THE ART OF SAUCE

Creating a sauce many will enjoy.

By Devin Feliciano, ASF Editor

Barbecue sauces add a layer of complexity to meat and grilling enhances the taste. Across the United States, barbecue sauce competitions have become a significant platform for sauce makers to show their skills and gain recognition, and most restaurants are proud of their in-house sauces. Derrick Burnett, owner and grillmaster of Back Porch BBQ, has had his barbecue restaurant opened since 2012. He’s been making his own sauces for many years.

Some people felt it was necessary that we needed to have the sauces.”

“Well, you know, you have barbecue,” Burnet said. “Some people need sauce with them. That’s kind of how it came to be. Some people felt it was necessary that we needed to have the sauces.”

The creation of sauces involves varying preparation time. The differences in preparation time contribute to the diverse range of flavors and textures and when it comes to the composition of sauces, each sauce has its own unique profile.

“The quick one is mustard and vinegar, mostly,” Burnett said. “And sugar, so it’s just blended ingredients. The other ones have seasoning and spices that need to meld into the flavors of them and stuff. You have to heat them to bring out the flavors in them. The other ones we just go for the vinegar mustard punch.”

With a wide variety of sauces available, each with its own regional influence, the world of barbecue sauces extends to many different likings one might have. Kim Foy, owner of Hoosier Daddy BBQ sauce values the uniqueness and quality of their sauce, and appreciates the satisfaction it brings towards others.

“I believe it has to be something unique that separates it from others in the consistency and taste,” Foy said. ”Most will say it is blended well and caramelizes nicely over flame.”

“Texas has a bold flavor – it’s solid,” Foy said. “You have vinegar, mustard, tomato [are the] bases creating the Carolina Sauce – White sauce – Mustard Sauce, I like them all, but I do think Hoosier Daddy BBQ sauce has the best all in one!”

Different regions have different styles of preparing barbecue, and like barbecue, so do sauces. Sauces have different textures, and profiles in Texas. Pitmasters get inspiration from different regions, combining what they know with the region.

An example of that is Derrick Burnet’s sauce.

“Our main sauce that we do the most of is kind of Kansas city style but kind of Texas-ish.,” Burnett said. “It’s not as sweet and thick, which is kind of like Kansas city style. It’s dark and it has molasses in it. It’s kind of sweeter and smokey. Texas sauce which is kind of more tangy and light colored, kind of, is a little spicy and peppery.”

Sauces are complex, since one small difference in the ingredients, and the sauce’s flavor is thrown off.

Nancy Webber, co-owner of Tin

Roof BBQ, explained that creating a sauce many people will enjoy, proves a great challenge, since tweaking the sauce here and there is necessary for a great sauce.

“I’ve used off brands to try to save money and it has a different taste,” Webber said.

Sauces create a new realm of flavor for barbecue.The experience sauces bring to the barbecue landscape differs throughout the United states. Making sauces unique in their own way.