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Home » Recipes » Cooking Tips and Basic Techniques

Dr Pepper Glaze for Meat

Published: Jul 12, 2024 by Marye

You'll love this irresistible Dr Pepper glaze! Perfect for baking ham, grilling, roasting, or as a dipping sauce, this sweet and savory glaze is easy to make with just a few simple ingredients. It's perfect for summer cookouts, weeknight dinners, and holiday meals.
Total time for the recipe to be finished.Total Time 20 minutes minutes
Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe
Overhead view of a chicken breast with a sticky dr. pepper glaze.
Overhead view of Dr Pepper glazed chicken breast with title text overlay for Pinterest.

This simple Dr Pepper glaze recipe is a must-try! This sweet and savory glaze will have your taste buds dancing and your guests begging for the recipe. Once you try this, you’ll be hooked for life!

Overhead view of a chicken breast with a sticky Dr Pepper glaze.
Table of Contents
  • 🗝️ Key takeaways: why this recipe is your new favorite
  • 🧾 Gather your ingredients: what you'll need
  • 📖 Make it your own: yummy variations
  • 🍴Must have tools: essential equipment
  • 🥫 Leftover love: how to store Dr Pepper glaze
  • Marye's Tip o' the day
  • 💭 Insider tips: things to know
  • 👩‍🍳 Let's answer those questions: FAQs
  • 📚 More Southern comfort: related recipes you'll love
  • 🍽️ No waste: creative ways to repurpose leftovers
  • 📞 Wrapping it up: the last word
  • 📖 Recipe
  • ✍🏻 A note from Marye...
  • Dr Pepper glaze
  • 💬 Comments

Save this recipe by clicking on the ❤️ heart on the right-hand side of the screen or in the recipe card.

🗝️ Key takeaways: why this recipe is your new favorite

  • This sweet, tangy sauce is perfect for brushing on grilled meats, roasting, or using as a dipping sauce.
  • It's perfect for summer cookouts but is just as good brushed on your Easter ham or Thanksgiving turkey!
  • Reducing the liquid allows it to get a deeper flavor and become syrupy so that it sticks to the meat.

🧾 Gather your ingredients: what you'll need

This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.

Labeled ingredients for Dr Pepper glaze recipe.

📖 Make it your own: yummy variations

  1. Sweet: Substitute the brown sugar with honey for a different sweetness profile.
  2. Soda: Try using different sodas for unique flavor twists.
  3. Spice: Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to make it spicier.

🤫 Marye's secret for zhuzhing it up -

Add a splash of bourbon for an extra layer of yum that will take this glaze to gourmet status.

zhuzh: verb. To make something more interesting or attractive

🍴Must have tools: essential equipment

  1. saucepan
  2. whisk
  3. measuring cups and spoons

🥫 Leftover love: how to store Dr Pepper glaze

Store any leftover glaze in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can freeze it for up to 6 months.

Marye's Tip o' the day

Always brush the glaze on during the last few minutes of cooking to prevent it from burning and to get that perfect sticky finish.

💭 Insider tips: things to know

  1. For a thicker glaze, simmer it longer to reduce and concentrate the flavors.
  2. This glaze also works wonders on roasted vegetables (try brussels sprouts!) for a sweet-savory side dish.
  3. If you’re short on time, you can make the glaze ahead and store it in the fridge.

👩‍🍳 Let's answer those questions: FAQs

Have other questions? Ask me in the comments!

Can I use diet Dr Pepper?

Nope. The flavor will be off and it won't reduce and get sticky.

Can I make this glaze ahead of time?

Sure! Make it up to a week ahead of time and store it in the fridge in a canning jar or other airtight container.

⏲️ Marye's time saving hacks -

Make a double batch and freeze half for later. This way, you’ll always have some on hand for a quick and easy meal addition!

📚 More Southern comfort: related recipes you'll love

  • A seasoned steak in an enamel dish ready to cook.
    Cocoa Cardamom Steak Rub
  • A wooden spoon dipped in thick, rich mole sauce.
    30-Minute Mole Sauce
  • A small jar of homemade chili powder.
    Chili Powder with Ancho from Scratch
  • Garlic butter in small white bowl.
    Easy Garlic Butter Spread

🍽️ No waste: creative ways to repurpose leftovers

Use the Dr Pepper glaze as a base for a tangy barbecue sauce or mix it into ground meat for a delicious meatloaf.

📞 Wrapping it up: the last word

This Dr Pepper glaze for ham is amazing with chicken, fish, pork, and just about any other grilled meat so don't just have it once a year.

So this recipe is dedicated to all of you Peppers out there. Remember, 10-2-4.

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.

If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 Recipe

Overhead view of a chicken breast with a sticky dr. pepper glaze.

Dr Pepper Glaze for Ham, Chicken, or Pork

4.89 from 9 votes
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You'll love this irresistible Dr Pepper glaze! Perfect for baking ham, grilling, roasting, or as a dipping sauce, this sweet and savory glaze is easy to make with just a few simple ingredients. It's perfect for summer cookouts, weeknight dinners, and holiday meals.
Course Sauce
Cuisine American - Southern
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes minutes
Servings:12 servings
Calories:98
Author:Marye Audet-White

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces Dr Pepper
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup (scant) balsamic vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon cloves
  • ½ teaspoon cardamom
  • 1 tablespoon sriracha, may omit or use less if desired
  • 1 cup onion, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped

Instructions

  • Mix Dr Pepper, onion, garlic, spices (except sriracha) and sugar in a heavy saucepan.
  • Bring to a boil and then allow to reduce by ½, stirring often.
  • Add the balsamic and sriracha and continue to simmer until the mixture thickens and gets syrupy.
  • Taste and adjust flavor.
  • Either strain or use as is.
  • Brush on meat before and during grilling, roasting, or baking.
  • Watch it carefully, because of the high sugar content this will burn easily.

Notes

Refrigerate unused glaze for up to a week or freeze for up to 6 months.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 98kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 0.03g | Saturated Fat: 0.01g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.003g | Sodium: 42mg | Potassium: 60mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 0.3mg

Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.

First published March 22, 2011. Last updated July 12, 2024 for editorial improvements and readability.

✍🏻 A note from Marye...

I know y'all don't always like the stories bloggers tell so when I have one I try to put it at the very bottom so you can read or skip as you like.

I know I mentioned a week or so ago that several of my children had inherited the Dr Pepper gene. The one that seemed to get it the strongest is my eldest, Erin.Not only is she addicted to Dr Pepper in a big way she is a big fan of anything remotely Dr Pepper-fied, including a small Texas town called Dublin.

(Update. The Dr Pepper Co. closed Dublin down and lost a lot of loyal fans. Stupid big business. Anyway, you can still get Dr Pepper made with sugar but you'll have to look for it.)

Dublin has the oldest Dr Pepper bottling plant in the world but more than that it is the only bottling plant that refused to cave to pressure in the 1970s and begin using corn syrup. It still uses pure cane sugar as the sweetener and because of that Dublin Dr Pepper just tastes... amazing.

Overhead view of a chicken breast with a sticky dr. pepper glaze.

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About Marye

Meet Marye Audet, a wizard in the kitchen and a storyteller at heart. Marye is like your eccentric but fun aunt who knows all the secret recipes and isn't afraid to spill them.

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Marye Audet-White, founder of Restless Chipotle Media

Hey Y'all, I'm Marye

Welcome to my kitchen! ☕

NY Times bestselling author. 10 cookbooks. Mom of 8 kids. Homeschooling mom for 22 years. Addicted to Hallmark Christmas Movies. Collector of old cookbooks.

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