# Canned Barbecue Sauce



## Bobmac (Oct 11, 2008)

I've heard and read, (from some very reputable sources) that you can't can BBQ sauce as the acids and such eat through the lids and it spoils.
I just opened my last 2 pints that I canned 3 tears ago and there is no evidence to support the above statement. The sauce was better than when I canned it.

I sterilized the jars and rings along with everything that would come in contact with the sauce.
I boiled the sauce down to the thickness that I wanted and ladled it into the jars. As soon as I had a canner full, I placed a brand new lid, (that had been simmering at just below boiling) on the jars and snugged the rings down.
The jars were then boiled at a rolling boil for 20 minutes before being taken out and set on a cooling pad and left for the lids to "snap" into place.

After all the lids had snapped and cooled for 3 - 4 hours, I put them back in the boxes and on the shelf in the basement where it's dark and relatively cool.

That's been my standard for the last 3 years and it works like a charm.

I do my sauces in 5 gallon batches and I normally do 4-6 different sauces a year. Some of it gets given away but most of it gets used by the family.


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## dialout (Feb 5, 2011)

I think overfilling causes the problem. I have seen tomato sauces that broke "ate threw" the seals...although it does take some time. But I believe it has to be in direct contact for the acids to work their magic...like when I learned not to cover lasagna with aluminum foil...woke up the next morning to find the foil eaten away were sauce contacted it.


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## WNCRick (Sep 24, 2007)

Odd, we've canned pure maters (quite acidic), without even a water bath and just a tsp of salt for over 60 years with no probs.....prolly 100 qts a year on average....Still doin em the way my great grandmother did.........


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## WNCRick (Sep 24, 2007)

great for pouring over eggs, pasta, biscuits, mac and cheese, fried bread (flour and water dough fried in Crisco), and good lord just about anything else.........maters are the easiest thing in the world to can and very acidic


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## Alexy (Nov 1, 2010)

We can our tomato sauce for years with no bad effects. Usually a mix of Roma's and some betterboys with some garlic, seasonings and nothing else. Wife also did some freezing last year of the same sauce from a batch and I did not see a diffrence in flavor at all after 4-6 months.


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## bstarling (Apr 24, 2005)

Coming from a food science background, I have to say that is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. If it can't be canned, how does Kraft and a gazillion other companies do it? Yes it can be canned and it's canned all the time. You have to have good lids, but how many commercial pickles have you ever seen? They are super acidic. Put it in glass and seal it like any other acidic food. 

Bill:fishing:


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## wdbrand (May 24, 2007)

Gonna pass on a link and a story. Several years back, my son came up with a bushel of mixed tomatoes which we juiced. Canned the exact same method[used a squeeze, brought juice to a rolling boil, then filled jars]. No hot water bath or pressure canner used, the same way we had been doing it for years. He had 4 or 5 jars go bad, I had 0 go bad, and only diff was he canned in pints and I did quarts. Only salt added, no lemon, and I added 1 tablespoon of sugar to mine. Go figure. All tomatoes aren't created equal. 4.6 PH or higher seems to be the breaking point for adding lemon or citric acid. The lower the PH [-4.6]= higher acid content.

http://www.canning-food-recipes.com/canning_tomatoes.htm


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## bstarling (Apr 24, 2005)

For safety, you must have the pH below 4.6, otherwise you run a very real risk of growing C.Botulina bacteria. It produces a neurotoxin that will flat out kill you. Some tomato strains are low acid. Make dang sure you check the pH before you can anything that is not pressure cooked to a recognised processing schedule. Most of the canning supply houses have scheduled processes for almost anything you can process at home. Read it and believe what it says. 

Bill:fishing:


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