Barbeque Sauce Nerds - Assemble!

[jpr703]

If you can get George's around there, it's the bomb on chicken. It' s a thinner sauce that looks more like vinegar that's had hot peppers soaking in it. However, it's got a lot of flavor and even the "hot" version isn't really all that hot--just tasty!

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephonovich I make my own. Start with some ketchup, add honey, orange juice, fresh ground pepper, sea salt, ginger, lemon juice, molasses, and brown sugar - all to taste. Good stuff. EDIT: Anyone see the 'W Ketchup' ad? Linky here. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry.

I had a drinking buddy in college who would brew his own sauce... He had those exact ingredients + liquid smoke and garlic. did everything by taste. He brewd his own beer too... He called it "Whammy Buzz"... went to an artwork label maker and made his own bottle labels. His logo had a cartoon Bee carrying buckets of honey, and it said "Whammy Buzz... honey Ale". He added just a little honey to the brew.

We had some great cook outs.

Garrett

 

[Stephonovich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 I had a drinking buddy in college who would brew his own sauce... He had those exact ingredients + liquid smoke and garlic. did everything by taste. He brewd his own beer too... He called it "Whammy Buzz"... went to an artwork label maker and made his own bottle labels. His logo had a cartoon Bee carrying buckets of honey, and it said "Whammy Buzz... honey Ale". He added just a little honey to the brew. We had some great cook outs. Garrett

I do use garlic sometimes, but I feel it's too overused. My brother especially is fond of heaping it on anything and everything. Maybe that's why I avoid it

Liquid smoke is indeed good, though. I just don't have it around very often.

Now that warmer weather is approaching (60F right now!), 'tis time to begin grilling again...

 

[Jahn]

Very scary. Those smart banners are- scary.

 

[aeriyn]

I make my own barbecue sauce also. It's a sweet sauce with a bit of a kick, both spice and vinegar. Southern inspired but California style. Basically just contains ketchup, brown sugar, Golden Eagle syrup (which I believe is only available in the South, honey and molassess will do as a substitute), pineapple juice, cider vinegar, lots of black pepper and cayenne pepper, onion and garlic powder and thickened up with Cattlemen's store-bought barbecue (this thickens it and darkens the color some). Cooking it down a little intensifies the flavors, but I find it best used put on the meat while cooking it, so that it forms a glaze, then add more later. =P

 

[Bunnyears]

I like to kick up the heat in a barbecue sauce by taking some chipotle chiles in adobo, liquefying it in the blender and adding it, proportionately depending on the desired heat. The chipotle chiles give a really nice smoky taste, and as they are actually smoked and dried jalpeños, they really aren't that hot. For some of my husband's family, it's nowhere hot enough, so we also serve a hot sauce with it made with a habanero chile base. Depending on what's in the market, we make either an aji sierra or an aji costeño with the chiles. For the aji sierra, we use the tomate de arbol (blanched and peeled) and some green onion and the raw chiles (seeds removed for texture, but ribs which are the hottest part of the chile, left in), then liquefied in the blender. For the aji costeño, just minced chiles, a little green onion, a little tomato, a few drops of lime. Finish with a little finely chopped cilantro and you've got a sauce that will turn you as red as a muleta.

If you have to cool off your tongue, nothing beats a little crema fresca, or if it's time for dessert, ice cream.

 

[SportaJoe]

http://fremontcompany.safeshopper.com/1/cat1.htm?663

Ive tried an awful lot of the more expensive sauces and this remains my favorite. The original is the best with ribs and the hot n spicy is damn good also. I didnt care for the apple. Im not sure about availibility nationally, but if you see it try it.

 

[elrod-tom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MD1032 The best BBQ sauce(s) I've ever had were at this place a little bit of a drive from where I live, called "Famous Dave's BBQ", and it's just a place that's crazy about ribs and BBQ sauce and stuff. There are like 6 different sauces to choose from, each with a different taste that is equally satisfying. Anyway, their standard sauce is really the best (probably for a reason) sauce I've ever had. Really amazing stuff, blows that KC Masterpiece stuff out of the water, no matter how much I like that stuff. We also have this other stuff around here, it's like "bull ..." or "... bull" and they claim it has a "big bold taste". Well this stuff is about as bold as a snail in a lazy mood. Bold taste? Heck, the taste is just gross. It's so plain and boring it's terrible.

We also have a Famous Dave's not too far from where I live. I'd have to say they do a nice job with ribs there. However, the "famous" that they stick in front of everything ("famous" waitress, cook, manager, busboy, etc...) is a bit annoying, the ribs are worth it. Their hot BBQ sauce is very tasty.

 

[Stephonovich]

We had a Famous Dave's come in the last year or so before we moved from NE. Only ate their once (actually, had the drive-through) as it was always crowded, and quite expensive. I was with a friend on his birthday, and his parents wanted to take us out to Famous Dave's, until we found out there'd be an 80 minute wait, and something like $25 per head. We went to Chiles instead, had a 20 minute wait, and about $15 per head

Good stuff, too.

Anyway, back on BBQ sauce... I've tried pineapple juice before, as well. I do like it, but not on everything. I should probably revise my listed recipe. Ketchup, honey, orange juice, fresh ground pepper, sea salt, molasses, and brown sugar is the base. That one it's own actually isn't that bad, just really sweet. From there, depending on what taste I'm going for, I'll add various juices, spices, and the like. Weirdest thing I've ever added (that turned out good, at least) was vanilla extract. So long as you don't overdo it, it adds a nice smooth aftertaste.

 

[aeriyn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunnyears I like to kick up the heat in a barbecue sauce by taking some chipotle chiles in adobo, liquefying it in the blender and adding it, proportionately depending on the desired heat. The chipotle chiles give a really nice smoky taste, and as they are actually smoked and dried jalpeños, they really aren't that hot. For some of my husband's family, it's nowhere hot enough, so we also serve a hot sauce with it made with a habanero chile base. Depending on what's in the market, we make either an aji sierra or an aji costeño with the chiles. For the aji sierra, we use the tomate de arbol (blanched and peeled) and some green onion and the raw chiles (seeds removed for texture, but ribs which are the hottest part of the chile, left in), then liquefied in the blender. For the aji costeño, just minced chiles, a little green onion, a little tomato, a few drops of lime. Finish with a little finely chopped cilantro and you've got a sauce that will turn you as red as a muleta. If you have to cool off your tongue, nothing beats a little crema fresca, or if it's time for dessert, ice cream.

I'm coming over to your house for dinner.

 

[raisin]

I'm sorry, but real barbeque doesn't need sauce.

 

[pspivak]

In some ways I agree with Raisin that the best BBQ needs no sauce. I had some slowcooked brisket in Texas once that was remarkable and nod no trace of sauce of any kind. I also had a pulled pork sandwhich outside Atlanta once and it had a vinager based sauce on it; in a word, excellent!

I make my own with a base of a dressing from a company called Trillium Delights (honey, tarragon, and garlic). Then I add Chili Sauce (rather than ketchup), chili powder (try Gebhardt's), a bit of Grade A Medium Amber (the real stuff), celery seed and corriander seed (an old trick from Love's in L.A.), and for a bit of smoke a dollop of Steppin Gates (from Kansas City). Since Gates is not redily available in SF I would like to try some Tabasco Chipotle for that great smoky taste. Great on ribs and chicken.

 

[Born2bwire]

I saw a link to this thread and I can't keep quiet. Famous Dave's is probably the best barbeque you'll find north of the Mason-Dixon, but it pales in comparison to the real stuff. Back in Chicagoland we'd get all these chain "authentic" BBQ joints that were absolute garbage. Smoky Bones, Red Hot and Blues, and some others are pretty bad in my opinion. Ribs are good but I'm a chopped pork shoulder person myself, best stuff you can get for your money and I think it retains a better flavor as well (especially the ends where all the smoke has gone... Good lord I wish I was back in Georgia again). One of the best barbeque joints I've hit lately is Country's down in Columbus, Georgia. Despite the fact that they've got a family restaurant thing going (usually the crappier the place is the better the barbeque) but it's pretty damn good and the sauce is definitely worth trying. One thing to note though, like most Georgian barbeque, the hotter sauces tend to be more mustard and vinegar based than tomato (Dave's is what I would consider pretty much tomato based all the way through). The mild sauce though still retains a tomato base to it and should be palatable to everybody. If anyone's feeling adventurous, you can order sauce from them and I'd wager it's probably better than anything you'll find on the grocery store shelf.

http://www.countrysbbq.com/meats.cfm

 

[Spektrograf]

I'll have to try Famous Dave's since y'all are raving about it so much!

For myself, I started with KC Masterpiece Original, went through a phase of trying all sorts of boutique sauces (probably about 15-20 different kinds of sauces), and landed back with KC. To put this into context, I'm a BIG slow 'n low pork spareribs guy... not baby backs, but nice, meaty spareribs, smoked with apple wood or alder over a smoldering fire (no dry rub)... for hours. I'm also partial to sweet sauces v. tangy. Anyways, all this just means that I like to have the meat taste like it can stand on its own before even adding sauce. Then the sauce just underlines and accents the flavor that's been cooked into the meat.

If I want heat, a touch of Dave's Insanity Sauce into KC's sauce is nice, but to my taste buds, heat seems to work better with tangy than sweet, and I really don't do tangy often.

For other meats like chicken or tri-tip (the other meats that frequent my grill), I have other favorite marinades rather than using sauce.

Y'all are makin' me hungry with all this talk of BBQ... *drool*

 

[The Actual]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Born2bwire I saw a link to this thread

He he.

Was that me?