Whether your barbecue sauce is homemade or from a store, it it’s too sweet for your taste, there are two methods you can try to make it less sweet. Try the first method first. If that doesn’t do the trick, then try the second.
- While you might be tempted to add salt to your sauce to lessen its sweetness, adding salt might actually accentuate your sauce’s sweetness. Instead, gradually add more acid like vinegar, lemon juice, or lime juice. Add it gradually, stir, and taste. Repeat this process several times.
- If adding an acid to your sauce doesn’t sufficiently reduce its sweetness, then you can try diluting your sauce by adding more of the sauce’s base, spicy, and sour ingredients. For most BBQ sauces, the base is a tomato sauce like tomato paste or even ketchup. Sour ingredients are acids like vinegar or lemon juice.