I got to thinking about sauces some more, especially since I’ve never been that big on sauce.  I’m finding that with ribs and chicken, a LITTLE bit of sauce helps, though, and pulled pork can use a sauce now and then, though I don’t like to smother anything with sauce.

I really want to encourage people to make sauces, but what’s the best way to go around learning how to do this?  For me, it was getting a couple of books.  I like Dr BBQ’s Big-Time Barbecue Cookbook and Paul Kirk’s Championship Barbecue Sauces.  I also use two Steven Raichlen books, BBQ USA and Barbecue Sauces Rubs and Marinades.

As I’ve talked about before, I tend to be a bit of a purist when it comes to cooking.  I like to start with base ingredients so that everything is made by me as much as possible.  With that in mind, I like to start barbecue sauces that have a tomato base with homemade ketchup.  I’ll admit, I use canned tomatoes, but I want to try fresh this summer. 

One thing I’ve learned is that, for most barbecue sauces, I like onions that are just sweated, not browned or caramlized.  I think it gives a brighter, fresher onion flavor.  What sweating means is that the onions are cooked just to the point of being a bit translucent, not browned at all.  They’re softened, but not cooked too much.

I use an immersion blender to smooth out the ketchup, and I use it for sauces that have chunks, too.  Alternatively, I’ll put a sauce in a blender to smooth it out.

People ask how to thicken a sauce a lot.  There are different ways to do this.  I like to use a bit of tomato paste sometimes, though this will require a bit more cooking to get the bitterness out of the paste, or you can end up with sauce that tastes too tomato-y.  Another way to thicken is with cornstarch or corn syrup.  I think corn syrup makes the sauce gummy, though.

I actually find I like thinner sauces a lot, though.  I think this is because I prefer them as a glaze, with not too much sauce on the meat.  U

sing all powdered ingredients or blending the sauce helps with this somewhat, too.  If I find I have a sauce that’s too thick, I usually try thinning with a bit of sugar water, or, if the main ingredient is a liquid, I may try adding some of that (i.e. coffee, hard cider).

Once a sauce is finished, I taste it.  An easy mistake it to assume that it’s too strong or even too hot, but the sauce isn’t being served on its own usually (unless there’s a sauce category at a competition), so I try to imagine the sauce thinned on some meat, or just go ahead and try it on some ribs or chicken.  Another way to taste it so it’s not so strong is to use white bread.  I also found last weekend that flour tortillas work very well!

Go for a balance of flavors.  Even with a main ingredient like espresso or applesauce, the main ingredient should be there but not be all you taste.  If a mustard sauce tasted just like mustart, then why make a sauce?  Just use the mustard.  I tend to try for a blend of sweet and acid, with usually a bit of sour in there, too (added by the vinegar).  At the end, I like to feel a touch of heat.

If you’re trying out some sauces, let me know what you’ve tried, and let me know how it worked out!

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