I used to be anti-sauce. I wanted my barbecue pure and without anything covering it up. I finally realized what my problem was: I was raised in Ohio, and barbecue sauce meant that there was as much sauce as meat. The Montgomery Inn is famous around here for their ribs; Bob Hope used to have them shipped to him. But they most likely boil their ribs, and they drench them with their famous sauce. People around here like them, and it’s what I thought sauced ribs were
Even when I got into barbecue at home, I still didn’t want sauce, though I tried a few for people that wanted them, especially for pulled pork. I think I came up with some good ones. I made a mustard bacon sauce that people ate as fast as they could, a coffee based sauce, and an applesauce based sauce that went really well with pork. My favorite so far, though, is a sauce I make with Maker’s Mark whisky, which I like to call Bourbecue Sauce.
I have to admit I have been known to be a bit of a nut about sauces, and even make my own ketchup as a base for them when I have time, instead of using bottle ketchup.
I found out in competition, though, that bourbon is a flavor I think I want to mostly stay away from. Judges didn’t seem to like it, even though people seem to suck it down faster than any other sauce I’ve made.
So this weekend, my teammate and I are both making, independent of each other, three sauces each. Here are the ones I’m thinking about trying… Let me know what you think:
1. A sauce based on caramelized onions with balsamic vinegar. I’m going to caramelize a large onion, add some chicken stock and balsamic vinegar and sugar, then cook it down. Then I’ll add ketchup, garlic, pepper and chipotle peppers. I’ll simmer it for a while, and see what else it needs.
2. Javacue sauce, made with ketchup, coffee, sugar, Red Hot sauce, white vinegar and seasonings.
3. Hard cider sauce. Ketchup, hard cider, apple cider vinegar, sugar, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, cinnamon and maybe a touch of liquid smoke.
We’re going to get together Saturday night and taste test the sauces with white bread to choose one to push forward with.
Now I’m still a bit of a purist even in competitions, but I have learned to like to use the sauce more as a glaze on chicken and ribs, though I don’t sauce pork or brisket… but more on that another time.
So how do any of these sound???
I’m generally with you on the sauce issue– I like it, don’t get me wrong, but as a condiment. There’s something about a perfect rib with no sauce on it, right off the smoker. The onion and hard cider sauce sound really cool– I bet the balsamic one would be nice w/ pork….or corned beef and cabbage.
Around here in Ohio, it seems the rib is more often nothing but the transport mechanism for sauce… The more sauce the better. But then again, with most ribs around here, that’s probably the best way to do it as most of the ribs have no real flavor at all.
Balsamic vinegar can be a great enhancer for sauces because it can add sweetness and tartness all in the same pop (and it’s great on fresh strawberries too!) I think the apple cider vinegar and the hard cider together might be too much of a good thing but you never know. Experiment! No telling what you may come up with!
Since I’m pushing the hard cider, I think it still needs a bit of vinegar, and cider vinegar will be the most compatible with it… Not too much to push it over the edge, but enough to give it the acidity it needs. Of course, I hear your sauce is great, BigMista… but I don’t have the recipe!