barbecue for you..

I think Southerners are born loving barbecue. And born to argue about whose barbecue tastes the best. There is Kansas City, Memphis, Texas and of course Carolina barbecue. **Sidenote: One of my biggest pet peeves is when people say 'The Carolinas.' Like when I moved to Pennsylvania and I'd tell people I was from South Carolina, they would always respond, "Oh, I've been to the Carolinas." Well thats great, but I'm from SOUTH Carolina. Two separate states! Bah! But I digress.

A breakdown of sauces found in North and South Carolina:

There are 4 types of bbq sauce in the nation, and SC is the only state that is popular for enjoying all 4.
Vinegar and pepper, mustard, light tomato and heavy tomato. Every region of the nation has their own recipe, but these are the 4 categories that cover all barbecue sauces.

South Carolina is best known for its mustard based sauce. Mustard sauce was introduced to South Carolina from German settlers, and if you look at some of the best barbecue joints in SC that serve mustard sauce they usually have a german name. Bessinger's, Shealy's, Sweatman's and Meyer's to name a few.

The second most popular sauce in SC is the vinegar and pepper sauce. Touted to be the first barbecue sauce in America, and thought to be the creation of African slaves of Scottish settlers, this vinegar blend is full of black pepper and crushed red pepper flakes and dash of sugar. This sauce is used both as a baste (also known as a mop in the bbq world) and a finishing sauce.

In the upstate of SC and the western half of NC they serve a light tomato barbecue sauce. Its basically the pepper and vinegar sauce with ketchup or tomato sauce added. A lot of times its called a dip on menus. This sauce was said to have been invented in Lexington, NC around the turn of the century when ketchup became popular on store shelves. The ketchup was used to sweeten the harsh acidity of the pepper-vinegar sauce.

Lastly, the sauce most Americans are accustomed to, the heavy tomato sauce. This thick, super sweet tomato sauce is what you'll find in bottle by Kraft or KC Masterpiece. This is what comes to mind for most when you talk about barbecue sauce. In SC this sauce is mainly enjoyed in the Old 96 District  on the GA border and Thoroughbred Country around Aiken.

As far as I am concerned barbecue is pork and the sauce is yellow. But to keep FH happy I have had to learn to accept red sauce.

Now that you've had a little culinary history lesson I will share a few recipes with you.

Pin It
Neely's BBQ Sauce
Makes about 3 cups

2 cups ketchup
1 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
5 Tbsp light brown sugar
5 Tbsp sugar
1/2 Tbsp black pepper
1/2 Tbsp onion powder
1/2 Tbsp ground mustard
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

Throw everything in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for an hour and 15 minutes.

This sauce is a staple in my house. It is the perfect mix of the vinegary sauce that I love and the thick, cloyingly sweet sauce that FH grew up with.

I have never made mustard sauce before. At home in SC you can buy it just about anywhere, so I've never had the need to make my own. But now that I've moved to Kansas and cannot find any at the grocery store I have had to experiment with a few recipes.

SC Mustard Barbecue Sauce
from The Galley Gourmet blog

1 and 1/2 cups yellow mustard
1 and 1/4 cups white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp pork or bacon drippings (or liquid smoke)

Put all of the ingredients except for the butter and the drippings in a sauce pan and whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter. Add half of the drippings and taste. Add the rest if you think more is needed.

This recipe really reminds me of Little Pig's barbecue sauce, but with a little more kick. If you are from the Spring Valley or Dentsville areas of Columbia you have most likely had Little Pig's barbecue. Some slow roasted pork and a Captain John Derst's roll and some of this sauce and thats all you need for a great barbecue sandwich.