I love everything about BBQ!
I love to cook it, I love to smoke it, I love to eat it, heck I love looking at it, and there is nothing I enjoy more than a delicious sauce to finish off my home smoked BBQ with! Smoked meats by themselves are very good, but once you mop it with a sauce or finish off some pulled pork with a delicious sauce then it’s done. The cool part about BBQ is that there are several different kinds of sauces. From vinegar based to sweet to spicy to smoky, you name it and I’m sure there is a sauce out there for you.
Within the world of BBQ sauces there seems to be 3 that really stand out, the North Carolina Vinegar Based BBQ Sauce, the Traditional BBQ sauce — you can make this one smoky or sweet, and then South Carolina Mustard Based BBQ Sauce.
North Carolina BBQ Sauce
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups of apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup of packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon of hot sauce
- ½ cup of ketchup
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add the vinegar and brown sugar to a medium size pot and bring to a boil.
- Add in all of the other ingredients and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.
- Cool and serve.
There are also a few different variations on how to make these recipes, but the 3 that I created are pretty traditional. They all are delicious and would go great with a variety of meats and I recommend trying all of them and figuring out which sauce goes with which smoked protein. Once that that’s certain is that the North Carolina vinegar based sauce goes amazing on French fries! You’ll thank me later for that one!
Sweet BBQ Sauce
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups of ketchup
- 1/3 cup of honey
- ¼ cup of dark molasses
- ¾ cup of packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons of ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- 2/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add in all of the other ingredients and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.
- Cool and serve.
South Carolina Sauce
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups of yellow mustard
- ½ cup of honey
- ½ cup of brown sugar
- ¼ cup of ketchup
- 1 tablespoon of chili powder
- 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt
- ½ cup of apple cider vinegar
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add in all of the other ingredients and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.
- Cool and serve.
BBQ is all about testing and tuning until you find the perfect method that works for you. If you are looking for a great ribs recipe, then be sure to check out this Smoked Barbecue Baby Back Ribs Recipe.
