Nicholas Gavin is the Culinary Creative Director of ChefSteps, where he develops recipes and is responsible for making all the food look beautiful. Nick has worked at ChefSteps for over a decade; he and ChefSteps co-founder Grant Crilly worked together at Modernist Cuisine. Nick has worked in professional kitchens both in the United States and abroad, most notably at Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Spain.

Nicholas Gavin

Kansas City-style barbecue is famous for its thick, tangy-sweet sauce. For plenty of folks, it’s the platonic ideal of barbecue sauce—a lot of supermarket and fast food sauces are modeled after this style, and label it a masterpiece. We’re not gonna argue with that assessment, but we are confident that this recipe blows the gloppy store-bought stuff out of the water.This version balances the sweetness of ketchup and brown sugar with vinegar acidity and savory notes of Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste. A pinch of garlic powder, cumin, and cayenne round out the sauce with just the right amount of spice. Use it for mopping ribs (this recipe yields a pint, the perfect amount for glazing four racks of baby-backs), dressing brisket burnt ends, or dipping some air-fried frozen chicken nuggets if that’s your thing. We won’t judge.

Kansas City-Style Barbecue Sauce