Karen Adler - The Best Little BBQ Sauces Cookbook

Copyright 2000 by Karen Adler.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information or storage and retrieval system, without the
express permission of the publisher. CELESTIAL ARTS
P.O. Box 7123
Berkeley, CA 94707 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 00-131237 eISBN: 978-0-307-81484-5 Other cookbooks in this series:
Best Little Barbecue Cookbook
Best Little Grilling Cookbook
Best Little Marinades Cookbook Celestial Arts titles are distributed in Canada by Ten Speed Canada, in the
United Kingdom and Europe by Airlift Books, in South Africa by Real Books,
in Australia by Simon & Schuster Australia, and in New Zealand by Southern
Publishers Group. v3.1 Special thanks to
Ardie Davis, Dave DeWitt, Mary Ann Duckers,
Don McLemore, Lou Jane Temple, Helen Willinsky
for their contributions to this book. Growing up in Kansas City, I had my first taste of barbecue at the tender age of seven.

My father would leave his business downtown and take a circuitous route home on Friday afternoons. The reason for this detour was to pick up barbecue at Bennys on Blue Ridge Cut-Off. On his arrival, my mother would spread the goods from the paper sack onto the kitchen table. We would each grab a sandwich wrapped in white butcher paper and begin the feast. The wagon wheel sandwiches came in combinations of smoked beef brisket, pork, and/or ham on seeded kaiser rolls with plenty of warm tangy red sauce that had soaked into the bread on the drive home. There would also be a slab of ribs topped with dill pickle slices served Kansas Citystyle over plain white sandwich bread.

My favorite finale to this simple all-American meal was to take a piece of the meat-soaked white bread and smother it in more of the fragrant warm barbecue sauce. It is still my favorite way to taste and eat barbecue sauce!

Traditional American barbecue hails from five distinct regions of the United States: Kansas City, Texas, Memphis, and the Carolinas. Kansas City sauce is synonymous with thick, sweet, and tangy tomato-based barbecue sauce. Texas sauce is less sweet with a little more chile heat. Memphis typifies the Southern vinegar-based sauces where the punch of flavor comes from the rub rather than the sauce. Finally the Carolinas bring several styles of sauce to the table.

From South Carolina come the mustard-based sauces found in the central and southeastern regions of the state, the ketchup-based BBQ sauces come from along the Georgia border, the vinegar-based sauces hail from the northeast, and the tomato-based sauces or Williamsburg style come from the northwest. Sauces from North Carolina evolved in both the eastern and western parts of the state. There is the classic trinity of vinegar, salt, and pepper. Eastern North Carolina variations include vinegar, water, salt, black pepper, red pepper, finely ground cayenne, and dried crushed red pepper. There is no sweetener in this sauce, but some barbecuers like to add some sweet to the mixture when it is served as a dipping sauce. Early colonists considered the tomato poisonous, thus no tomato in the sauce.

Another variation is to season the chopped pork dry with salt, black pepper, and red pepper, then moisten it with plain vinegar. Western North Carolina or Piedmont-style barbecue elaborates on the vinegar-salt-pepper theme by adding a little ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar to cut the bite and create the darker Lexington-style sauce. The term pig picking grew out of the casual get-together where the whole pig is brought off the grill onto the serving table, and guests literally pick the meat from the pig. California-style, or West Coast sauces, use fresh herbs and citrus fruits and include bourbon-laden sauces that use Jack Daniels or Jim Beam, microbrew sauces, and wine-based sauces that use Zinfandel, Cabernet, Merlot, and other wines for flavoring. Asian-style barbecue sauces have been enthusiastically embraced on the West Coast and feature the exotic flavors of China, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Mongolia, and Indonesia. There are also specialty sauces designed specifically for certain kinds of wild game or the white barbecue sauce from Alabama that is usually used for poultry but is also good on fish.

New Mexico and the Southwest have added a sophisticated repertoire of sauces that include all kinds of chiles from mild jalapeos and smokey chipotles to fiery habaneros and African bird peppers. However, the tomato- and ketchup-based types still outsell all others. Most traditional barbecue sauces have in common a sweetener, usually white or brown sugar, honey, or molasses. (Maple syrup and corn syrup are modern-day variations.) Because sugars tend to burn easily, sauces should be used only during the final stages of cooking: for slow low-temperature cooking, the last 30 to 60 minutes; for hot fast grilling, the last 5 minutes. This is especially true with tomato-based sauces, which will blacken long before the meat is done. 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 onion, finely chopped 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped 1 cup ketchup 1 cup tomato sauce 1 cup water cup cider vinegar 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons molasses 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon dry mustard teaspoon liquid smoke In a large saucepan, heat oil and saut the onion and bell pepper for about 3 to 5 minutes over medium heat. 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 onion, finely chopped 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped 1 cup ketchup 1 cup tomato sauce 1 cup water cup cider vinegar 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons molasses 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon dry mustard teaspoon liquid smoke In a large saucepan, heat oil and saut the onion and bell pepper for about 3 to 5 minutes over medium heat.

Add the remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Makes 3 cups

This is almost a no-cook sauce! Its perfect for making on a weekday night because of its simplicity. 2 cups tomato sauce 1 cup cider vinegar 1 cup brown sugar 1 large white onion, minced 6 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon dried thyme 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon seasoned black pepper teaspoon salt In a large saucepan, combine all of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes to blend flavors. Store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.