Barbecue sauce (also abbreviated as BBQ sauce) is a sauce used as a marinade, basting, condiment, or topping for meat cooked in the barbecue cooking style, including pork, beef, and chicken. It is a ubiquitous condiment in the Southern United States and is used on many other foods as well.[1]
Ingredients vary depending on area, but most include vinegar or tomato paste (or a combination) as a base, as well as a combination of onion powder, spices such as mustard and black pepper, and sweeteners such as sugar or molasses.
History[edit] Main article: Barbecue in the United StatesSome place the origin of barbecue sauce at the formation of the first American colonies in the 17th century.[2] References to the sauce start occurring in both English and French literature over the next two hundred years. South Carolina mustard sauce, a type of barbecue sauce, can be traced to German settlers in the 18th century.[3]
Early homemade barbecue sauces were made with vinegar, salt, and pepper. Sugar, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce started to be used in the 1920s, but after World War II, the quantity of sugar and the number of ingredients increased dramatically.[4]
The Georgia Barbecue Sauce Company of Atlanta advertised an early commercially produced barbecue sauce in 1909.[5] Heinz was the first major company to sell bottled barbecue sauce in 1940. Soon afterward, General Foods introduced "Open Pit". Kraft Foods only entered the market in around 1960, but with hey advertising, succeeded in becoming the market leader.[4] Kraft also started making cooking oils with bags of spice attached, supplying another market entrance of barbecue sauce.[6]
Variations[edit]Different geographical regions he allegiances to their particular styles and variations of barbecue sauce.
East Carolina[edit]Most American barbecue sauces can trace their roots to a sauce common in the eastern regions of North Carolina and South Carolina.[3] The simplest and the earliest, it was popularized by ensled Africans who also advanced the development of American barbecue, and originally was made with vinegar, ground black pepper, and hot chili pepper flakes. It is used as a "mopping" sauce to baste the meat while it is cooking and as a dipping sauce when it is served. "Thin, spicy, and vinegar based," it penetrates the meat and cuts the fats in the mouth, with a noticeably tarter flor than most other barbecue sauces.[7]
Western Carolina[edit]In Lexington and the Piedmont areas of western North Carolina, the sauce is often called a dip. It is similar to the East Carolina sauce with the addition of tomato paste, tomato sauce, or ketchup.[8]
South Carolina mustard sauce[edit]Part of South Carolina is known for its yellow barbecue sauces made primarily of yellow mustard, vinegar, sugar, and spices. This sauce is most common in a belt from Columbia to Charleston.[9][10]
Memphis[edit]Similar to the Western Carolina style, but using molasses as a sweetener and with additional spices. It is usually served as a dipping sauce, as Memphis-style barbecue is typically a dry rub.[11]
Kansas City[edit] Bottles of Maull's barbecue sauce, a commercial St. Louis–style barbecue sauceThick, reddish-brown, tomato-based, and made with sugar, vinegar, and spices. It evolved from the Western Carolina– and Memphis-style sauces but is thicker and sweeter and does not penetrate the meat as much as it sits on the surface.
Typical commercial barbecue sauce is based on the Kansas City style.[11]
Texas[edit]In some of the older, more traditional restaurants, the sauces are heily seasoned with cumin, chili peppers or chili powder, black pepper, and fresh onion, while using less tomato and sugar. They are medium thick and often resemble a thin tomato soup.[12] They penetrate the meat easily rather than sit on top. Bottled barbecue sauces from Texas are often different from those used in the same restaurants because they do not contain meat drippings.[13]
Alabama white sauce[edit]North Alabama is known for its distinctive white sauce, a mayonnaise-based sauce that also includes apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, and black pepper, which is used predominantly on chicken and pork.[14]
Brands and types of barbecue sauce[edit] Ah-So Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce HP BBQ Sauce Hunt's KC Masterpiece Kraft Maull's barbecue sauce Reggae Reggae Sauce Sauer's Barbecue Sauce Shacha sauce Siu haau sauce Sweet Baby Ray'sOther sauces sometimes used for barbeque include mojo, mumbo sauce, and satay sauce.
See also[edit] Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Barbecue Sauce Food portal Barbacoa Brown sauce Ketchup List of barbecue dishes Dip (food) § List of common dips List of sauces Marination Red sauce Regional variations of barbecue Steak sauce References[edit] ^ Michelle Moran (2005-03-01). "Category Analysis: Condiments". The Gourmet Retailer. Archived from the original on 3 November 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-01. ^ Bob Garner (1996). North Carolina Barbecue: Flored by Time. John F. Blair. p. 160. ISBN 0-89587-152-1. ^ a b Lake E. High Jr. (2019). "A Very Brief History of the Four Types of Barbeque Found In the USA". South Carolina Barbeque Association. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. ^ a b Robert F. Moss (2010). Barbecue: The History of an American Institution. University of Alabama Press. pp. 189–190. ^ "Georgia Barbecue Sauce" (advertisement), Atlanta Constitution, January 31, 1909, as reproduced in Moss, Barbecue ^ Bruce Bjorkman (1996). The Great Barbecue Companion: Mops, Sops, Sauces, and Rubs. Ten Speed Press. p. 112. ISBN 0-89594-806-0. ^ Moss, Robert F. (2010). Barbecue: The History of an American Institution. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press. p. 119. ISBN 9780817317188. ^ "Eastern NC barbecue is healthier than western". WRAL-TV. July 11, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2022. ^ "South Carolina Mustard Sauce ranked No. 15 in latest BBQ poll". 15 March 2024. ^ "Sunny South Carolina sauce brightens barbecue with golden blaze of mustard". Fox News. 7 February 2024. ^ a b James, Cleo (September 6, 2013). "Kansas City BBQ vs. Memphis BBQ – What's the Difference?". Retrieved November 6, 2022. ^ Daniel Vaughn (2014). "All About the Sauce". TexasMonthly. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. ^ HEINZ (2019). "Heinz Texas Style Bold & Spicy BBQ Sauce, 19.5 oz Bottle". Kraft-Heinz. Archived from the original on 2020-12-04. Retrieved 2019-06-27. ^ Cary, Josh & Jackson, Chef Tom. (Aug 10, 2018). Cooking With Fire: Alabama White Sauce, KMUW 89.1 Wichita Public Radio, Wichita, KS. vteMarinadesTopics Adobo Philippine adobo Barbecue sauce Chermoula Chimichurri Huli-huli Italian dressing Salmorejo Teriyaki Vinaigrette See also Adobada vteBarbecue sauces Ah-So Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce HP Sauce Hunt's Jim Beam's BBQ Sauce KC Masterpiece Maull's barbecue sauce Reggae Reggae Sauce Shacha sauce Siu haau sauce Sweet Baby Ray's vteBarbecueCookingstyles Asado Barbacoa Char siu Churrasco Indirect grilling Inihaw Korean barbecue Mangal Mixed grill Mongolian barbecue Schwenker Shaokao Shisa nyama Siu mei Yakiniku Regionalvariations United States Chicago Kansas City Memphis North Carolina Santa Maria South Carolina St. Louis Texas Cookersand related Barbecue grill Barrel barbecue Buccan Charbroiler Chimney starter Disposable grill Flattop grill Gridiron Grilling Hibachi Kamado Pit barbecue Shichirin Smoking (Smoke ring) Foods anddishes List of barbecue dishes List of smoked foods Anticuchos Arrosticini Bakkwa Barbecue chicken Barbecue sandwich Barbecue sauce Brochette Bulgogi Bull roast Burnt ends Cha siu bao Chuan Churrasco Cocoloși Corn on the cob Espetada Fatányéros Frigărui Galinha à africana Isaw Jeok Jujeh kabab Kabab barg Kai yang Kebab Khorkhog Khorovats Kofte kebab Méchoui Meur Yerushalmi Mixiote Mookata Mućkalica Neobiani Pig pickin' Pig roast Pinchitos Provoleta Pulled pork Ražnjići Red slaw Ribs Beef Short ribs Pork Spare ribs Satay Sausage sizzle Shashlik Shish kebab Shish taouk Sosatie Souvlaki Suckling pig Suya Texas smoked brisket Tsukune Yakitori Societiesand festivals Big Pig Jig International Bar-B-Q Festival Kansas City Barbeque Society Leskovac Grill Festival Lexington Barbecue Festival Memphis in May North Carolina Barbecue Society Roanoke-Chowan Pork-Fest Misc. 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