BBQ
Sauce. To some it is the sauce that makes it barbeque, to others,
like a fine wine it must blend with the meat, and to some it
is just a condiment. Stories have been told that folks will travel
hundreds of miles just to enjoy a good barbecue sauce. Whatever
BBQ sauce is to you, it is tradition to barbeque.
Barbeque sauce is undergoing a renaissance. Go through any grocery store, butcher, or barbeque supply and you're likely to see at least two to three dozen different barbeque sauces. We've collected some 39 barbeque sauce recipes alone. Some are yellow, some are brown, most are red, some are hot, some are sweet, some are thick, some are thin, there's no limit to the combination of flavors. (You can even find enjoyment in reading the labels, pigs, peppers, cows, fire, and again unlimited combinations.) So which one is right for your barbeque? It might just depend on where you or your family are from.
The earliest recorded recipe for barbeque sauce comes from the late 1700's around Revolutionary war times. It was a simple sauce - vinegar. Actually, it is not so much a sauce but rather a "dip" in which roasted pork (barbeque) was dipped into vinegar before eating. Later, the sauce (or dip) developed by adding water, a pinch of sugar, and red peppers to the basic core ingredient of vinegar. This is a "tidewater" barbeque sauce and still can be found along the eastern Carolina shores. As you move inland tomatoes and other spices were added to the vinegar sauce. A famous North Carolina sauce/dip lists vinegar, ketchup, water, spices and salt as it's ingredients (of course, getting the correct combination of ingredients is the secret). As barbecue sauce moved west, it changed. Crossing the Great Smoky Mtns. into Tennessee and Kentucky the sauce became sweeter, and with less vinegar. As the journey west continued, tomatoes, whether as whole, sauce, or ketchup, became the main ingredient, replacing vinegar. When BBQ sauce came to Texas, tomatoes were still the cheif ingredient, but now hot peppers - habaneros, jalapenos, chili powder, etc. became an important ingredient. Barbeque also changed from being pork, to beef. And, barbeque sauce became an integral component while cooking. Finally, as BBQ sauce kept on it's journey west it has become even more a menagerie of ingredients to include pureed mangoes, apple sauce, soy sauce, and exotic spices.
There is much debate on what is real barbeque, and the real barbeque sauce. Tidewater barbequer's will swear that tomatoes do not belong in barbeque sauce. They complain that it burns and turns the meat black. Also, once tomatoes burn too long they leave a bitter taste which ruins the meat. (Sugars will also burn and leave the meat black.) Although now it is hard to find a barbeque sauce without tomatoes. Many barbeque affianados will say that BBQ sauce is only added to the meat when it is done and ready to eat, not pasted on while cooking to form a gooey, gloppy mess. Then there are others who say a good BBQ sauce needs to be sweet to balance the heat or smoke flavor. Others complain that if the sauce is too hot, you can't taste the meat. Who's right? Who's wrong? It all depends on where you learned barbeque.
As barbeque continues in popularity across the United States and the world, BBQ sauce is becoming an important component of barbeque. In almost every barbeque competition you can find a category for BBQ sauce. As you and others enjoy barbeque, the common questions are "What kind of sauce is this?", or "Do you make your own sauce?" Your sauce can be as simple or as complex as you make it. You decide which sauce is best for your barbeque. We believe the secret to a really great sauce is that perfect balance of the ingredients, not too much or too little. This comes through time and careful experimentation. You should know that BBQ sauces, their specific ingredients and amounts, are often very well kept secrets, and are treated like family heirlooms, passed on from generation to generation. So, don't always expect to get a recipe if you ask. To get you started on your own recipes, try making these BBQ sauces:
BBQ Sauce Recipes
We've added more BBQ sauce recipes to our downloadable recipe
book!
Now there's 60 different recipes!
Try these success tips when making your own BBQ sauce:
- Keep track of how much of each ingredient you add. Although it is fun to just add a bit of this and that, you'll never be able to accurately make that sauce again.
- If you have tomatoes in your sauce, be careful not to burn them while cooking your sauce they will leave a bitter taste.
- Burning or overcooking garlic will give your sauce a nutty flavor, rather than that truly garlic taste.
- Just like slow cooking meat, cooking your sauce with a low heat over time is better than quickly with high heat. Although many sauces recommend coming to a boil, I'd recommend slow heating.
- Recognize that as your sauce ages the spices will change in taste. The day after you make your sauce it may taste great, but then two weeks later it may taste bland.
- If possible, use fresh ingredients they will always taste better than old ingredients.
- Don't be afraid to add unusual ingredients, or ingredients that you enjoy, like orange marmalade, Dr. Pepper, grape juice, etc..
- To make a smooth sauce, strain it (when it is cool) after you are done cooking it.
- Try cooking the different ingredients for different amounts of time. For example, bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil and let it simmer an hour before adding the other ingredients.
- Refrigerate your sauce after cooking to keep it fresh and you healthy. And don't sample your sauce with your fingers or a cooking spoon.
- When cooking with a barbeque sauce, try to use the indirect method of barbeque to avoid burning the sauce on your meat which may make it unsightly, or bitter tasting.
