It may be small compared to the rest of the worlds problems, but what has happened to barbeque sauce? It seems to be more and more sugar all the time. Had some take out pulled pork tonight and it was slathered in what I assume to be straight up Karo syrup.
We make our own sauce at home, and rarely eat BBQ out. Just seems like spices and flavor have been going away and replaced 10x with high fructose corn syrup.
I hate sweet with meat so I may be the odd man out. I use a little tomato paste and vinegar with liberal amounts of garlic, mustard powder, some cayenne, etc.
No, a “Bud Light“ is now seltzer water and sold by a tranny, a Mustang has an electric motor four doors and is an SUV. I think the bigger question is is what having a screwed up yet.
Kansas City sauce has always been sweet. I prefer somewhat sweeter sauces on pork and chicken, but no sauce at all on beef; just a good rub.
Yours sounds like some of the stuff I’ve had in Texas. A good quality BBQ joint won’t pre-sauce your servings. Pulled pork should just be pulled pork and the bark mixed in for seasoning. The customer should have the choice to add sauce if they want to. I like no additional sauce on mine, but I do like a healthy helping of coleslaw on my pulled pork sandwiches.
I love Carolina Gold on my pork. I make it in pint batches; yellow mustard, honey, pepper, and some spices brought to a simmer on the cooktop. I hate store bought bbq sauce.
We make our own: https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/texas-bbq-sauce . I also make a hotter version, just quadruple the cayenne pepper of what the recipe calls for, and keep both versions in jars in the fridge. I also have a recipe out of an old book for Carolina mustard base sauce that is great. Most store bought sauces are crap.
Only been to one BBQ place that uses a vinegar based sauce(Hamilton’s in Burkesville, KY near Dale Hollow Lake for smallmouth bass and Billy Westmoreland fans) .
Fairly sure they make their own, but it is very close to Scott’s flavor and the vinegar is a nice change from sweet or most super spicy sauces. Probably the best BBQ chicken I have ever ate and maybe the best chicken period.
Vinegar-based with pepper is the base for eastern NC BBQ sauces; pretty much every Q shack/restaurant east of I-95, this is what you get. From I-95 west to about Burlington on 85 you find the vinegar-based sauce plus a more tomato-based sauce, which is more ‘Piedmont’ style, or western NC-style sauce. There is also a difference in what and how they BBQ pork, but most people don’t know or don’t care.
Barbecue sauce around me has always been full of sugar. I think it tastes good but I don’t often have it. I usually have jerk, carnitas, or Kalua-style pork instead. Now I am curious what not-sweet barbecue sauce tastes like.
Incidentally the last BBQ sauce I had, which I enjoyed, is a bottled “Carolina Gold” sauce. I would like to make my own if it is even better. Will you share your recipe?
