The tangy, citrusy bite of orange is one of our favorite flavors to pair with pork on BBQ day. Now throwing chipotle pepper (one of our chili pepper favorites) into the mix, too, makes one delicious flavor pairing for the grill. It’s all good things in this orange chipotle sauce: tangy, smoky, earthy, and bold.
🌶️ Quick recipe snapshot
| Flavor profile | Sweet and tangy up front from the orange and the ketchup, smoky and earthy underneath from the chipotle, with soy sauce and cider vinegar keeping it off the sugary end |
| Primary heat source | A tablespoon of chipotle powder, with cayenne as an optional extra |
| Heat level | Mild. Chipotle runs 2,500 to 8,000 SHU and it’s spread through a whole cup of ketchup, so this is smoke first and heat second |
| Texture | Blended smooth and pourable, thinner than a barbecue sauce that’s been simmered down |
| Best uses | A marinade or a dipper for grilled pork and chicken, and a dip for chicken fingers |
| Customization ideas | Cayenne for heat without more smoke, extra marmalade for body, or a night in the fridge to take the raw garlic edge off |
Flavor notes
Orange turns up twice here, and not in the same form. The third of a cup of juice brings the sweetness and most of the tang. The two tablespoons of marmalade bring the peel, which is where the little bit of bitterness comes from, plus enough body that the sauce clings instead of running straight off. Drop the marmalade and you lose both.
The soy sauce is the one that looks out of place on the list, and it’s why this doesn’t end up tasting like candy. Ketchup, marmalade, brown sugar and orange juice is a lot of sweet going into one blender. Two tablespoons of soy brings the salt and the savory weight that holds all of it down.
Watch the sugar if you’re grilling. Between the ketchup, the marmalade and the brown sugar there’s plenty of it, and sugar burns over direct heat. Brush this on in the last few minutes rather than at the start. Or do what the recipe says and use it as a marinade first, a dipper after.
Adaptation ideas
- Want more heat? That’s what the cayenne is for. It runs 30,000 to 50,000 SHU against chipotle’s 2,500 to 8,000, so a quarter teaspoon moves things along, and it brings heat without piling on more smoke. Our cayenne pepper profile has the rest.
- Want more smoke instead? More chipotle powder. You’ll get more earthiness with it, since that’s most of what chipotle tastes like.
- Too sweet? More cider vinegar, a splash at a time. There’s already three tablespoons in there, so go slowly.
- Want it thicker? Another tablespoon of marmalade. It’s the only thing on the list bringing any body.
- Make it a day ahead. The garlic goes in raw and it’s sharp straight out of the blender. A night in the fridge and it settles into everything else.
Serving ideas
Don’t limit yourself to pork here (though yes, it’s oh so good with pork ribs). It also pairs well with grilled chicken, or you can use it as a dipper for chicken fingers for something different than the norm.
- If you’re saucing ribs: Last five minutes on the grill, then let it set. Painting it on at the start just gives you burnt sugar.
- As a marinade, split the batch: Half for the meat, half held back in a separate container for the table. Whatever sat with raw chicken or pork in it gets thrown out, not served.
- On a pulled pork sandwich: The orange and the vinegar cut through the fat better than a sweeter sauce would.
- On salmon or shrimp: Orange and smoke work as well on fish as they do on pork. Brush it on near the end, same as the ribs.
- As a second dipper: Put it next to our chipotle honey mustard dressing and let people pick.
Storage notes
Airtight jar in the fridge, about a week. There’s a cup of ketchup and three tablespoons of vinegar in there so it’s a properly acidic sauce, but the orange juice is fresh and that’s what sets the limit.
It’ll separate. Oil and juice sit apart after a day or two in the cold. Shake the jar or give it a stir and it comes straight back together.
It freezes fine. Nothing in the jar has a texture to lose, so a small container in the freezer and a slow thaw in the fridge works. Stir it once it’s thawed. And anything you already used as a marinade doesn’t go back in the jar, frozen or not.
Like this recipe? You’ll love these too:
- Cherry Chipotle BBQ Sauce: Same smoke, different fruit, and this one gets simmered down thick.
- Blueberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce: Another ketchup-based chipotle sauce, with blueberries doing the sweetening.
- Hoisin BBQ Sauce: If the soy sauce here is the part you like, this one leans all the way into it.
50 quick, bold sauces and salsas: classic salsas and fun twists, BBQ sauces with a kick, and dippers with bang. Simple to make, big on flavor.
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Orange Chipotle Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons orange marmalade
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon chipotle powder
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder optional, for additional heat
Instructions
- Using a blender or food processor, process all ingredients until smooth. Add additional chipotle powder and/or cayenne pepper powder, to taste and heat preference. Stir well.
- Use immediately as a marinade for grilled chicken or pork or as a dipper.
