Poll: BBQ Sauces

3MTA3 · Jun 2, 2014

I'm also a fan of Sweet Baby Ray's. I like to dope it with Tabasco and honey. My favorite, though, is Gates and Sons out of Kansas City: https://www.gatesbbq.com/

One of the best things I remember from my one trip to KC was the BBQ sauce selection in the grocery stores was a full aisle.

Jerry · Jun 4, 2014

Scott's BBQ Suace from North Carolina is an amazing sauce/mop/marinade.

I found a bottle over in Vancouver a year or so ago. Thinking that I need to order a case. Damn fine sauce.

http://www.scottsbarbecuesauce.com/

Mr. Stubbs is mighty fine also.

Redcap · Jun 4, 2014

While I still grill a lot of seafood, my brother and I built a smoker a few years ago...everything land-based goes in there. We don't use much for sauces any more, just a little dry rub and into the vault for a few hours.

rick49 · Jun 4, 2014

If you like crab and/or shrimp try this "sauce" from the Chesapeake Bay area.

a small pile of Old Bay seasoning
a small container of apple cider vinegar

Crack crab or peel the shrimp and dip it first in the vinegar and then in the Old Bay and enjoy. Start out with small amounts of the dippin' stuff until you find the right ratio for your taste buds.

Jamie6.5 · Jun 4, 2014

My favorite thing to BBQ is a pastrami. I start with a corned beef brisket, par boil it for 1/2hr, and rub generously with cracked black pepper.
Let it sit for an hour or so while I get the coals ready, and then it goes into a 240* Weber kettle (on the far side from the coals) for about 6-8 hours, turning occasionally, until fork tender.

mkwerx · Jun 4, 2014

Chicken is what I grill most of the time, but I do like some grilled beef and pork. I prefer cooking over lump coal vs gas or black sand squares. No lighter fluid used either.

I will marinate meat before I grill it - usually with a marinade I make myself. I'm also a fan of rubs - but I will still use sauce with a rub. I'm a heretic, I know.

Favorite rub consists of:

Brown sugar (real, not just food color added white sugar)
Paprika
Chili powder
Onion powder
Cumin
Garlic powder
Tumeric
Black pepper
White pepper
Salt

I would give measures, but I don't use them. Brown sugar is used as the base. Depending on how large a batch of rub I'm making - this may be half a bag or a whole bag. For the spice ingredients, I use pinches or handfuls, or just dust with a shaker until it "looks right" to me. I've been doing the recipe long enough that I can eyeball it. Salt is the least used ingredient, usually just a pinch or two. The Paprika, Onion, Garlic and Cumin are pretty much used in equal amounts, and I use about half those amounts of the Chili, Tumeric, black and white pepper. I used to use mustard powder, but my wife is allergic to mustard - and I'd rather not kill her.

I mix the rub thoroughly by hand, tasting occasionally to see if I need to adjust the spice content.

My favorite BBQ sauce is another concoction of mine I've been working on for a long time.

The base is commercial sauce - Cattleman's original - the stuff you buy by the gallon at Costco.

For a big batch I start with a quart of Cattleman's, then add the following:

Three to four handfuls of the dry rub mentioned above
1/8th of a cup of lemon juice concentrate
1/4 cup (roughly - again I eyeball it) maple syrup
1 cup of honey (eyeballed)
1/4 cup of soy sauce (eyeballed)
And then finally 1/2 a bottle (the glass bottles found in stores, I think they're 12 or 16 ounce?) of Mexican 7-up (the stuff actually made in Mexico, with cane sugar not corn sryup) or Sprite.

Whisk together, taste, and adjust to preferences.

I'm not a fan of berry flavors in my BBQ, I like a more savory, spicy BBQ with a touch of citrus tang.