Competition: Who has the best BBQ Sauce.

[infernooo]

Originally Posted by Big D BBQ

Just read this whole thread from the beginning. After a rough start, the thread came around and is very entertaining.

Keep up the good work, and I might just send you Big D's BBQ sauce :)

Sounds good, I am always open to samples!! ;)

Originally Posted by mcoupe

Great thread! Thanks for all your trouble....

My pleasure, it has been a lot of fun so far! Very enlightening too.

Originally Posted by TIMMAY

Man I have a ways to go till you get to my sauce...

I will get there, don't you worry ;)

Originally Posted by nthole

Hey infernooo, I'll throw my original into the mix. It's pretty popular with our subdivision at least! Always asked if we'll bottle and sell it. I can't wait to see your opinion. Lately we've been increasing the honey and decreasing the molasses, but keeping the total of both to 3/4 cup.

Pork Pistols Original

6 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon onion powder

4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup Worcestershire
1/4 cup Jack Daniels
2 tablespoon yellow mustard
2 teaspoon liquid smoke

Mix all ingredients and bring to a simmer. Blend to smooth if any spices have chunked.

makes 5 cups.

Looks like a good sauce with some common ingredients, should be good!

Originally Posted by landarc

Good luck on that. I mean, great, look forward to it. I gotta try these mustard sauces, it is something not really in my BBQ repertoire.

Some of them are VERY good, SoFlaquers is the best of the ones I have tried so far - complex, but a great balance of flavours and versatile too.

Originally Posted by 1FUNVET

Thanks for all the effort and money you are investing in this project

My pleasure, it has been great so far to see the differences between sauces and the elements that can make or break them or make them more or less suitable to certain meats.

Originally Posted by Erin

This is an awesome thread for a newbie to read. I've been wondering about homemade sauces, but I haven't had the time to research it so I have been using grocery store bottled sauces (gasp!). I am so glad the thread got back on track as I loved the very first introduction and idea. I am sooooo inexperienced! Thank you infernoo and BBQchef33.

Commercial sauces can be very hit & miss - there are definitely some outstanding ones (just think about the amount of time and experimentation that many sauce makers spend on their products), but also some VERY mediocre sauces.

Originally Posted by Erin

I may be harsh, but I have tried a LOT of sauces (http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i3...841_resize.jpg), so my standards are pretty high ;)

Hi Infernoo,
Do you keep a journal or some sort of record/notes of all of the bottled sauces that you have tried?[/QUOTE]

I do indeed! I have a record of tasting notes and ratings for all of those bottled sauces.

Originally Posted by Erin

Infernoo,
What you are doing is pretty amazing and very interesting to this newbie who has never made a sauce. I received my Traeger for Christmas and I am trying to learn as much as I can. Your sauce experiment is very interesting and enjoyable. Keep up the good work and thank you for all of your hard work.

Thanks Erin, I appreciate the kind comments ;)

Originally Posted by 1FUNVET

When you are finished with all the sauces will you compile a list of them with recipes and ratings in a format that will be ez to print ?

I hope so, if I have the time and willpower to do so! Just making the sauces, doing the write ups and replying in this thread is pretty damn time consuming!

Originally Posted by inv3ctiv3

I just made a great sauce, 64oz of ketchup, some mustard, oregano, apple sauce, cherry preserves, minced garlic, some simply marvelous sweet and spicy rub, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, etc. Can't wait to use it!

Sounds good, the marvelous rubs are a great product, so I would imagine a sauce using them would be pretty special

Originally Posted by Erin

Yes Infernoo,
This is such a wonderful thread. A keeper/classic. One to be referenced in the future. I have been cutting and pasting your work into a word document. When I get better at what I am just beginning to learn I want to come back to this project and study the recipes. This goes along with some new books I bought from Amazon. I am also taking a BBQ class this month. You are helping me. This is such a wonderful thing for a newbie like me to stumble upon. Thank you Infernoo!!!!

You are welcome! Experimenting and researching is the best way to find what works for you. As mentioned numerous times, taste, barbecue and most certainly bbq sauces are extremely subjective, and you will find out pretty quickly what style of sauces "work" best for you and which you enjoy most!

Originally Posted by Boshizzle

Tso's Southern Style BBQ Sauce

Here is a recipe that I developed because my wife and daughter really like Gen. Tso's Hunan Chicken but they don't like the fact that it's deep fried. I slightly modified the General Tso's chicken sauce to make it more like BBQ sauce. The recipe follows.

1 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup light soy sauce
3/4 cup sugar
1 TBS crushed garlic
1 TBS finely chopped ginger
2 Sliced spring onions
1 TBS Crushed Red Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon White Pepper
1/3 cup cool water (preferably bottled but tap water is fine as long as it is not warm or hot)
3 TBS of corn starch
1/2 to 1 TBS Sesame Oil (to taste)

Mix the vinegar, wine, soy, sugar, red and white pepper, onions, garlic, and ginger and heat in a sauce pan. Mix the water and corn starch in a small bowl/cup and set aside (don't add it yet).

When the sauce comes to a boil and you think the alcohol from the wine has cooked off, whisk in just enough of the water and corn starch mixture to bring the sauce to the thickness that you want. Then remove from heat and whisk in the Sesame Oil.

Use the warm sauce to glaze grilled/BBQ chicken or pork. Haven't tried it on beef, but I bet it's pretty good on that too.

Sounds VERY interesting... we don't have that dish here in Australia (we tend to focus more on traditional Chinese and Cantonese food)... added!

Originally Posted by stglide

This should become a sticky thread! Keep the reviews and recipes coming! Great stuff!

It is up to the mods, but I will keep going, thank you Sir!

Originally Posted by Wampus

Great! I'll be watching (as if I haven't been watching all along.....).
Mine's simple and easy.....but I LOVE it!



Thanks again for doing this infernooo! It's quite a commitment, if you ask me! I'm really digging the reviews too!!!

Haha you are welcome, the review of your submitted sauce will be up very soon. Thanks again for submitting it!

Originally Posted by Lake Dogs

Wampus, good luck. For what it's worth, I found that sending infernooo $500 US
helps. ;-)

$500? You said $250 ;(

Originally Posted by Erin

I am laughing at Lake Dogs! Again, Infernoo I love what you are doing here. I look everyday for an update. Thanks for doing what you are doing. This newbie is enjoying it.

Thanks Erin, hopefully I can update it a bit more frequently from now on!

Originally Posted by cpw

Just wanted to jump in here and say Thanks to all who are submitting their recipes, and especially thanks to infernoo for making them and grading them. I'm new to BBQ but I'm a huge fan of making my own sauces, and there's quite a few in here I'll be trying out.

There is something special about a great homemade sauce... knowing that you can whip it up whenever you want and not having to rely on someone else is terrific.

Originally Posted by landarc

Hey Infernoo,
Here is a sauce variant for you, more of a mop sauce except that it forms its own glaze as you cook it on. It is used like a spray on mop (like that makes sense). It will work great on pork ribs and I suspect as a mix in for pulled pork as well.

Pig Honey Sauce
1 cup apple juice
1/4 cup Red Boat Fish Sauce
1/4 cup Braggs Amino Acids
1/8 cup Honey
1 Tablespoon turbinado sugar

Combine all ingredients and bring to just short of a boil, maintain heat until sugar is dissolved. See above for use. I believe it is important not to boil this mixture as I believe the boil process will cause the proteins to denature and not function in the manner I want it to work. I have also become aware of the loss of character that fish sauce can suffer when excessively boiled.

Wow, that sounds pretty special, I will definitely give it a go!

Originally Posted by FattyMac

Wow. I had not looked at this thread for awhile. Looks like I was missing out!

Thanks again Infernoo!

You are welcome, hopefully I can keep things going regularly!

[Wampus]

^^^^^Heck......I'd say that post ALONE was pretty damn time consuming!!!!^^^^^

[Erin]

I agree with Wampus. Wow, that was an amazing post Infernoo.

[infernooo]

Now it is time for wampus sauce!

#8 Wampus Sauce (http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...3&postcount=36)
MY all time favorite sauce is a South Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce.
I can't claim it....it's from Steve Raichlen's BBQ USA. I LOVE mustard/vinegar based sauces.

1 tbs butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup Dijon mustard
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1 tbs hot sauce (I use Tobasco usually, or other "Louisiana style" sauce
1/2 cup water
Course salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper

Melt butter in saucepan.
Add onion and garlic and cook intil soft, but NOT brown (about 3 min).
Stir in mustard, brown sugar, vinegar and hot sauce and water.
Let simmer, uncovered, until thick and richly flavored, 6 to 10 min.
Taste for seasoning, add S&P or more hot sauce to taste.
Let sauce cool to room temp before serving (I don't usually do this).
Yields about cups.

Recipe Review:


Ingredients: The ingredient list looks a lot like what one would expect in a SC mustard sauce, except that dijon mustard and plain white vinegar are used. The usual suspects include brown sugar, garlic, onion and hot sauce.


Ease of preparation: Besides the extra step of sweating off the onion and garlic, it is very basic and includes only a short simmer time.

Modifications and variations tested: I tested this on smoked brisket, ribs, grilled chicken thighs and pulled pork (I always have a supply of pulled pork and brisket on hand!). I also tried with another brand of Dijon mustard.

Taste/Texture: Whilst this sauce had a lovely flavour, I felt it was let down by 2 factors. One was a slight imbalance of sweet/pungent/sour, and the other was a conflict in flavours in the sauce. I feel that something does not work quite as well as the "usual" yellow mustard and cider vinegar combination. I absolutely love dijon mustard (and honey dijon), but something was just not quite right with this, even after trying another brand of dijon. I believe it is because of the wine and vinegar types used in the mustard as well as the fact that brown mustard seeds are used. The texture however was spot on, coating ribs well and mixing into shredded meat nicely. The sauce is not overly spicy, but does have a definite pungency to it with a nice sweet background note.

Recommendations: If using with pulled pork or beef, reduce the amount of sugar, and for pulled pork, increase the vinegar slightly.

Ratings:

Appearance: 7.5/10 As you can see from the photos below, it is a very attractive looking sauce with a nice creamy colour to it.

Consistency: 8/10 Reasonably thick and rich, not too runny, and not a solid mass - great in my opinion for an all rounder!

Taste: 6/10 Even though the dijon mustard lends complexity, I just felt it did not work brilliantly overall, especially if one considers potentially clashing flavours in a rub used below it.

Versatility: 7/10 We all know dijon mustard is made for beef. Given this, it was quite nice with some brisket once sweetness was slightly reduced. It glazes nicely and whilst it went well with the pulled pork, I felt it did not hold up too well with the chicken (which surprised me as I usually love honey-mustard-chicken dishes).

Overall Rating: 6/10 Keep in mind that this is purely my opinion - you may love this sauce, you may hate it. The only way to know for sure is to try it. I am quite a fan of Mr. Raichlen and believe he has done an outstanding job of spreading the interest, recipes and techniques of various styles of grilling and barbecuing. However I must say that to my taste buds, this sauce slightly missed the mark and I feel as though perhaps one of his recipe developers produced this as a slight twist on a classic SC mustard sauce without extensive testing.


Photos of sauce construction:
Ingredients (Clockwise from top left):

Butter, Dijon Mustard, Salt + Pepper, Garlic + Onion, Brown Sugar, White Vinegar + Hot Sauce + Water.




Ingredients Mixed:




Finished Sauce





Thank you Wampus, as always, your submission is greatly appreciated

Next up, #9 - phyphors sauce!

[landarc]

Again, a nice review and a good looking sauce. I wonder is there is a Dijon that would work. I could really use a good mustard sauce.

[Wampus]

Well......time to try a new mustard vinegar sauce.
I've not tried a lot of them. Honestly, when I found this one, I tried it, liked it and stopped looking.

There's a couple of other SC mustard vinegar sauces on this thread that I'll definitely have to check out. They are a bit more complex, and they have more of the ingredients that you mention so what you said makes sense.


THANKS INFERNOOO as always for doing this! Thanks for the review! DIGGIN IT!!!


Oh......but, ummmmm..........they're spelled: FLAVOR and COLOR. No "u"s.


HA HA HA HA HA.......JUST KIDDING!!!

[cpw]

Wampus, I've tried soflaquers mustard sauce, and it's very good, if you like a very strong mustard flavor (which I really don't). I've got a much sweeter recipe I found somewhere that I'll post here for judging.

[Wampus]

Yeah, I just went back and looked at that one. infernooo rated it as an 8/10 overall. The only thing I noticed about it was it had no onion or garlic, which although he stated didn't detract from it, is exactly what I like about mine (specifically the onion).

Perhaps I'll just play with mine a bit and try going with a apple cider vinegar, or different sugar types, worchestershire, yellow mustard, etc. Maybe.

OR, I'll just try them in a side-by-side with the other (sauce #4) as well and see.


Hmmmmmm.........

[Lake Dogs]

BUMP. Great thread, should be bookmarked by some.

Infernooo, how's it going with the next one?

[infernooo]

On to the 9th entry!

Thanks goes to phyphor for his entry of "Kansas City Style BBq Sauce Style".

#9 phyphor (http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...8&postcount=39)

This one is a one my son likes I spice mine up with a drop of Blair 2 am

Kansas City Style BBq Sauce Style

2 cups water
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup vinegar
3 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Add Heat to your level of tolerance

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over high heat and whisk until smooth.
2. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes or until mixture is thick.
3. Cool, then store in a covered container in the refrigerator overnight so that flavors can develop.
Makes 2 cups.
Recipe Review:

Notes: Vinegar was Heinz, Molasses a mix of Brer Rabbit and Grandma's. For the spices, I used Penzeys with the liquid smoke being a mixture of Tones and Colgins.


Ingredients: The ingredients are quite telling, pointing at a sweet, sticky, smokey, KC style sauce with a touch of spice.

Ease of preparation: A simple list of ingredients, with the most time consuming step being the simmering and reduction of the sauce. I would estimate it takes about 50 minutes in total from start to finish.


Taste/Texture: Sweet, strong and smokey, with a slightly cloying mouthfeel to it which I put down to the corn syrup. I found that this reminded me of the bottled KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce (the first smokey BBQ sauce I ever tried), but unfortunately, not in a good way, as I feel I have since moved on and found much better sauces.

Recommendations: I felt that it was a bit too sticky and smokey, with the combination of corn syrup and liquid smoke giving it an artificial feeling. I would try switching the corn syrup to raw sugar, and either reducing the amount of liquid smoke and using some of the cooking drippings, or putting some smoked spanish paprika or chipotle in.

Ratings:

Appearance: 8/10 There is no doubt that it is a nice looking sauce, very typical of your BBQ sauces - thick, rich and dark looking (although not as dark as bottled KC Masterpiece sauce as it lacks the added caramel colouring).

Consistency: 6/10 Unfortunately one of its letdowns. A bit too syrupy for my likings. Although this means it clings extremely well to certain cuts (e.g. ribs and chicken), it also makes you feel that you are using a bottled sauce. Thankfully there is no added cornstarch to make the matter worse.

Taste: 6/10 Whilst it had an element of nostalgia, the sauce did not win me over. It did have a good balance of sweet/sour/salty, and with some added hotsauce for the chilli lovers, all of the elements balance well. Though it still has that slightly artificial feel to it, and with the small amount of spices, it is mostly "just" a sweet and smokey sauce.


Versatility: 6/10 I can definitely see this being used on a slab of ribs, when you want a sticky, messy meal and want a lot of smoke and sweetness (hey, some people love that!), but not so much on pulled pork or chicken in my opinion.

Overall Rating: 5.5/10. This sauce could be changed for the better in my mind, but if you are looking at re-creating bottled KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce at home, I think this could definitely be used as a copycat recipe. It has a very similar taste and texture (minus the darkness from colouring and extra thickness from thickeners), unfortunately, it has a very one-dimensional feel to it which was a bit of a letdown..


Photos of sauce construction:


1.) The ingredients:



Clockwise from top (Water + Vinegar not shown):

Tomato Paste + Vinegar, Salt + Onion Powder + Pepper + Paprika + Garlic Powder, Molasses + Brown Sugar + Liquid Smoke
2.) After cooking for about 45 minutes until reduced and thick:






3.) Sauce after slight cooling:





Thank you once again phyphor for the recipe

Next up, gixxers sauce

[landarc]

I can't help but think that this would actually be a pretty popular sauce based upon your comments. Sounds like what many folks expect a sauce to be.

[1FUNVET]

I think i'll make a batch for my bro-n-law. He thinks KC Masterpiece is nectar of the BBQ Gods.

[deepsouth]

great thread.

[Lake Dogs]

I grew up with sauces similar to this. My parents love this type of sauce applied
thick on ribs, and my father prefers it cooked on, using high heat. I'm in a different
camp (so to speak). I've come to learn that there are those sauces that are great
on their own, and others that aren't worth a darn unless they're on a particular type
of meat. Nothing wrong with this; they're just different. I like the KC Masterpieces
and the Head Countries. I tend to use them on hamburgers and hotdogs (really).
I also serve them on the side with the other barbecue when we have company, as
variety is certainly the spice of life.

[rauljustice]

wow, infenooo, you are one dedicated son of a gun, thanks for all your work