When did BBQ become sweet? (video)

Great looking sauce. Gotta try that!

In the last few months my brains returned and I realized that my BBQ had one off the rails. It was time to go back to what I grew up on Simple ingredients( read Salt & Pepper) and a clean hot fire. I was shocked on the first cook I could actually taste the meat of my youth. Now I have never been a Big BBQ sauce type a person and I prefer more of a savory to sweet. Growing up our sauce was A thin salsa de arbol mixed with some Lonestar and drippins or Grandaddys Mop and sometimes a little coffee tossed in especially if the Lonestar was in short supply.

Salsa de Arbol

1 qrt roasted tomatoes
8 chili arbol
juice of 1/2 a lime
2 tsp Garlic salt Not powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp dried Cilantro
Dump it all in a blender pulse 6 times Jar it up let it stand overnight.

Doesn't catsup have a lot of sugar? What's the difference between adding sugar to a tomato base and starting with catsup?

My name is FamilyMan and I have a problem?? I likes sweet bbq...sweet with a bit of heat, as a matter of fact. Kind of what we shoot for when cooking in comps (for our ribs, pork and chicken for sure).

I'll also admit to liking a more savory, not sweet and more peppery, flavor for all things beef.

For me, it depends on the situation, and what we are cooking.

Kinda mesmerized by your video Neil, almost hypnotic. I'm pretty sure I'd swear off the sweet stuff forever if I watch it enough times.

for us, its only sweet for judges.. home and eatin stuff is savory.... rosemary, thyme, oregano and garlic.. no sugar for us... and no sauces.... but for contests, candy on a stick.

Bourbon Barrel BBQ said:

Commercial BBQ sauces started the sweet trend IMO. Go look at your local grocery store shelf and check the labels. The majority of them have lots of high fructose corn syrup. Sweet isn't just a product of competition BBQ.

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Bigmista first off great video, I spent all night last night on a slow night at work catching up on your videos I enjoyed everyone of them.

I agree with the above statement I think the sweetness first came into the picture when bbq sauce became commercialized. But I also think the popularity in competition BBQ has a part in it as well.

I think another factor is how peoples taste have developed over years. Back when BBQ was nothing but savory rubs and minimal sauces sweets were not as popular in peoples diets as they are today. In society today sweets are such a big part of people diets, they have aquired a need for sweetness in other foods as well.

Personally I prefer the savory BBQ, if I eat it sweet at all its only on ribs. I wouldnt even eat ribs with a sweet sauce if it wasnt for my wife loving sweet bbq.

I blame California!
and do we need some of the comp guys to post "shig alert"?? :razz:

Bourbon Barrel BBQ said:

Commercial BBQ sauces started the sweet trend IMO. Go look at your local grocery store shelf and check the labels. The majority of them have lots of high fructose corn syrup. Sweet isn't just a product of competition BBQ.

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Actually, I agree 100% with this. KC Masterpeice and it just kept getting sweeter. A sweet arms race in the grocery aisle.


I too am a fan of the savory side of BBQ. But my better half prefers Blues Hog.... :doh:


So, when can we expect to be able to buy your non-sweet rubs and sauces. :wink:

BBQchef33 said:

for us, its only sweet for judges.. home and eatin stuff is savory.... rosemary, thyme, oregano and garlic.. no sugar for us... and no sauces.... but for contests, candy on a stick.

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Bigmista said:

Funny thing is, if ask most judges, they don't care for sweet either.

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i can believe that.., but I think sweet is the most familiar, and most neutral.

but to deviate to a hardcore savory(at a contest), or more traditional profile(like salt and pepper for instance) would come with a psychological risk from the cooks perspective.

that simply means i wouldnt have the balls to do it. :twitch: