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Saturday, September 18, 2010

The Truth About BBQ Sauce

By James Lockwood

Barbecue sauces have a distinctively Southern and Western U.S. history. Most experts agree that the practice of incorporating sauce and spices to meat and fish started early in our history, with Native Americans teaching the art to early European settlers. The natives most likely produced the process as part of an attempt to keep meats and fish from spoiling fast. Salt played a big part in those early barbecue sauces, and salt is a well-known preservative in the meat curing process.



Simply because the nations first European arrivals lived on the East Coast of America, that portion of the country is credited with spawning the original barbecue sauce styles. First of all, there are the various Carolina barbecue sauces. The most widely known are East Carolina, Piedmont, and South Carolina varieties. East Carolina barbecue sauce consists of vinegar, salt, black pepper, and crushed or ground cayenne peppers. It is a very simple sauce that penetrates the meat nicely for a deep flavor. Piedmont barbecue sauce just differs from East Carolina for the reason that it often includes molasses or Worcestershire sauce and thus sticks to the meat more. South Carolina sauce is completely different, using a mustard base instead, creating a very much tangier and sharp flavor.

After that there's Memphis or Southern style barbecue sauce. This well-liked selection is typically more complex (flavor-wise) and is built all over mustard, tomato, and vinegar. Fans often point to the boldness of these flavor mixtures as the hallmark of Memphis barbecue sauce. A saying frequently heard among hungry connoisseurs is no two bites alike.

Carrying on with our trek westward, we reach the acknowledged center of the barbecue universe Kansas City! Kansas City barbecue sauce is distinguished by its significantly thicker consistency and focus on sweetness. That's mainly because this style of sauce is built upon thick tomato sauce, chunks of vegetables, and lots of sugar. Several popular commercial brands are according to this Kansas City recipe. It is most popular among amateur backyard grillers simply because of the supply in grocery stores (Kraft, Heinz, K.C.s Masterpiece, etc.). And also simply because the thick sauce could be applied only once and enough will stay in place to satisfy the delighted recipients of the grilled meat.

Finally, there are the 'Texas' barbecue sauce styles. Now, Texas is one big state, and there are several regional types within it. The most common include thick and spicy sauces which are essentially spicier variations on the Kansas City sauces. These are found mostly in the north and east sections of the state (Dallas). In western Texas, thinner sauces that feature hot peppers could be found. These sauces are frequently included only at the very end of the barbecuing or grilling process. And then, in southern Texas, the barbecue sauce of choice features a focus on Mexican spices and, of course, jalapeno peppers! Make certain to have a cold beverage handy to put out the fire!

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1 comment:

  1. This is really interesting. Not only do you delve into the origins of different types of sauce, but you also described how it is different from others. Digg!

    ReplyDelete

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