One’s preferred barbecue sauce is as personal as their clothes or haircut. And whether you’re cooking ribs, chicken, pork, or even veggies, the great thing about barbecue sauce is that there’s no wrong answer. While some prefer smoky-spicy Texas barbecue, others prefer South Carolina-style mustard-based sauces. Many love North Carolina’s more vinegary sauces, while some enjoy Kansas City’s sweet-spicy, tomato-y barbecue sauce.
These days, there’s very little argument over the fact that barbecue has become a significant part of American culture. Families across the country gather and mingle over countless dinners grilled on the barbecue, and what better way to spice things up with some barbecue sauce slathered on various cuts of meat?
Of course, because barbecue is so popular, barbecue sauces have become commonplace. This wasn’t always the case, however. Believe it or not, barbecue sauce has some history, too.
Ancient Origins of Sauces
Sauces of every kind have old roots, dating as far back as the prehistoric era. Needless to say, technically they were not actually barbecue sauces then. However, cooks did realize that spices and salts could preserve meat when applied directly as well as tenderize and flavor it when soaked in these condiments. The Chinese were among the first to specifically use solutions made of spices, salts, juices, and oils to prepare and flavor meat. They were also the first to realize that various ingredients brought about different results. Early on, Italians were already discovering sauces made things taste better and had created over 100 sauces for meats, pasta, and many other uses.
Sauce for Barbecue
Pinpointing the exact time that barbecue sauce first originated isn’t easy, but we can take a fairly educated guess that it was as early as the 1600s. Writings from that time tell of Dominican missionaries seeing French West Indies cooks adding lemon, lime juice, and hot peppers to barbecued meat. We can trace the root of this recipe to Africa where they used both lime and lemon juices as a traditional method of flavoring meat.
However, in the British colonies in North America limes and lemons were not as abundant so vinegar was used as the main component of a barbecue sauce or marinade. This first barbecue sauce was very primitive as it contained just vinegar and peppers. Well into the 1800s, vinegar was more readily available than citrus fruit, and it became the staple base for making barbecue sauces. People would then experiment by adding things such as mustard, tomato, or sugar to create their own versions.
It was in the U.S., in the 1860s, that the first specific recipe for a “sauce for barbecue” was found in a book written by a Civil War widow. In 1867, Mrs. A.P. Hill published Mrs. Hill’s New Cook Book dedicated to young and inexperienced Southern housekeepers…in this peculiar crisis of our domestic as well as natural affairs. It contains the first reference for a sauce for barbecue, which containes mostly butter and vinegar.
Several newspaper articles from the 1880s described barbecue sauces like Mrs. Hill’s: mostly butter and vinegar seasoned with salt and black pepper, not unlike the sauces still popular on the coast of the Carolinas today.
Barbecue Sauce Goes Commercial
The beginning of the 20th century sparked the commercializations of barbecue sauces, and they began to creep onto the shelves of grocery stores across the country.
The Georgia Barbecue Sauce Company in Atlanta, GA, was the first company to commercially sell barbecue sauce in 1909.
At the top of the page in an ad for it in the Atlantic Constitution it says, “Georgia Barbecue Sauce is the finest dressing known to culinary science for Beef, Pork, Mutton, Fish, Oysters and Game of every kind.” Alas, it is no longer in business.
The oldest commercial barbecue sauce still made today began in 1917 when Adam Scott opened a Barbecue restaurant in Goldsboro, NC. Scott, a preacher, said the ingredients for his barbecue sauce came to him in a dream (although the ingredients are nothing strange for the region). It was mostly vinegar. It was served in his restaurant until his son, A. Martel Scott Sr., spiced up the mixture a bit in 1946.
During the 20th century, other condiment products were also making it into the market (such as ketchup, sugar, and Worcestershire sauce) which greatly affected the flavor and varieties of barbecue sauce. Recipes began to be tweaked, and several different artisan flavors became available for the public’s differing tastes.
Barbecue Sauce Is Bottled
A lot of websites say that the first bottled barbecue sauce was made by H.J. Heinz in Pittsburgh in 1948, but Louis Maull of St. Louis beat them to the punch by 22 years. Heinz may have been the first in broad national distribution, but not first in the bottle.
In 1897, Maull began selling groceries from a horse-drawn wagon he incorporated in 1905. He grew steadily as wholesaler of fish and cheese, and began manufacturing a line of condiments in 1920. He introduced his barbecue sauce in 1926, and it became so popular that the sauce is about all they still make today.
What Makes Barbecue Sauce So Magical?
Contrary to what you may think, barbecue sauce doesn’t actually moisten the meat or make it juicier. In fact, all the water in the meat and the barbecue sauce evaporate as it’s being cooked.
So, why is barbecued meat so succulent and feels as if it melts in your mouth? Well, this wonderful mouthfeel is all due to the barbecue cooking style itself, not the sauce. Cooking meat over low temperatures for a long period will eventually cause the fat and gelatin set in the meat to break down and liquefy. This results in a sensation of moisture even if there’s no actual water in the meat.
So, what in the world do barbecue sauces do?
Quite simply, add the flavor. That’s right. Barbecue sauce is added to the meat to bring out the best taste of the meat. It does so by depositing the seasonings into the meat once the water in it evaporates.
What Ingredients Are Used In Barbecue Sauce?
Early homemade barbecue sauce simply consisted of salt, pepper and vinegar. Then, in the 1920s, barbecue sauce started having ingredients like sugar, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce.
Nowadays, though, barbecue sauce can have many other ingredients in addition to the original ones. Some commonly used ingredients include smoke, onion powder, mustard, molasses, and even mayonnaise.
Popular Types of BBQ Sauces In the U.S.
There are a few types of BBQ sauce that are used more often in the United States than others:
- Tomato-based sauces
- Vinegar-based sauces
- Mayonnaise-based sauces
- Mustard-based sauces
Let’s take a peek at each one.
Tomato-Based Sauces
As you might’ve guessed, these sauces use tomato as the primary ingredient. To that, other ingredients are added to create different flavors, for example: sugar, molasses, vinegar, and various spices.
These sauces are often on the sweet side and compliment meats that are cooked with a sugary rub, such as Kansas City BBQ sauces, St. Louis BBQ sauces, and Texas style barbecue sauces.
Vinegar-Based Sauces
These sauces use vinegar as the primary ingredient with the addition of the flavors. Sugar, ketchup, and various spices might be included. This type of sauce is popular in North Carolina and is used often on pulled pork, as its astringent flavor helps balance out of the fattier pork.
Your vinegar-based BBQ sauces are usually on the strong side and include Carolina-style BBQ sauces and Lexington BBQ sauces.
Mayonnaise-Based Sauces
These sauces use mayonnaise as the primary ingredient. This type of sauce is very popular in Alabama and is often used on chicken. It is usually a creamy sauce with a horseradish kick. It’s not pure mayonnaise though, but rather a combination of mayonnaise thinned out with vinegar and lemon juice. When you think about it, barbecue sauce mainly consists of oil and vinegar held together (which is also what mayonnaise does), so using it as a base for BBQ sauce just makes sense.
Mustard-Based Sauces
These sauces use mustard as the primary ingredient. Mustard based barbecue sauces are usually a bit on the tangy and peppy side.
This type of sauce is popular in South Carolina and the surrounding areas.
Mustard-based sauces are another thin-like sauce which is spicy and astringent, making it the perfect condiment with the region’s classic pulled pork sandwiches.
Types of BBQ Sauce
You might already be aware that there are four main types of BBQ cooking across the U.S. (Kansas City, Memphis, Carolina, and Texas), but did you know that each BBQ style has its own regional variations of barbecue sauce?
North East Carolina
East Carolina BBQ is often joked about, saying they use “every part of the hog except the squeal.” They like to keep things simple, so it makes sense that their signature barbecue sauce is a simple mix.
East Carolina style barbecue sauce is a mixture of cider vinegar with red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt, and spices.
It’s much thinner than most other BBQ sauces making it more of a “mop” sauce, which is perfect for using on the specialty North Carolina whole hog barbecues.
North West Carolina
West Carolina barbecue sauce (also known as Piedmont or Lexington) has a tangy, vinegar base, much like its Eastern rival, but it’s made thicker and sweeter with the addition of tomato ketchup and brown sugar.
South Carolina
South Carolina barbecue sauce is a tangy yellow mixture that has a vinegar base, like its northern counterparts, but with one significant difference: mustard.
The mix of mustard thinned down with vinegar gives a zingy and spicy taste that works perfectly with pork cuts as well as chicken.
Kansas City
Kansas City-style sauce is what many would consider the “traditional” barbecue sauce. It’s a rich and thick, sweet yet tangy sauce that tastes good on pretty much anything. Kansas City barbecue sauce starts with a tomato ketchup base and sweetness such as brown sugar or molasses. After that, a whole range of spices and seasonings can be added to give it more heat or a different flavor profile.
St. Louis
If one style sums up the pairing of pork and sauce, it’s St. Louis BBQ. The city’s serving of pulled pork and smoked ribs are made for sweet and sticky sauces.
St. Louis-style barbecue sauce is the tangier cousin to the Kansas City sauce. It shares the same base of tomato ketchup and sugar but is thinned down with vinegar. This acid addition tones down the sweetness, making it more of a spicy/sweet/sour combination.
Memphis
Often featuring pork, Memphis-style BBQ leans heavier on dry rubs than it does sauces. However, their BBQ sauce is more often used for dipping than it is for basting.
Memphis-style sauce is thin and tangy, similar to Western Carolina. It has a sweet tomato and brown sugar base but with a lot more vinegar and mustard to make it really zingy.
Texas
The Texas barbecue menu is primarily beef based. The barbecue sauce is used more as a marinade or mop rather than a thick serving sauce. It’s a thin sauce with some bold flavors thanks to its old-fashioned recipe.
Texas barbecue sauce starts out like a stock, with vegetables (such as celery, onions, and garlic) cooked in butter before the addition of beef bouillon or beef drippings. Other spices and seasonings are added along with vinegar, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.
The mixture is left to simmer until it has cooked off some of the liquid and then blended in a food processor until smooth.
Alabama White Sauce
Alabama barbecue sauce is easy to spot among the other regional varieties thanks to one immediate difference: it’s a white sauce! It uses a unique base of mayonnaise that has been thinned out with lemon juice and vinegar and heavily seasoned with pepper. The acids give it a delicious tanginess, and the fats in the mayonnaise help to heighten the flavor of meat and keep it moist.
Variations on the recipe add ingredients such as horseradish or mustard to give it a bit more kick.
Overview
As I’m sure you can tell by now, there is a wide variety of barbecue sauces across the United States. From the battle between vinegar and mustard in the Carolinas to the spicy and pepper punch from Texas-style sauce or the sticky sweet sauce found in Kansas City, you are sure to find a sauce that you absolutely love.
A Quintessential BBQ Sauce to Try: Visit One Hot Mama’s and savor our Perfect 10 BBQ Sauce, a sauce that packs a punch when it comes to flavor and heat. A perfect complement for our mouthwatering ribs, pulled pork, and brisket.
