Barbeque Sauce

[Shelley G.]

I am on a panel of judges for a barbeque sauce competition in my community (the local press gang wouldn't take no for an answer) I love the stuff, but would also love your thoughts on what are the vital attributes of a really great sauce - complexity, heat etc.

[Jimbones]

I am on a panel of judges for a barbeque sauce competition in my community (the local press gang wouldn't take no for an answer) I love the stuff, but would also love your thoughts on what are the vital attributes of a really great sauce - complexity, heat etc.

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Shelly:

I am attaching an outline of how barbecue sauces are made and composed. It may help in your evaluation. Personally, I look for a balance of the basic flavor elements: Sweet, Salty, Sour, Bitter and Savory(Umami)...in addition, heat should be balanced in the mouth as well.

[MarketStEl]

Looks like the outline didn't make it: this is a bulletin board rather than an e-mail listserv, and it's not possible to post "attachments" on bulletin boards.

That said, it seems to me that the dominant flavor profiles in most good barbecue sauces are sour and sweet, followed by unami, with saltiness and especially bitterness taking a back seat to the first three. Heat or "spiciness" can vary, though once again, most of the good sauces have a touch of it at least--certainly more than is found in most of the major supermarket brands, all of which have sweetness as the dominant note, sometimes overwhelmingly so.

I think this has more than a little to do with the most popular sauce bases: tomatoes, vinegar and (in a certain region of North Carolina) mustard.

Vinegar, of course, is sour at its base, though some varieties (apple cider, rice, balsamic) add sweetness to the mix. The few vinegar-based sauces I've had are a little more pungent and fiery than the tomato-based sauces (I've yet to try a mustard-based sauce); in these cases, it was probably because hot sauce was another major ingredient.

Tomatoes are acidic like vinegar but sweeter, and tomato-based sauces do incorporate salt to balance out that sweetness. Then most of them add sweetness of a different kind through the use of sugar, molasses or brown sugar, which is a mix of refined white sugar and molasses. Tomato-based sauces should also have a noticeable sour element through the use of vinegar or lemon juice, and the really good ones will have a touch of heat from ground peppers of varying types (not from hot sauce).

Ultimately, the sauce and the meat should complement each other. Sweeter sauces can go well with some meats, but on the whole, I find sweet sauces somewhat overwhelming compared to the more balanced types.

IMO, a really good sauce will have a hint of sweetness but not too much; a balance of savory, sour and salty; and not much bitterness at all. It should have at least a smidgen of heat as well, or maybe more.

[Gifted Gourmet]

American barbecue sauces are most likely to be characterized by the regions from which they originate:

North Carolina is usually vinegary, sweet, and thin... unlike tomato-based sauces, this dual-purpose sauce tenderizes during the cooking process without burning... adds flavor when squeezed over North Carolina’s meat of choice – pork.

South Carolina a yellow, mustard-style sauce... served with pork and even barbecue hash.

Memphis tomato, vinegar, and mustard-based sauce... served on the side with slow-cooked, spice-rubbed ribs.

Texas huge flavors from sweet and spicy tomato-based sauces ... hot red pepper-based vinegar sauces give Texas-style brisket and ribs a kick.

Kansas City

sweet, thick with slight heat and a punch of smoke...perfect for ribs, chicken and vegetables.

Hope this helps a little in your barbecue judging ... what does one look for in your neck of the woods in terms of a sauce, Shelley?

[MarketStEl]

Kansas City

sweet, thick with slight heat and a punch of smoke...perfect for ribs, chicken and vegetables.

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I will note here that Kansas City sauces are sweeter than the other types listed here, but the Kansas City sauces found on supermarket shelves outside the area are sweeter by far than the most popular sauces in Kansas City itself. KC Masterpiece--the first Kansas City-style sauce that achieved nationwide distribution*--seems to have set the bar very high on the sweetness scale, and other national producers of Kansas City-style sauce have followed its lead. The sauces I brought back from my most recent visit--Gates', a longtime favorite whose recipe I posted to RecipeGullet, Cowtown and Fiorella's Jack Stack--are more pungent and smokier than KC Masterpiece.

Edited to add: Come to think of it, I think the true signal of the co-opting of Kansas City-style barbecue sauce by the sugar lobby was that Gates' now produces a "Sweet & Mild" barbecue sauce, which I purchased when last in town but have not yet tasted. Gates' has traditionally been among the spicier KC sauces, even in its "Original Classic" version, which the recipe I posted on eGullet approximates. I prefer Extra Hot myself.

*Actually, most of the major national brands are closer to Kansas City or Texas style than they are to any other, and some KC sauces would not be out of place at all at a Texas BBQ and vice versa.

Edited August 8, 2006 by MarketStEl (log)

[Bill Miller]

Buy a jar of thick "Bone Suckin Sauce" and judge all the others by that. I can't make any better than that, so I quit trying. I really only use it ribs. Good brisket needs no sauce.

[Shelley G.]

This is all extremely helpful - I am always appreciative of the consistently thoughtful responses to questions of any sort on egullet. The barbeque sauce competition is part of a weekend-long blues festival here in Nova Scotia. I lived for several years in Texas and have adored barbeque in Tennessee as well, so I am probably a bit biased in favour of those two regions. My partner happily noshes on barbeque in KC whenever possible, but I have yet to try. What you have said so far tallies perfectly with my thoughts on sauce, but I know that there will be lots of competitors, trying all sorts of things. One of the most gorgeous sauces I have tried in my travels involved a wee bit of herbes de Provence. Amazing.

[jayt90]

Some years ago I had a recipe that couldn't be beat but lost it in a house move.

It had the usual mix of tomatoes, onions, garlic, handful of fresh herbs, vinegar and molasses (not too much), simmered until slightly thickened. Then a quantity of butter was added (at least 1/4 cup, and the sauce was seasoned and brought to the boil to amalgamate the butter; cooled and strained through a food mill or chinois.

It was more savoury than sweet, and the butter content really helped in browning and crisping when basting.

[zoe b]

Gates', a longtime favorite whose recipe I posted to RecipeGullet

Marketstel--you are my total hero--I'm going to hunt this down immediately--I adore Gates' sauce--my daughter lived in KS briefly and I became hooked on it at that time--my stash of this sauce is depleted and I have not been able to duplicate it.

Zoe

[jsolomon]

I'm a fan of mustard sauces, especially ones with garlic and molasses, too.

There's just something about a sharp without a lot of sweet that I like.

[Jaymes]

A lot of the Texas joints prefer a very thin, vinegar- and chile-based hot sauce, more like Tabasco, than the thick, heavy sauces that come immediately to mind.

In fact, there's a current thread about Texas BBQ (Texas BBQ Road Trip) where the poster refers to a bottle of "contaminated water" on the table that to his surprise turned out to be the barbecue sauce.

Edited August 9, 2006 by Jaymes (log)