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BBQ Sauce

3K views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  pete 
#1 ·
What's your poison? Do you want to share your secret sauce with us? How about when you don't feel like making it, is there a store-bought kind you reach for? I don't have a one-sauce that I make, I try different recipes for different things although I would lay claim to my family's North Carolina style vinegar/mustard based sauce for pulled pork in a heart beat.

This article lists some top favorites, none of which I've tried and none of which I'm jonesing to try based on their ingredient lists. https://www.tastingtable.com/cook/n...organic&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

When I'm not making my own I'm buying Bone Suckin' Sauce. It's not terribly sweet, and it has pronounceable ingredients. No sugar - it gets its sweetness and flavor from honey and molasses. I really like the stuff.
 
#3 ·
What's your poison? Do you want to share your secret sauce with us? I try different recipes for different things although I would lay claim to my family's North Carolina style vinegar/mustard based sauce for pulled pork in a heart beat.
Here in Eastern North Carolina, using anything other than vinegar/pepper based sauce is heresy. I like a blend of cider, malt, and wine vinegar with a mixture of white and black pepper and assorted chilis. whatever the sauce, less is more. with some of the sweet sauces on the market, i could serve an old shoe and most folks would say they love the flavor but it is kinda tough.
 
#4 ·
"whatever the sauce, less is more.  with some of the sweet sauces on the market, i could serve an old shoe and most folks would say they love the flavor but it is kinda tough."

Real "Q" dont need no sauce!   Last weekend did a 9 hour smoke on a brisket here at the house! yum!

A good dry rub for burnt ends too!
 
#6 · (Edited)
I grew up in the South and absolutely love love love BBQ and BBQ sauce. BBQ sauce is my guilty pleasure. My dream has always been to open a BBQ palapa on a tropical beach. Paper plates, 3 entrees (chicken, pork seafood), 3 sauces, 3 sides, beverage cooler, trashcan, grill, and me.

I don't buy BBQ sauce, too much sugar and/or corn syrup, etc. for my lifestyle. I almost never make it the same way twice. Some I have made in the past, besides traditional, are root beer...mango...chocolate...tamarind...

This thread got me going for some BBQ, so when I was town I bought the ingredients for sauce, now I just need to get my honey-do list out of the way so I can move on to more important things like BBQ sauce. :~) My wife grew up in California, so she just doesn't understand!!!
 
#9 ·
@summer57 Korean BBQ is not to be discounted! I'd like to venture into that myself here at home. Though I don't really consider bulgogi a bbq sauce, is it? But if you're not familiar with American BBQ I think you would enjoy it. There are so many different kinds from different regions. It's truly the only real homegrown American food we have and well worth the venture.
 
#10 ·
I guess the first thing is define BBQ.  to me it is meat cooked over a wood/charcoal fire.  Here is NC it is mostly pork, in South Dakota it is mostly beef.  both places do chicken.   beef steaks, chicken, and pork loin/tenderloin are usually cooked over a hot fire quickly.  brisket or pork shoulder is cooked over a low fire for 6 to 12 hours.  for me, a gas flame doesn't do much.  as i said above, I don't like a lot of sauce.
 
#12 ·
Me I prefer a tomato based sauce using ketchup, cider vinegar, b.sugar or molasses, worch sauce, and toss in 1T some or your homemade rub and tad cayanne... heat to marry. I will slather ribs in mustard prior to rub and smoker, breaks down the coligen. We have scored well in a few comps with this sauce
 
#13 ·
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This is a BBQ sauce that one of my mentors made. We cooked BBQ and other things together for many years. I use store bought tomato based sauce some but I always have a good supply of John's Hot Sauce for Pig. John was a character, During WWII they made him turn in his horse and he became a glider pilot. Once he was dropped behind enemy lines in France and liberated a Winery. He waited for two weeks there for the lines to reach his position.

John's Hot Sauce For Pig.

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup red pepper
1 cup black pepper
1/2 cup white pepper
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup salt
3 Tablespoons allspice
1/2 cup dry mustard
1 gallon vinegar

Simmer 20 minutes. Best if aged.
 
#14 ·
@summer57 Korean BBQ is not to be discounted! I'd like to venture into that myself here at home. Though I don't really consider bulgogi a bbq sauce, is it? But if you're not familiar with American BBQ I think you would enjoy it. There are so many different kinds from different regions. It's truly the only real homegrown American food we have and well worth the venture.
Yes, Bulgogi sauce comes in a jar and can easily be used as BBQ sauce. You can get a version for beef, and another for pork. Spicy, sweet, complex, lots of umami. Thinner than the usual bbq sauce but packs a punch. The little container next to the jars of bulgogi sauce is gochujang, which I add to my bbq sauce.


I've had American-style BBQ n Vancouver (ok, I know it's not the South!) and while travelling, but around here, shops with Chinese-style BBQ are hugely popular. I've seen people line up down the block during busy times to take home char siu pork belly, duck, etc. My South African friend loves a Braai! which is another thing again.

No matter where you are, Barbecue is something we all love!
 
#18 ·
For me, it all depends on what I am cooking and what my mood is.  Brisket never gets sauce, and also just gets a very simple rub of salt, pepper and a little garlic.  Pulled pork, I usually prefer with a North Carolina style vinegar sauce (although I do add a bit of brown sugar to mine-not much, just a bit) as I find it helps cut the fattiness-meaning I can eat even more.  When it comes to ribs, I usually, but not always prefer a tomato based sauce which gets altered significantly to suit my mood; maybe really sweet, maybe super spicy, maybe tangy, or maybe even Asian influenced.  Or the ribs just might get a really good rub and no sauce.  Chicken will sometimes get a "regular" bbq sauce (meaning similar to stuff bought at the store) but more often it is either naked or done in a fiery jerk.
 
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