BBQ Sauce favs/recipes

Let's hear em

I am listening but I cannot quite hear them.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

That's a good one Sundancer!

But I'd say of the BBQ places I've been too, I'd pick Sonny Bryan's in Dallas.
Can't vote on a bottled one-don't use 'em.

Maynerd, I know you make it down to Austin some. Have you ever tried the Salt Lick? It's the most unique and tasty sauce I've ever had.

This is a regional thing(south), but there is a sauce called John Boy and Billy's grillin' sauce that is very good. Has hint of citrus. Not too sweet. Available in both mild and hot.

My fave BBQ "sauce" is a perfectly balanced dry rub. This is true of a slab of brisket or a rack of ribs. Sometimes I will sauce a plate of pulled or chopped Q meat if I think the meat is too dry, as it often can be.

Check ot the recipes in Bob Garner's book on North Carolina Barbeque and you'll see the difference between eastern NC and western NC pork Q. The sauces I can make with these recipes are as good as any I can buy (except for the sauce that Honey Monk sells at the old Lexington # 1 in Lexington, NC)

quote:

Originally posted by fdm813

This is a regional thing(south), but there is a sauce called John Boy and Billy's grillin' sauce that is very good. Has hint of citrus. Not too sweet. Available in both mild and hot.

I've seen that in the stores but can't stand those 2 so I passed. :) To tell the truth not sure I'd like since (citrus - ??).

I will say this: I can't stand KC or bullseye. They overpower the meat. Surprisingly some of the cheaper sauces I've found to be very good and reliable, such as Krafts.

Hillbilly, I happened to have Bob Garner's recipe for Lexington Dip typed in Word. It follows:

Lexington, North Carolina Style “Dip”
There are a thousand variations of this type sauce. You can follow the basic proportions shown here, then bring your own creativity into play.

3 cups apple-cider vinegar

2/3 cup brown or white sugar

½ cup catsup

2 tablespoons Texas Pete hot sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons Kitchen Bouquet browning sauce

Combine all ingredients in large pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and stir until sugar melts. Let sit for several hours before serving over chopped or sliced pork shoulder. May be stored in tightly sealed container without refrigeration.

Recipe from North Carolina Barbecue: Flavored by Time by Bob Garner. Published in 1996 by John F. Blair, Publisher, Winston–Salem, North Carolina.

Here's a fairly typical recipe for the style of sauce favored for barbecue in eastern North Carolina:

EAST CAROLINA BBQ SAUCE
Here is how many folks in the South/East prepare a barbecue sauce.

2 cups cider vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

In a glass jar, combine all ingredients. Close the lid and shake vigorously. Let stand for several hours, preferably in the sun. Store in a cool dry place.

Recipe from Les Kincaid

quote:

Originally posted by kangolpimp

My fave BBQ "sauce" is a perfectly balanced dry rub. This is true of a slab of brisket or a rack of ribs. Sometimes I will sauce a plate of pulled or chopped Q meat if I think the meat is too dry, as it often can be.

I agree kangolpimp. 'Slathered in sauce' is a derogatory phrase in my usage. Since becoming aware of the smoked meats approach to bbq of the Central Texas meat markets, I always order sauce on the side. Some of those places don't even offer sauce.

Guy's Meat Market is a place in Houston that does better than average but not great cue. They have a rather peppery sauce that I get on the side but the real secret to making their cue better is their own rub, which they use too little of. I have a shaker of it at home; sprinkle a little on their cue when you get it home (there are no tables at the market) and it's almost as good as the cue at Kreutz in Lockhart.

JimInKy - thanks for the recipes.

Extra Billy's BBQ sauce sold by the pint at Extra Billy's restaurant in Richmond, Virginia. I buy it by the case !

quote:

Originally posted by BR2

Originally posted by fdm813



I will say this: I can't stand KC or bullseye. They overpower the meat.

Agreed. I think some people eat barbeque mainly for the sauce .

I wonder when the trend to 'spicy,' 'bold,' 'thick 'n hearty' started? I've eaten a couple of times recently at Vencik's Smokehouse in East Bernard, TX (great sausages). Their sauce is very old fashioned, thin and mild. It moistens the meat and adds nuances of flavor without overpowering.

Re: my earlier reply to kangolpimp, tho: their sausage is awesome but their brisket is a little boring. I'm going to start taking along my shaker of Guys BBQ Rub .

Sauce...so many recipes...so little room!!

Rather than post all my faves...let me link them here.....

http://www.recipegoldmine.com/bbqguru/bbqguru.html

For those that don't care for the sauce to be smothering the meat, try this glaze. It is from Danny Gaulden and I have had lots of success with using it instead of sauce.

Rib Glaze

1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup prepared mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

I like using it on ribs especially......brush this stuff on and then return to the smoker for about 30 minutes or so. Those ribs will just shine!

Stogie

I am partial to "Mr. Stubbs" sauce and mopping sauce. I recently tried his marinade for steaks and it was fantastic.

Stubb's is good--i also like Head County--hot or mild--both good---both simple and cheap to boot. Other then that---my own is good---but it is rarely the same as the ;ast one i did! Good cue dosent need alto of sauce so i always get it on the side---hard to trust a que that i cant see without it swimming in sauce!Always DIP or spread on bread. Even the subleest sauce will overpower meats if they overdone. And to all my friends in Northern California that think sauce is applied to chicken as you cook it over coals----thats NOT barbeque---thats grilled blaclened fowl---or as we so lovingly referred to it in the park system---Burnt bird!

I went to the legendary Tunnel BBQ in Windsor Ontario and while I found the meat (ribs and chicken) was dry and non-exciting, not to mention cooked on a gas-flame rotisserie, the three sauces were truly great - the best part of the meal was when I was sitting around waiting and sampling the sauces with bread and these good homemade crackers they had.

I don't know what was in the sauce at Dreamland in Alabama, but the combination of the melt-in-your mouth ribs and sauce was......heavenly.
When I make ribs at home I make Desperado Sauce to slather on them. The secret ingredient is chipotles in adobo. It kicks up the sauce quite a bit!

Brown Sugar BBQ in Houston had the best sauce I ever tasted. It was slightly sweet, and it was so smooth you could drink it straight. There is still one location left at Greenspoint, but I haven’t been there in a coon’s age. They also did a killer peach cobbler with Blue Bell HMV on top.

Some Recipes for Eastern Carolina Style Barbecue Sauce

This vinegar and red pepper style sauce is preferred by many residents of the easternmost areas of North and South Carolina. It is generally added to pulled or chopped pork before serving. There are many variations of this simple sauce. Here are a few.

From Cole’s Cooking Companion Series:

1 cup cider vinegar
2 T crushed red pepper
1 t hot pepper sauce

Place ingredients in a glass container. Cover and shake until combined. Keep refrigerated.

From John Willingham’s World Champion Bar-B-Q:

Lee Kincaid’s South Carolina Barbecue Sauce:

2 cups cider vinegar
1 T freshly ground black pepper
1 T cayenne pepper
1 T vegetable oil
1 T Worchestershire sauce
1 t kosher salt
hot pepper sauce to taste

In a glass or ceramic bowl, combine everything but hot pepper sauce. Set aside at room temperature for an hour to give flavors time to blend. Season w/hot sauce. Can refrigerate up to one week. .

From The New Southern Cookbook:

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 quarts white vinegar
2 cups apple cider vinegar
3 T hot red pepper flakes
juice of 1 large lemon
2 t salt
1 t freshly ground black pepper

Add all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan; bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat. Simmer slowly for 11/2-2 hours. Set sauce aside until ready to use.

Collected by JimInKy, Aug.1997

Here's what Bob Garner wrote about eastern North Carolina barbeque sauces in his 2002 book, Bob Garner’s Guide to North Carolina Barbecue.

“Barbecue in the coastal plain is seasoned with its historic sauce of vinegar, water, salt, black pepper, and both finely ground and crushed red pepper. There are thousands of variations on this basic mixture, and a particular asuce may have a dozen other “secret” spices, but the main taste sensation is of hot, salty vinegar. A true eastern sauce not only contains no tomato ketchup or paste but also has no added sugar, molasses, corn syrup, or other sweeteners. Some coastal-plain cooks do add sugar to smooth out a “table” sauce or a dipping sauce for the chunks of meat pulled off at a pig picking. But they usually omit the sweetener from the sauce used both for basting the pig as it cooks and for seasoning chopped barbecue.”

I looked at a page on a North Carolina bbq Web site not long ago and was amazed at the myriad variations on the eastern style sauce.

OK, I've mentioned it many times, but my fav is the Dinosaur BBQ Sensuous Slathering Sauce. Its a sweet and tangy red sauce, available on-line at www.dinosaurbarbque.com. There is a recipe published for it in their cookbook, also available on-line.

quote:

Originally posted by clothier

quote:

Originally posted by Rhodes

I went to the legendary Tunnel BBQ in Windsor Ontario and while I found the meat (ribs and chicken) was dry and non-exciting, not to mention cooked on a gas-flame rotisserie, the three sauces were truly great - the best part of the meal was when I was sitting around waiting and sampling the sauces with bread and these good homemade crackers they had.

did you eat the sauce on the fries? If you didn't, now you have a reason to go back.

Not only did I eat the sauce on the fries, I was pretty much ready to bathe in it Plus I took home a jar of the hot and that kept me happily grilling at home for a while.

quote:

Originally posted by olphart

Brown Sugar BBQ in Houston had the best sauce I ever tasted. It was slightly sweet, and it was so smooth you could drink it straight. There is still one location left at Greenspoint, but I haven’t been there in a coon’s age. They also did a killer peach cobbler with Blue Bell HMV on top.

I miss that place. It was so good, I do not understand why the one near Almeda mall closed. I had such fond memories of that place, including stopping to eat there before we left to go on our honeymoon years ago. You are right, the peach cobbler was the best! The place on Almeda was always full of cops, and that is usually a good sign. What happened?

I always thought they had the best in Houston. I didn't know they had one in the Greenspoint area. hmmmm

btw- My daughter wanted to eat lunch at Luther's last weekend after we had been shopping. . They dumped so much of that sickly sweet sauce on everything it was almost inedible. I had not been to one in a long time, and it will be a longer time before I go back!

Has anyone tried the sauce out of NC called "Bone Sucking Sauce?"

I was down on the Outer Banks years ago when I came across this and bought it due to the unique name. It definitely lives up to that name!

Now, I can find it here in Eastern PA at several shops.

It comes in several varieties (regular, hot, thick) and they even have other sauces as well including one called Hickup'n Hot Sauce that is not bad if you like it hot!

Lethal Love,
2 Habeneros
Tbls. Dry ground black mustard seed
Tbls. Honey
Tbls. Worsechester Sauce
1 dried and ground fig
1 dried and ground cerrano pepper
16 oz. pureed tomato sauce, seedless
Basil diced
Cilantro diced
1 can of tecate beer

Boil for half hour and then low simmer for about an hour. Awesome. Very good with Brisket, chicken, whatever, but be careful of the next day burn if you know what i am talking about..

My favorites are any of the sauces put out by Big Bob Gibson's up in Decatur, AL along with Head country mild. There is another new one coming out that I think will be a keeper also but I can't say anything yet about it.

John

Rib Dog, a Huntsville friend brought me two bottles of Big Bob Gibson's red sauce a couple years ago, and I liked it very much. I could see how it won a national sauce competition. I may be visiting the Decatur, Alabama store the last week in February.

Incidentally, I just watched an interview with the family operating that store in a documentary on Alabama bbq produced by Alabama public television. An Alabama friend taped it in November and mailed it to me.

All this talk of regional, commercial-made BBQ sauce begs the following question directed to Road Food's veterans here:

Has this site ever generated a swap-n-shop ?

Now before clothier posts his wife's "capabilities statement," I'm talking food products here. Say... where I, in Virginia, could mail and swap a bottle of Richmond, Virginia's Extra Billy's BBQ Sauce for a bottle of Houston's Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce secured by olphart ?

Just a gastronomically-salacious thought.

quote:

Originally posted by JimInKy

Rib Dog, a Huntsville friend brought me two bottles of Big Bob Gibson's red sauce a couple years ago, and I liked it very much. I could see how it won a national sauce competition. I may be visiting the Decatur, Alabama store the last week in February.

Incidentally, I just watched an interview with the family operating that store in a documentary on Alabama bbq produced by Alabama public television. An Alabama friend taped it in November and mailed it to me.

I'm jealous that you will be there next month. Make sure you try some of their skoked turkey along with everything else. And definitely try some of their homemade pies which are made fresh daily.

BTW, I get my sauce from them now in gallon size jugs. It is a really good deal for those that use a lot. Also, try some of their backyard mustard sauce and the habanero sauce. Both are tops in my opinion.

Have a great time. Ask if Chris Lilly is available. He is the pitmaster. Introduce yourself and tell him RibDog said to say hi.

John