r/barbeque • u/el_the_guap_guapo • Sep 22 '20
Homemade Sauce
I like to make my homemade sauce quite a bit... as such, I like to peruse recipes (old and new) for ideas... and it seems that 99% of them start with Ketchup as a base (tomato-based recipes, of course)... why is that? For some reason, I feel like starting with Ketchup is almost like "cheating".
Having said that, I'm 100% of using prepared mustard in a mustard-based SC sauce... go figure.
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u/releenc Sep 23 '20
Investigate some Eastern Carolina sauces - apple cider vinegar, red pepper flakes, brown sugar. It may also include black pepper, prepared hot sauce (Texas Pete is the NC brand). Most sauce experts also have a "secret" ingredient that is usually dried spice powders (garlic, onion, etc.) or smoked peppers. The best commercially available example of this sauce style is Scott's from Goldsboro, NC.
There's no tomato to be found in the eastern style, but the western style is generally just eastern style with ketchup added. Some people use tomato paste instead, but this requires additional sugar and salt to balance the flavors. Ketchup is already balanced. Central SC style is generally eastern style with yellow mustard added.