Are you feeling a little saucy this summer? Indulge in your favorite barbecue flavors from around the country!
Barbecue is a method of cooking meat, traditionally tough, less-expensive cuts, in a wood-burning pit over a low temperature for a long period of time to create tender, moist, flavorful results.
Regional flavors are based on the type of seasoning used. All the sauces used in the US generally can be grouped into one of four basic categories:
- Vinegar and Pepper
- Mustard
- Light Tomato
- Heavy Tomato
While there are literally thousands of options available today — from mass-market brands to small-batch, independent labels — barbecue sauce in its simplest form can be classified into seven regional flavor profiles. Here is a guide to seven regional flavor profiles.
Kansas City
Kansas City-style barbecue includes a wide variety of meats and is perhaps the most popular style in the U.S. Kansas City-style sauce, a thick, tangy, and sweet, tomato-and-molasses or brown sugar-based sauce, is what many think of when they think of barbecue sauce. The Kansas City sauce falls under the Heavy Tomato sauce category. Since it has a high sugar content, it’s best used after cooking meat, as it can burn easily over high grilling heat.
Memphis
Memphis-style barbecue is primarily pork, ribs, or pulled form, often served dry. “Dry” means chefs use only a dry rub for flavoring. Traditional Memphis-style dry rub consists of salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne, sugar, and a variety of other spices.
Many restaurants serve their ribs dry with sauce on the table for those who want it. The sauce is typically tangy, with a bit of vinegar and thin tomato-based sauce, which falls under the Vinegar and Pepper type.
Texas
Texas-style barbecue is all about the beef, especially the brisket. The emphasis in Texas falls on the meat, not the sauce. Texas-style sauce is usually thin and tomato-based, mixed with beef drippings, chili pepper, and spices. It is the least sweet and somewhat spicy. The sauce falls under the Light Tomato sauce category. The thin texture allows this style of sauce to soak into the meat as it cooks, giving it a rich, full flavor that goes beyond the surface.
North Carolina
North Carolina-style barbecue has two distinct styles: Piedmont- or Lexington-style and Eastern-style. The Lexington style uses pork shoulder, and the sauce is a vinegar-and-tomato-based red sauce. The Eastern style focuses on the whole hog with a sauce consisting of vinegar and pepper, which is often used as a mop sauce during cooking. This sauce is categorized as Vinegar and Pepper. Both styles agree that the pork should be brushed with a spice-and-vinegar mixture while cooking and served with a ketchup-based sauce.
South Carolina
South Carolina-style barbecue can be divided into three different styles, one of which is the only one that uses a mustard-based sauce and includes brown sugar and vinegar. The state’s western section features a peppery, tomato-based sauce. The central area focuses on a German influence with that notable mustard sauce, referred to as “Carolina Gold.” The third style hails from the coastal Pee Dee region and uses a thin, spicy, vinegary, peppery sauce. They usually grill beef, chicken or lamb at their barbecue. The sauce categories include Light Tomato, Mustard, Vinegar, and Pepper.
Kentucky
Kentucky-style barbecue has two barbecue regions: the western region and the south-central region. The westerly part of the state is known for its mutton-based barbecue. The mutton is typically served with a vinegar-based sauce called mutton dip. The south-central part of Kentucky is known for its use of thin-sliced pork shoulder dressed with a pepper-and-vinegar sauce. The sauce falls under the Vinegar and Pepper category.
Alabama
Alabama-style barbecue is all about the pork – smoked pork shoulder, butt, or ribs. If you go to Alabama, you’ll notice something different about the sauce before you even taste it: the color. In Alabama, barbecue sauce is white. It is referred to as “Alabama barbecue sauce,” “Alabama white sauce,” or “White BBQ sauce.” This characteristic mayonnaise-based barbecue sauce includes cider vinegar, lemon juice, horseradish, salt, pepper, and hot sauce.
Who knew barbecue was so diverse? The perfect barbecue sauce adds flavor and moisture to meat, but every area has its own varieties. This summer, try these lip-licking regional barbecue sauces!
Written by Vicki Hayman, MS, University of Wyoming Extension Nutrition and Food Safety Educator
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