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Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce

June 12, 2025 by Lyuba 17 Comments

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Carolina mustard BBQ sauce features a bold blend of yellow mustard, tangy vinegar, brown sugar, and a mix of savory spices that delivers the perfect balance of tangy, sweet, spicy, and savory flavors. This punchy combination complements rich, smoky meats like pulled pork and grilled chicken beautifully—cutting through the fat, enhancing char, and adding a zingy Southern flair to every bite.

Carolina mustard BBQ sauce in a glass jar.

What Is Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce aka Carolina Gold

What? Mustard in BBQ, you ask? Absolutely! This sauce has a base of mustard and vinegar with some honey and brown sugar for sweetness and a few spices for more flavor.

It hales from South Carolina and always starts with yellow mustard. Don’t try to use Dijon or gourmet mustard, just a simple yellow mustard. The combination of mustard, vinegar, honey, sugar, and spices will result in sweet, tangy and a little spicy sauce. As always, you can adjust the spiciness with a little more or less cayenne pepper but be careful because a little cayenne goes a long way.

Many people are not used to any other BBQ sauces besides the tomato based but let me tell you, there are so many amazing sauces out there. You simply have to venture into the unfamiliar and try them all. Just like the Alabama White BBQ Sauce, this mustard based BBQ sauce will be one of your favorites.

Ingredients for Carolina mustard sauce in a bowl on a wood surface and a whisk beside it.

Suggested Uses For This Sauce

There are about as many uses for this sauce as for the traditional BBQ sauce.:

  • This sauce is absolutely divine on pulled pork sandwiches. Pour some sauce all over freshly smoked and pulled pork and add a helping of cool coleslaw on top. You will be in barbecue heaven with this sandwich!
  • Mustard based sauce also goes very well with grilled and smoked chicken.
  • Dip grilled chicken wings and smoked chicken wings in this sauce. I also love to dip smoked sausage into it.
  • Try it on grilled burgers as well, it’s really good.
Carolina mustard sauce in a pot with some being scooped out with a wooden spoon.
Pouring Carolina mustard sauce with a spoon over pulled pork that is on a bun.

Storing Suggestions

You can store it in the refrigerator, of for longer storing time, store it in the freezer:

  • Best way to store Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce is in the refrigerator, in a glass jar with an air-tight lid. Properly stored, it should last up to 2 weeks.
  • P.S. It’s tastes even better after a couple of days because ingredients get a chance to mingle together and incorporate.
  • Freezing: Make sure to freeze it in an air-tight freezer-safe container and get as much air out as you can. You can easily store the whole amount in a large container or freezer bag or portion it into smaller silicone freezer trays with an air-tight lid.
  • Thaw: for best results, thaw the sauce slowly, in the refrigerator. It will take up to 24 hour depending on the thickness of the storage bag/container.
Pulled pork on a hamburger bun with Carolina mustard sauce on top.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE leave a 🌟 star rating and a comment📝! I’d love it if you share what you like about them on Instagram, make sure to tag me @grillingsmokingliving and #grillingsmokingliving so I can see all the things you tried!

Carolina mustard BBQ sauce in a jar with the lid open.

Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce Recipe

5 from 3 votes
Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce is a rich, bold, and flavorful addition to your pulled pork, chicken, and so much more.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
CourseSauce
CuisineAmerican
Prep Time5 minutes minutes
Cook Time15 minutes minutes
Total Time20 minutes minutes
Servings16 (makes about 2 cups)
Calories49kcal
AuthorLyuba

Ingredients

  • 1 cup yellow mustard
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 tsp hot sauce
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and whisk together.
  • Transfer into a sauce pot and heat it through over medium heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and let it gently simmer for only about 10 minutes. Don’t let it boil! 
  • After you simmer it for a little bit, take it off the heat and serve. (Or store for later use. The sauce tastes even better after a couple of days in the refrigerator.)

Notes

Mustard: for this Carolina gold sauce, DO use a simple yellow mustard! (Don’t try to be fancy with Grey Poupon or gourmet mustard, the sauce will be be true.)
Other ingredient notes: note that the recipe calls for tomato paste, not tomato sauce. It’s not the same! You can use dark or light brown sugar, dark brown sugar just contains more molasses. If you need to substitute apple cider vinegar, use white wine or red wine vinegar, other have a very difference flavor. 
Make ahead and store: this is a great sauce to make ahead! You can simply prepare it per recipe, store it in the refrigerator once cooled, and use it when needed. It lasts well in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks and I highly recommend using a glass jar with an air-tight lid to store it.

Nutrition

Calories: 49kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 280mg | Potassium: 64mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 53IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg

More Sauce You Should Try

White BBQ Sauce

Peach BBQ Sauce

Whiskey BBQ Sauce

Bacon Jam

Chicken Marinade

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Filed Under: Sauces and Dips

Comments

  1. Ursula says

    May 21, 2020 at 1:46 pm

    What’s your favorite hot sauce to use in this recipe?

    Reply
    • Lyuba says

      May 21, 2020 at 3:11 pm

      Hi Ursula! I often have Cholula on hand but I’ve also use Sriracha when that’s all I had and it was good 😉

      Reply
  2. Levern says

    January 17, 2021 at 11:12 pm

    Lyuba, have you made this in large amounts?

    Reply
    • Lyuba says

      March 6, 2021 at 3:44 pm

      Sorry, for the late response! I have made a double amount for a barbecue party, yes! You can just as easily triple it as well.

      Reply
  3. Rebecca says

    April 18, 2021 at 1:29 pm

    5 stars
    My go to Carolina BBQ sauce for pulled pork!

    Reply
    • Lyuba says

      May 1, 2021 at 1:57 pm

      That’s awesome! Thank you 🙂

      Reply
  4. James W Fletcher says

    July 6, 2021 at 5:36 pm

    Says it will last up to 2 weeks in the fridge. Why not longer? Which ingredient(s) gives it such a short span?

    Reply
    • Lyuba says

      July 12, 2021 at 2:38 pm

      Hi James! Since homemade sauces are not made with specific additives and preservatives that are meant for long time warehouse storage and not sealed, bacteria has a much higher chance of growing in it. This is especially true if you keep opening the jar and if you are using a spoon to get more sauce out. Even though you are using other store-bought ingredients to make this, they have been opened and exposed to the elements.
      With that being said, I’ve had homemade BBQ sauces last for a month in the fridge just fine. I’m giving a safer shelf life span because I can control how safely people handle their sauces at home (i.e. using spoons to get sauce out or other contaminants). If you want to extend the life even longer, you can freeze the sauce! Simple leave out as much as you want to use immediately or within a couple of weeks and portion the rest in zip-lock freezer storage bags. Seal, label, and freeze it.
      I really hope this helps!

      Reply
  5. Kathy Bowman says

    July 12, 2021 at 12:45 am

    can you can this to store long term? If so how long would you process it?

    Reply
    • Lyuba says

      July 12, 2021 at 2:33 pm

      Hi Kathy! You can actually freeze it if you want to store it for longer. So leave whatever you want to use from the batch and store it in the fridge and the rest, you can portion into freezer bags, seal, label, and freeze. Since homemade stuff is not meant to warehouse and store shelf storing, you should refrigerate for a couple of weeks or freeze it for longer storing time.

      Reply
  6. David says

    September 18, 2021 at 2:32 pm

    Can you can this in mason jars. Water method.

    Reply
    • Lyuba says

      September 18, 2021 at 3:40 pm

      Hi David! Yes, you can, just make sure to follow the sterilizing and canning process carefully. Once you open it though, keep it refrigerated and it will have similar shelf life as freshly made.

      Reply
    • Lyuba says

      September 18, 2021 at 3:41 pm

      Oh, and use the right mason jars and lids, of course! There is quite a bit of acid here, so make sure to use canning jars and lids meant for acidic sauces.

      Reply
  7. Steph says

    October 31, 2021 at 11:57 pm

    5 stars
    Best mustard based sauce we have ever had. Everyone asks us for the recipe. This is a keeper!!!

    Reply
    • Lyuba says

      January 29, 2022 at 3:24 pm

      I am SO happy to hear that!! Thank you 🙂

      Reply
  8. Kristy says

    September 14, 2022 at 6:51 pm

    5 stars
    This has been my “go to” mustard bbq sauce for several years now. It is easy and taste much better than store bought. We like a little heat with our so we up the cayenne to 1 tsp (versus 1/4 tsp) and up the hot sauce using 1 tbsp Sriracha (versus 1 tsp). We also like garlic and onions, so I add 1 tbsp of onion powder and up the garlic powder to 1 tbsp (versus 1 tsp). But these modifications are based on our preference. The recipe is fantastic if you follow it without any modifications. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Lyuba says

      October 16, 2022 at 10:41 pm

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
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Let's get grilling!

Welcome, everyone! I’m Lyuba Brooke, come in, grab a beer, and head to the backyard. Here, I love to grill, barbecue, and share everything I make. You will find a ton of recipes for grilling, smoking, and the sauces to dip it in.

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