| Let's talk only about vinegar based barbecue sauce. | | | | those tomato sauces have a few more ingredients |
| How's that? | | | | and are also thicker. |
| You might think that this really narrows down the | | | | Vinegar is powerful stuff. It is acidic and will |
| choice of sauces. Yes and no. We have eliminated | | | | penetrate meat. It aids with tenderization and helps |
| tomato based sauces, sure, but that still leaves us | | | | to allow the pork to be pulled apart (vinegar based |
| with everything east of the Mississippi river. Let's get | | | | barbecue sauce is most often used with pulled pork). |
| out of Kansas City and head toward the east coast. | | | | Because of this characteristic, if the vinegar is |
| Lots of sauces have a combination of vinegar and | | | | flavored, it will also get flavor deep into the meat. By |
| tomato as a base. If we cut out everything but the | | | | using it early and often during smoking, the flavors |
| vinegar, that takes us all the way to North Carolina | | | | will intensify. |
| (actually eastern North Carolina). This is the home of | | | | A Simple Sample Recipe |
| the vinegar based barbecue sauce. From there, BBQ | | | | Here is a basic vinegar based BBQ sauce recipe. It |
| sauce recipes have less vinegar and more additional | | | | can be used as a marinade (before smoking), a mop |
| ingredients the farther away you travel (all the way | | | | sauce (used during smoking), a finishing sauce (applied |
| to back to Kansas City, where they use very little or | | | | at the end of smoking), or a dipping sauce (at the |
| no vinegar). | | | | table). This helps the meat stay moist, tenderizes it, |
| If we tried to create a map of the United States | | | | and flavors it. It's no wonder people keep using it. |
| showing the location of all the styles of BBQ sauce, | | | | 1 1/3 C cider vinegar |
| with all of the regional and local variations, it would | | | | 2/3 C water |
| look like a 1600s map of Indian tribes with all their | | | | 1 Tbl salt |
| associated bands. There would be hundreds of them | | | | 1 tsp chili powder |
| (maybe more). | | | | Something like this, or any other form of vinegar |
| Down to the Basics | | | | based barbecue sauce, should be made a day in |
| The most pure form of vinegar based barbecue | | | | advance, if possible. That gives the vinegar time to |
| sauce would be straight vinegar (preferably apple | | | | break down the seasonings and absorb them. |
| cider vinegar), with maybe a touch of salt and | | | | Remember that you control the flavors. Add your |
| pepper. Quite often it is flavored with some red | | | | favorite spices, change the type of vinegar, use |
| pepper flakes or a little cayenne pepper. | | | | more or less water... it's entirely up to you. You can |
| Unlike tomato based sauces, vinegar based BBQ | | | | even add things like tomato sauce, ketchup or |
| recipes are used at all stages of the cooking process. | | | | mustard. Just don't go overboard or you will end up |
| Tomato based sauces have sugars that can burn. | | | | back in Kansas City, with no vinegar, looking for a |
| They are normally used as a finishing sauce and | | | | different article. |
| added during the last minutes of smoking. Usually | | | | |