If you’ve slaved for hours over a hot fire to produce melt in your mouth pulled pork, the last thing you want to do is throw a generic BBQ sauce on top. And although some even argue any sauce at all is ruining a good thing, for me, I am a sauce guy. That said, I wouldn’t dare put anything but my homemade sauces on top of my Q. There are so many flavors and styles out there that pairing a sauce with pork can be as rewarding as finding the right beer to go with your T-Bone. Adapted from Smoke and Spice by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison, in the pages below, I describe my favorite styles of sauces and my favorite recipe from each.
Vinegar Based-famous in the Southeast, vinegar based sauces are my favorite. If you’re accustomed to tomato based sauces, open yourself up to this style and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
My favorite: Vaunted Vinegar Sauce.
2 Cups cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne or red pepper flakes
Mix ingredients and stir till sugar is dissolved. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Tomato Based (with vinegar)- a perfect blend of a vinegar style sauce and their sweeter ketchup based counterparts. Carolina Red may just be the ultimate concoction for your pulled pork.
My favorite: Carolina Red Sauce.
1 1/2 Cups cider vinegar
1/2 Cup ketchup
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne or red pepper flakes
Mix ingredients and stir till sugar is dissolved. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Mustard Based-
My favorite: Golden Mustard BBQ Sauce.
1 Cup white vinegar
3/4 Cup yellow mustard
1/2 medium onion, minced
1/3 Cup water
1/3 Cup tomato puree
1 Tablespoon paprika
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Mix ingredients in saucepan and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook till onions are tender 20-25 minutes. Use sauce warm or chilled.
