By Staff
Everyone has his or her favorite type of sauce to mop over meat on the grill. Some people prefer a tomato-based sauce, which seems to be the most popular version of sauces used in this region.
Other favorites include a mustard based sauce and even one with a mayonnaise base.
If you have a particular favorite, there is a good chance you have one or more secret ingredients. If that is the case, then you probably have the corner on the &#8220best sauce” in town.
If you don't have a favorite recipe for a good sauce, I have found some that might just become a favorite at your house.
I did find out that some sauces tend to take a little more effort than simply mixing a little ketchup and brown sugar or hot sauce together. Some sauces take a good amount of effort and some even require some cooking time.
I did my best to find a variety of sauce recipes so that you might be able to find one that suits your fancy. No matter what type of sauce you decide to use, whether you make it yourself or pour it from a bottle taken off the grocery store shelf, make it a good one with the flavors you've come to enjoy.
This first recipe is for a sauce that uses mayonnaise as the base ingredient. I understand this sauce is popular in the Carolinas and especially good on chicken. I've only tried a white sauce once, and it didn't taste too bad. It's not one I'd use at every cookout on every kind of meat, but it's good for a change.
White barbecue sauce
One-half cup cider vinegar
One-fourth cup water
Three-fourths tsp. ground black pepper
2 tbsp. white sugar
One-half cup mayonnaise
In a small nonporous bowl, combine the vinegar, water, ground black pepper, sugar and mayonnaise and mix well. Use on your favorite meat.
These next two sauces are pretty basic recipes. They both call for ketchup. One will be a more typical sauce, while the second is a sweeter sauce. For some reason, I like a sweeter sauce for ribs if they haven't been rubbed before they are cooked.
Regular Barbecue sauce
2 and one-half cups ketchup
One-fourth cup packed brown sugar
One-fourth cup chopped onion
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
One-half tsp. pepper
In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.
Sweet Vinegar Barbecue Sauce
3 cups apple cider vinegar
One-fourth cup red pepper flakes
One-fourth cup ground black pepper
One-half cup salt
One-half cup ketchup
1 cup honey
In a saucepan, stir together the vinegar, red pepper flakes, pepper and salt. Bring to a boil. Stir in the ketchup and honey; reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Now this next sauce may call for an ingredient you don't have on hand. From what I understand, if you want to give this recipe a try, you can get a very small bottle of whiskey at the ABC store that would be pretty close to what you need for this recipe.
Whiskey Barbecue Sauce
One-half onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
Three-fourths cup bourbon whiskey
One-half tsp. ground black pepper
One-half tbsp. salt
2 cups ketchup
One-fourth cup tomato paste
One-third cup cider vinegar
2 tbsp. liquid smoke flavoring
One-fourth cup Worcestershire sauce
One-half cup packed brown sugar
One-third tsp. hot pepper sauce, or to taste
In a large skillet over medium heat, combine the onion, garlic, and whiskey. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Mix in the ground black pepper, salt, ketchup, tomato paste, vinegar, liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and hot pepper sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Run sauce through a strainer if you prefer a smooth sauce.
If standing over a stove and stirring a pile of ingredients for 20 minutes is not your cup of tea, this next recipe should be right up your alley. You take some basic ingredients and pour them together into a crock-pot or slow cooker and it will do the work for you. Sounds like a good deal to me. For those of you who prefer not to put beer in your sauce, you could substitute a good apple juice for the beer. The results won't be exactly the same, but it will be fine. If you do use sweetened apple juice, cut back to just one cup of brown sugar. The juice will add a sweetness that makes less sugar necessary.
Slow Cooker Sauce
1 (28 ounce) bottle ketchup
1 (12 fluid ounce) can beer
1 small onion, diced
1 and one-half cups dark brown sugar
One-half cup prepared mustard
3 tbsp. barbeque seasoning
2 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
In a slow cooker, combine ketchup, beer, onion, brown sugar, mustard, barbecue seasoning, vinegar, pepper, and garlic powder. Simmer on low setting for 12 hours or overnight.
I've never been out of the United States, but I have been to parts of the country that I thought were part of another world. If I did make it out of the country Jamaica would be a wonderful place to visit.
What with all of their spices, flavors and fun, I'm sure they enjoy a good meal as good as anyone. This next sauce is inspired by the flavors of Jamaica. You'll notice there are some spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg, used in the sauce recipe that is usually found in sweet dishes. Jamaicans apparently love cinnamon in just about everything.
Jamaican Sauce
1 bacon strip, halved
One-half cup chopped onion
2 tbsp. chopped green onion
1 tbsp. chopped jalapeno pepper
1 cup ketchup
One-half cup chicken broth
One-half cup molasses
2 tbsp. cider vinegar
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. prepared mustard
1 tbsp. minced fresh thyme
1 tsp. salt
One-half tsp. pepper
One-fourth tsp. ground cinnamon
One-fourth tsp. ground nutmeg
In a saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Discard bacon or save for another use. In the drippings, saut