Safe to store homemade sauces for 2-3 weeks in fridge?

[jayp424]

Hey all,

I've been smoking for about a year now and love it so far (and so do my family and friends). I have a big football party coming up in a few weeks and want to make a few BBQ sauces ahead of time so it's just one less thing to worry about as I'm busy smoking the meat for the party.

My question is how long can the sauces be stored in the fridge before the party? I'm not looking to sell them or give them to anybody...simply to use at the party. Looking to make 4-5 different kinds of sauces a couple weeks ahead of time. I read about botulism and pH levels and all that good stuff, but from my understanding that seemed to be more for folks who are selling the stuff or canning for long-term storage. Do I have to worry about that if I'm just keeping these in the fridge for 2-3 weeks max? All the sauces I've made in the past were used right away with whatever I was smoking, so I never had to worry about storing them.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Justin

 

[thsmormonsmokes]

Here's my take on it.

I've only ever made ketchup based sauces.  I use other ingredients that I have in the fridge or pantry.  Brown sugar, molasses, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, etc...  There isn't any one of those ingredients that wouldn't last that long.  I don't know why mixing them all together would all of a sudden risk contaminating the batch if stored for that long.  So personally, I wouldn't bat an eye at storing it that long, assuming your ingredients are all things that store well for that amount of time also.

I could be wrong about this, but given how full of preservatives most sauce ingredients are (if not preservatives themselves like salt), I don't think you'd be putting yourself at risk.

Of course if you've got ingredients that don't keep long term, that could change things.

But just my $0.02.  I could be wrong.  And if someone thinks so, I'm sure they'll say why.

 

[flash]

I have had no problems storing them for a good month or two. Especially anything vinegar based.