Buffalo BBQ Sauce (Spicy & Buttery)

Smoky barbecue flavors and spicy cayenne combine into this buttery Buffalo BBQ Sauce, perfect for wings, ribs, or anything off the grill. There’s no need to choose, you can have the best of both worlds with this bold homemade BBQ sauce that comes together in minutes.

Buffalo BBQ sauce is the perfect blend of smoky, spicy, and tangy flavors. If you’re also a fan of sweet BBQ and that iconic buffalo wing spice, this recipe is for you.

I’ve always wanted a thicker buffalo sauce to baste onto smoked chicken thighs, glaze up some buffalo scallops or shrimp, or even stir into an incredible queso dip. Flavors of molasses, chipotles, and other ingredients add layers of flavor and smoke, rounding this out into an incredible BBQ sauce while letting the hot sauce remain the star. Try this on Smoked Buffalo BBQ Wings!

Or, if you want to stick to the classic creamy buffalo sauce, we’ve got that option as well.

Let’s break down the very simple list of ingredients for this Buffalo BBQ sauce. Not only does this sauce have a perfect amount of heat, but it’s the most familiar to what we recognize as a buffalo sauce flavor profile.

Buffalo BBQ Sauce Ingredients

• Frank’s RedHot Sauce – Classic cayenne pepper hot sauce flavor, one of the most familiar choices for buffalo hot sauce.
• Ketchup – This is key, creating a thick body for building a BBQ sauce while adding a little acid and sweetness.
• Dark brown sugar – Using this darker sugar helps to fortify the deep, smoky flavors. If you’re trying to watch the sugar, you can start with less and add as needed.
• Molasses – This thick syrup adds body and roasted depth to the sauce. Make sure you are using traditional molasses, not blackstrap molasses.
• Apple cider vinegar – Classic acid to brighten all of the flavors.
• Worcestershire sauce – A small splash of fermented umami adds a little something.
• Chipotle powder – This adds a smoked layer of heat, without competing with the cayenne hot sauce.
• Black pepper – A nice sharp punch, it’s subtle but noticeable.
• Celery salt – Skip traditional salt and use this. The flavor is perfectly paired with buffalo hot sauce.
• Unsalted butter – Whisk in cold butter at the end to create a velvety, rich texture.

Variations of Flavor

• Make it sweeter: Add more brown sugar after the sauce has simmered for at least 10 minutes. Taste and add more sugar if needed, then continue to simmer, allowing it to dissolve.
• Make it tangier: Add apple cider vinegar at the very end. A little goes a long way.
• Change the spice level: Ground chipotle is recommended, but if you want it spicier you can add cayenne chile powder or another type of chile you prefer.

How to Make Buffalo BBQ Sauce

STEP 1: Add everything, except butter, to a saucepan. Cook the sauce for about 8-10 minutes over low heat until it starts to simmer and thicken. The main goal is to dissolve the sugars and have the spices bloom together, incorporating them into the sauce. You’ll know when it’s about the right consistency, it should lightly coat the back of a spoon.

STEP 2: Whisk in cold, unsalted butter. This must be cold butter from the fridge. The slow melt of butter allows the fats to be dispersed throughout the sauce, creating a stable emulsion. Basically, cold butter whisked slowly allows it to melt all throughout the sauce without a greasy separation. The addition of butter to this BBQ sauce is pretty unique, a nod to the classic recipe for our buffalo hot sauce.

How to Use This Sauce

Smoked Buffalo BBQ Wings are the easiest choice as they are a natural pairing for this buffalo barbecue sauce. Start there, and explore more ideas below!

• Pork Belly Burnt Ends
• Smoked Party Ribs
• Smoked Chicken Halves
• Pork Belly Brussels Sprouts
• Butterflied Chicken Drumsticks
• Buffalo Grilled Scallops or Shrimp

More Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipes

• Creamy Buffalo Sauce
• Sweet Honey Bourbon BBQ Sauce
• Homemade Hot Honey
• Smoky Sweet Heat BBQ Sauce
• Korean BBQ Sauce
• Maple Chipotle BBQ Sauce