There's nothing quite as delicious as slow-cooked meat with just the right sauce. In many parts of the country, barbecuing pork, chicken or beef can approach a religious experience, so complementing that with the right sauce can be quite important. There are many brands available at your local grocery store, but for just the right balance of spice, sweet and tang, try making your own sauce at home.
Vinegar-Based Sauces
BBQ pork is essentially the signature dish of Virginia and the Carolinas. There, the pork is slow cooked and then "pulled" (pulled apart and all bones removed) and served with a vinegary sauce. These sauces are known for being tangy and thin. The ideal sauce will include a lot of vinegar (often cider), black pepper, chili peppers, salt and a little sugar. A ratio of 16 to 1 for vinegar to sugar is a good guide. To get the optimal taste, make the sauce several hours ahead of time and then let it sit in the fridge to give the flavors time to meld. Vinegar-based sauces should be served warm, on the side; they should not be basted on during the long cooking process.
Tomato-Based Sauces
Tomato based sauces are the most well-known type of barbecue sauce. They commonly include tomato sauce or ketchup, sugar, salt and spices; you'll also sometimes see corn syrup and Worcestershire sauce on the ingredient list. Most tomato-based sauces are basted on the meat just before it's taken off the grill and then served on the side for those who would like to add more. Make sure not to baste too early or it is likely to burn and lose all of its flavor impact.
There are a wide range of flavors to consider when creating a tomato-based sauce. Kansas Citians tend to sweeten it with a generous dollop of molasses and cook it until it's thick; Georgians add several ounces of bourbon to the traditional ingredients. Finally, the folks in Texas are known for adding a bit of extra heat to their sauces, so cayenne pepper should go in with a heavy hand. As a result of all this regional variation, tomato-based barbecue sauces can range from mild to spicy, thin to thick and medium sweet to sweet. You'll need to experiment until you find the perfect balance for your palette.
Mustard-Based Sauces
There's some speculation that mustard-based sauces were developed by German immigrants in the Carolinas. Regardless of who created them, they go quite well with barbecue. The best mustard-based sauce will include a lot of mustard (yellow or brown), a bit of vinegar, a small amount Worcestershire, black pepper, salt and garlic (powder or crushed). This type of sauce is not sweet, but creates a much more tangy/spicy flavor. As with the vinegar-based sauces, mustard-based sauces should be served on the side and not basted on as the meat cooks.
Tags: basted meat, black pepper, just right, mustard-based sauces, right sauce
