Popular BBQ Sauces from the South

By Jim Hingst

Photo by Desativado: https://www.pexels.com/photo/selective-focus-photography-of-meat-on-grill-2491273/

 

Several factors differentiate barbeque in the South from other regions in the country. Southerners usually barbeque their meat low and slow over a smoky wood fire. Cooking is often an all-day affair during which they socialize with their friends and family. For most folks in the South (excluding Texas) barbeque means pork. In the Carolinas, pulled pork is a favorite. Often it is served with a thin vinegar and pepper sauce or a mustard sauce.

Roasted chicken is also popular in the Southern states, particularly in Alabama. There chicken is dipped in a mayonnaise and vinegar sauce. If you haven’t tried this or other unique sauces from this region of the country, you are missing out on a special culinary experience.

 

Jim’s Pulled Pork Pepper Sauce

 

My pulled pork pepper sauce is based on the vinegar and pepper sauce that originated along the Eastern coast of the Carolinas. Some believe that Scottish settlers in Williamsburg County, South Carolina first created the sauce. Others credit African slaves with making a sauce using vinegar and peppers.

 

Ingredients

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup white distilled vinegar

½ cup KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 Tablespoon hot sauce

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

Juice of half of a lemon

 

Directions

Mix the ingredients and heat until it comes to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. As you are simmering the sauce, taste test it. Remember: TEST, DON’T GUESS. If the pepper sauce needs a little more heat to suit your taste, gradually add more cayenne pepper.

An enameled cast iron pot makes a great saucepan. If you are using cast iron, always heat on low or medium, never any higher. 

 

This is a great sauce for basting ribs or a pork butt. It is also great as a condiment when making a pulled pork sandwich.

 

The next time that you make pulled pork, smoke the pork butt until it reaches an internal temperature of 165⁰ F. When first smoking a pork butt, the fat cap should be on the top.  Smoking the meat should take about 4 hours. This is not the end of the cooking process. You must continue to roast the meat until the connective tissue breaks down.

To do this the accepted practice is to wrap the meat in foil. An alternative method is to put the meat in a disposable aluminum pan with the fat cap facing down. Before transferring the meat, add a stick of butter, brown sugar, honey and a cup of my pepper sauce to the bottom of the pan. 

 

Smoke the pork butt until it attains an internal temperature of 165⁰  F. 

By covering the pan with one or two layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil, you are in essence steaming the meat until it reaches an internal temperature of 205⁰ F. This high temperature is needed to break down the meat’s connective tissue. After covering the pork butt, it generally takes about 2 additional hours of cooking time for the meat to come to temp.

 

When the pork butt reaches an internal temperature of 165⁰  F, transfer the roast to a disposable foil pan. In the bottom of the pan add butter, brown sugar, honey and pepper sauce. Cover the pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. This will steam the pork butt, helping break down the connective tissue of the meat.

CAUTION: The foil traps the steam, be careful as you remove it. To avoid burning yourself, you can check the temperature by poking the probe of your digital thermometer right through the foil.

 

After the meat has come to temp, allow it to rest for 30 minutes. Shred the pork. Then add any additional pepper sauce little by little, tasting as you go along, if the meat looks a little dry.

 

South Carolina Mustard Sauce

 

In central South Carolina, the folks prefer a mustard sauce to either vinegar-based sauces or sweet tomato sauces. Many believe that German immigrants originally created this sauce in the early eighteen^th century. Some dispute this claim as more local myth than historical fact. What really matters is that this sauce tastes great.

 

Because South Carolina mustard sauce is based on yellow mustard, you might assume that its color is yellow and tastes like the mustard that you would get at the ballpark. You know what they say about assuming.

 

In fact, this mustard sauce has a golden color and is sweet and tangy. Its unique flavor results from several ingredients including honey, brown sugar and apple cider vinegar.  While this sauce tastes great on pulled pork, you can also use it as a dipping sauce or as a condiment on brats, ribs and hamburgers.

 

INGREDIENTS 

 

¾ cup yellow mustard

¼ cup stone-ground mustard

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup honey

¼ cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce

2 Tablespoons hot sauce

½ Tablespoon smoked paprika

½ Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon garlic granules

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

 

DIRECTIONS

Whisk to blend the ingredients. Heat in a non-reactive pan on low. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Taste test the mixture. Remember: Test, Don’t Guess. Adjust the seasoning of the sauce to your liking. Allow the mixture to cool. Pour into a Mason jar and refrigerate.

 

Alabama White Sauce

You surely have used barbeque sauces that were red and some that were brown. Unless you are from Alabama, you may never have tried a BBQ sauce that was white. Frankly, a white sauce on BBQ neither looks nor sounds appetizing. If that’s how you feel, perhaps it’s time to experience one of those dreaded paradigm shifts.  Without a doubt Alabama white sauce is something totally different yet totally delicious.

 

Nearly 100 years ago BBQ pioneer Big Bob Gibson created his white sauce for grilled or smoked chicken. Gibson combined a North Carolina vinegar sauce with mayonnaise. Mayonnaise-based sauces have always been popular in the Deep South. (See my article on mayonnaise-based sauces, many of which originated in the Southern states, including Comeback Sauce and Remoulade Sauce.)

 

The purpose of the Gibson’s Alabama white sauce was to prevent the chicken from drying out. In Northern Alabama, after the chicken is fully cooked, the folks dunk a whole barbequed bird in this sauce. If that’s not enough sauce for you, Alabama restaurants often provide this thin white sauce in squeeze bottles or jars as a condiment.

 

The next time you grill chicken give this sauce a try. As you can see from the recipe below, it is easy to make. Alabama white sauce is also a great sauce for pulled pork or as a dipping sauce for chicken wings. Plus try drizzling it on sandwiches and over potato chips or fries.

 

Ingredients

2 cups mayonnaise

1 cup distilled white vinegar

½ cup apple juice

2 teaspoons prepared horseradish

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon hot sauce

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 Tablespoon sugar

 

Directions

Whisk the ingredients together. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning as needed. Pour the sauce in a Mason jar and refrigerate it. It will stay good for up to two weeks.

Try these other Signpost Recipes

The Best Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

The Best Beef and Cheese Enchiladas

The Best Hot Dog Toppings

Grilled Buffalo Wings

Armadillo Eggs

Meatloaf Burgers

Beer Brats

About Jim Hingst: Sign business authority on vehicle wraps, vinyl graphics, screen printing, marketing, sales, gold leaf, woodcarving and painting. 

After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.

Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer.  Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.

Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 190 articles for  publications, such as  Signs Canada, SignCraft,  Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and  Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 500 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published.  Vinyl Sign Techniques is available at sign supply distributors and at Amazon. 

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