Posted on 03/02/2006 7:47:01 AM PST by stainlessbanner
Barbecue sauces have a uniquely Southern and Western U.S. history. Most experts agree that the practice of adding sauce and spices to meat and fish began early in our history, with Native Americans teaching the art to early European settlers. The natives probably developed the process as part of an attempt to keep meats and fish from spoiling quickly. Salt played a major role in those early barbecue sauces, and salt is a well-known preservative in the meat curing process.
Because the nations first European arrivals lived on the East Coast of America, that part of the country is credited with spawning the original barbecue sauce styles. First and foremost, there are the various Carolina barbecue sauces. The most widely known are East Carolina, Piedmont, and South Carolina varieties. East Carolina barbecue sauce consists of vinegar, salt, black pepper, and crushed or ground cayenne peppers. Its a very simple sauce that penetrates the meat nicely for a deep flavor. Piedmont barbecue sauce only varies from East Carolina in that it often includes molasses or Worcestershire sauce and thus clings to the meat more. South Carolina sauce is entirely different, using a mustard base instead, producing a much tangier and sharp flavor.
Then there is Memphis or Southern style barbecue sauce. This popular variety is typically more complicated (flavor-wise) and is built around mustard, tomato, and vinegar. Fans often point to the boldness of these flavor combinations as the hallmark of Memphis barbecue sauce. A saying often heard among hungry connoisseurs is no two bites alike.
Continuing our trek westward, we come to the acknowledged center of the barbecue universe Kansas City! Kansas City barbecue sauce is distinguished by its noticeably thicker consistency and emphasis on sweetness. Thats because this style of sauce is built upon thick tomato sauce, chunks of vegetables, and lots of sugar. Many popular commercial brands are based on this Kansas City recipe. It’s most popular among amateur backyard grillers because of the availability in grocery stores (Kraft, Heinz, K.C.s Masterpiece, etc.). And also because the thick sauce can be applied only once and enough will remain in place to please the happy recipients of the grilled meat.
Finally, there are the Texas barbecue sauce styles. Now, Texas is one big state, and there are several regional varieties within it. The most common include thick and spicy sauces that are essentially spicier variations on the Kansas City sauces. These are found mostly in the north and east sections of the state (Dallas). In western Texas, thinner sauces that feature hot peppers can be found. These sauces are often added only at the very end of the barbecuing or grilling process. And then, in southern Texas, the barbecue sauce of choice features an emphasis on Mexican spices and, of course, jalapeno peppers! Make sure to have a cold beverage handy to put out the fire!
Owen Miller is the town expert on barbecuing and on barbecue sauces to make you drool. To get the information you need to be the top barbecue sauce guru in your town, check out Owen's bbq sauce resource center at http://www.bbqsaucezone.com.
"I confess I like sweet cornbread if it's got corn in it."
I favor the regular, unsweetened cornbread. Probably because that's the kind I was raised on.
moppin up runny yolk....oh, yes!
I'm starved...in search of food.
"Only sweet ice tea!"
I get cavities just reading that phrase.
1st time I got tea in NC, I wasn't sure what I was drinking. LOL.
Unsweetened for me.
I'm having his 'mild' on a brisket sandwich as I type.
Real Q is never cooked with a sauce, though it is necessary to add some to a sandwich to moisten the bread, or to sliced Q sometimes to cover up the cooks failures.
And real Q is not pork.
So9
Live in Alexandria and remember when they opened. It isn't Lexington BBQ, but it is pretty good. Lee Atwater had an interest in the franchise. BTW, spoke with the owner of a new RH&B and discovered it takes $1 million to open one franchise. Shoosh, I remember Red Pigs in NC where the stack of wood was bigger than the resturant. They used to be built next to every mill to serve the workers. Man how things have changed.
And people say there isn't a God.
Finding good barbecue is like finding good Mexican food - just look for all the cars parked in front of the restaurant that seems like it's in immediate danger of falling down.
:-)
You say Q in the Carolinas people think pork, say it in Texas and people think beef.
At any given moment I've got 3-4 types of barbeque sauce in the fridge, some store bought, some homemade, and some store bought & modified by me. It's like a golf bag full of clubs, different meat, different cooking style, different sauce.
My preferences are - Vinegar sauces for pork, mustard sauces for poultry, and tomato, sweeter (sweeter is a relative term - not too sweet) for beef and shrimp.
Not gonna make my Best Nite Ever list, I assure you.
Then you throw in the $9 for a cup of beer at the concert. Lordy. They should have been giving the beer away as a consolation to us poor rednecks whose sole purpose was to escort our ladies. It certainly did guarantee that we weren't gonna tie one while we were there.
Did it remind you of ...... syrup?
(grin)
Whipped cream or meringue on that banana pudding?
Good way to describe it.
gate2wire, let me doctor up that sweet tea for you...a little lemon and a little mint, and you'll be all set.
There used to be one of those in Giddings when I went to high school in the late 60s. I think it was Melchor's Meat Market.
The floors had saw dust, the tables were plain wood and wax paper for plates. They had the best BBQ until they shut their doors.
That place was always crowded and the place looked awful. There were bricks falling out the wall, the doors had rope for hinges, etc.
Yep. Particularly those of us who prefer a thicker, sweeter sauce.
A thinner mop sauce keeps the meat from drying over the long cooking period where slathering on thick sauce creates a blackened crust as the liquids boil away and the sugar burns.
(I know YOU know this, that's just an explanation for lurkers :)
It also has the advantage of adding yet another flavor-layer.... flayer.... layfer. LOL!
You know what I mean!
:-) .
"Stamey's isn't so bad, really. I've always enjoyed eating there when in G'boro."
Head out to the "country" north of town and find a Short Sugar's BBQ. They're a favorite of mine (although I've not encountered many varieties in any part of the country that offend me, lol), nothing fancy at all but the 'que is unique and very tasty. They're something of a hybrid of western NC style and eastern NC style; the sauce is darker than typical with a balance of sweet and vinegar, slightly smokey.
"Head out to the "country" north of town and find a Short Sugar's BBQ. "
Thanks. The thing is that I enjoy all types of BBQ. I'm not stuck on just one. Wherever I am, I eat the BBQ that's available in that area. I like to try different things, and I generally find that it's all pretty darned good, especially in the smaller establishments that are so crowded you can hardly get in there.
It's all good!
Kind of rare to meet someone who drinks Cheerwine and Sundrop. Usually it's one or the other.
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