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The Truth about BBQ Sauce
Daily India ^ | March 02, 2006 | Owen Miller

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.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bbq; dixie; food; notnews; q; sauce; tothechatroom; wrongforum; yum
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To: LeeHarvey
I'm extremely late to this thread and I wasn't aware Boardroom was gone. I can, however, give you a couple recommendations for alternative sauces.

Gates Fiorella's and, possibly, the closest match to Boardroom, but they don't list an online menu (perhaps you could sweettalk them into sending you some :))... Hayward's Pit

261 posted on 06/07/2006 12:40:30 AM PDT by hmmmmm
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To: RunningWolf

It has a normal room temperature of farenheit 451.


262 posted on 06/07/2006 9:39:46 AM PDT by groanup (Shred For Ian)
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To: Restorer
No Native Americans in Germany where I lived in the 60's and those Germans had somthing cookd on the grill called spitz braten Tasted just like my south Texas German relitives BBQ?
263 posted on 06/07/2006 9:52:40 AM PDT by BellStar (God makes a promise, faith believes it, hope anticipates it, patience quietly awaits it.)
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To: BellStar

I suspect grilling meat over fire goes back just about to the invention of fire, and that people would spice and season the meat as they developed or found seasonings.

That the whole process was "invented" by the Indians and then stolen by whitey is just ludicrous.


264 posted on 06/07/2006 9:55:38 AM PDT by Restorer
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To: stainlessbanner
Support diversity: Mustard-based, Ketchup-based, Vinegar-based....

Absolutely! And a few others (like my secret 'proprietary' sauces/rubs) not mentioned.

265 posted on 06/07/2006 10:03:10 AM PDT by Bernard Marx (Fools and fanatics are always certain of themselves, but the wise are full of doubts.)
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To: garyhope
jalapeno peppers! Make sure to have a cold beverage handy to put out the fire!

As they were only jalapeno there would be no need to put out the mild fire.

You're correct about the milk. Plain white rice also works to reduce the burn if using a true hot pepper.

266 posted on 06/07/2006 10:04:17 AM PDT by ASA Vet (Those who know don't talk. Those who talk don't know.)
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To: garyhope
Be careful of cutting up peppers. Don't touch them barehanded and then touch any part of your eyes or face without washing your hands well before.

Guys, there are other parts of your body you shouldn't touch after handling hot peppers. Hint: if you're drinking beer, relieve your bladder BEFORE doing the peppers. Then wash your hands very thoroughly after they contact the peppers! I'm passing on to the Brotherhood painfully-learned knowledge.

267 posted on 06/07/2006 10:16:36 AM PDT by Bernard Marx (Fools and fanatics are always certain of themselves, but the wise are full of doubts.)
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To: groanup
Its so volatile they copied it for rocket fuel.
268 posted on 06/07/2006 5:14:10 PM PDT by RunningWolf (Vet US Army Air Cav 1975)
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To: RunningWolf

They tried using it for rocket fuel but it melted the fuel tanks.


269 posted on 06/07/2006 5:53:07 PM PDT by groanup (Shred For Ian)
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To: stainlessbanner

Really hate to burst the BBQ bubble because I like BBQ so much.

But a perfectly acceptable BBQ sauce can be made from mixing either Pepsi and catsup or Coca Cola and catsup.


270 posted on 06/07/2006 5:55:32 PM PDT by righttackle44 (The most dangerous weapon in the world is a Marine with his rifle and the American people behind him)
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To: stainlessbanner

I'm partial to Carolina style, pulled.

"barbecue
1657, from Amer.Sp. barbacoa, from Arawakan (Haiti) barbakoa "framework of sticks," the raised wooden structure the Indians used to either sleep on or cure meat. Originally "meal of roasted meat or fish," modern popular noun sense of "grill for cooking over an open fire" is 1931. "http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=b&p=2


271 posted on 06/07/2006 6:03:22 PM PDT by mrsmith
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To: Bernard Marx

Thank you for your smart and careful reply and hint. Good idea.


272 posted on 06/07/2006 9:11:10 PM PDT by garyhope
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