picking. Still need to make more freezer space? Give my huckleberry wine recipe and my wild huckleberry curd a try!
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Ingredients & Substitutions
- Huckleberries: Fresh or frozen huckleberries can be used for this recipe. You can also use blueberries or a mixture of huckleberries and chokecherries.
- Sweetener: Brown sugar and molasses
- Spices: Salt, chipotle pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. The cayenne pepper is optional.
*A full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
How To Make Huckleberry BBQ Sauce
Step 1: Add huckleberries and water to a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Use a potato masher to mash the huckleberries as they cook.
Step 2: Add the remaining ingredients and simmer over medium-high heat for another 20 minutes. If you prefer a thicker consistency, you can cook it longer, but keep in mind, it will thicken as it cools!
Step 3: Allow to cool, then blend for a smoother texture or leave as is.
What to Serve with Huckleberry Sauce
Serve this huckleberry barbecue sauce recipe with Instant Pot baby back ribs and burgers, or use it to baste this sumac barbecue chicken. You can also serve the huckleberry sauce as a dipping sauce with fries, chicken nuggets, or even dove nuggets! Store the remaining sauce in the refrigerator for later use.
If you like making your own sauces and condiments, be sure to try this homemade Louisiana hot sauce and this Big Mac sauce recipe!
Recipe FAQs
Huckleberries are sometimes compared in taste to blueberries, but they definitely have their own unique flavor and are usually more tart than blueberries. They grow in the Northwest, usually at 3000' and higher.
Begin by either purchasing or making huckleberry barbecue sauce, then use it to baste grilled or smoked beef or pork ribs towards the end of the cooking process.
This recipe has not been tested for home canning, so I don't recommend water-bath canning it or storing it at room temperature. For gifting, pour the finished sauce into clean food-safe bottles or jars, refrigerate promptly, and keep refrigerated. A decorative shrink band can be added for presentation, but it does not make the sauce shelf-stable.
Pro Tips
- If you don't have a blender, you can use a fine-mesh sieve to strain the BBQ sauce.
- Honey or maple syrup can be used instead of molasses.
- If you want to use your huckleberries sparingly, you can use half the amount the recipe calls for and substitute chokecherries or blueberries for the rest.
- If you decide to double the recipe, you may want to reduce the amount of water; otherwise, it will take up to an hour to reduce.
- If you don't have a blender, you can use a fine-mesh sieve to strain the BBQ sauce.
- Store barbecue sauce in a squeeze bottle (purchase at the dollar store) for later use.
- If you want to kick this recipe up a notch, you can add a tablespoon or two of your favorite whiskey.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to one month or more!
More Huckleberry Recipes
If you enjoy this huckleberry BBQ sauce recipe, make sure you try my new huckleberry ice cream recipe and these other huckleberry recipes!
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Recipe
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Ingredients
Method
- Add huckleberries and water into a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Use a potato masher to mash the huckleberries as they cook.
- Add the remaining ingredients and simmer over medium-high heat for another 20 minutes. If you prefer a thicker consistency, you can cook it longer, but keep in mind, it will thicken as it cools!
- Allow to cool, then blend for a smoother texture or leave as is.
Nutrition
Notes
- Honey or maple syrup can be used instead of molasses.
- If you want to use your huckleberries sparingly, you can use half the amount the recipe calls for and substitute chokecherries or blueberries for the rest.
- If you decide to double the recipe, you may want to reduce the amount of water otherwise it will take up to an hour to reduce.
- If you don't have a blender, you can use a fine mesh sieve to strain the bbq sauce.
- Store the barbecue sauce in a squeeze bottle (purchase at the dollar store) for later use.
- If you want to kick this recipe up a notch, you can add a tablespoon or two of your favorite whiskey.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to one month or more!
Reyna Stoken says
I made smoked Flanken style beef ribs and after smoking them applied this sauce and air fried it on! It was so good! Slightly spicy but not overly spicy, the huckleberry flavor came through gloriously!
Hilda Sterner says
Love hearing that, Reyna, thank you, enjoy!
Joshua says
NW Montana here, and we always have a plentiful supply of fresh huckleberries! Saw this recipe, and had to Try it! Wow! so so so good, and was super easy to make. Thankyou!
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks, Joshua, NW Montana here as well! So glad you ejoyed the BBQ sauce, we love it too!
Madison Best says
Love this recipe! My home smelled so good while it was simmering. Another winning recipe by Hilda.
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you so much Madison! I appreciate you taking the time to review this recipe, enjoy!