While some people eat barbecue only occasionally, others consider this style of cooking – and the variety of sweet, spicy and savory barbecue sauces that come with it – to be a way of life. For the barbecue novice, it can be overwhelming to see a caddy full of barbecue sauce types at your local barbecue joint, each unique with a different flavor profile and deep-rooted history.
In the United States, barbecue has become a national pastime. Destinations such as Kansas City, Texas, Memphis, Alabama and North and South Carolina have created a barbecue culture. These succulent smoked meats bring an array of sauces that novices may find a bit overwhelming.
David Brendan, a barbecue enthusiast, registered dietitian, nutritionist and founder of the fitness website Start Rowing, says barbecue is an ancient cooking technique that has been adopted countless times by different regions and cultures around the world.
“Originally, what became a barbecue tradition in the United States was a cooking technique used by the indigenous Taino people of the Caribbean called barbacoa,” Brendan told Yahoo Lifestyle. “The technique was first introduced to Spain and later Anglicized in the British colonies of Virginia and the Carolinas.”
Barbecue changed dramatically as it spread through different parts of the United States, where new ingredients such as tomatoes could be used. Tomatoes meant a thicker, richer sauce that could really add flavor to barbecued meats.
What is a Kansas City-style barbecue sauce?
Brendan says the barbecue sauce we find in most American grocery stores is what bacon lovers call Kansas City-style “dressing,” a variety first developed by black chef and restaurateur Henry Perry, who started his barbecue business in 1908, serving bacon to workers in downtown Kansas City. He started the barbecue business in 1908, serving smoked meats to workers in the Garment District of downtown Kansas.
Known as the “Father of Kansas City Barbecue,” Perry went on to open his own barbecue restaurants and was inducted into the Royal American Barbecue Hall of Fame in 2014. The barbecue legend is said to have added a generous amount of molasses to his sauce – making Kansas City one of the country’s most famous barbecue hubs, known for its rich ketchup and sweet, spicy and rich flavors.
Eudell Watts IV is the great-great-grandson of Arthur Watts, one of the country’s first pitmasters, who developed his barbecue sauce recipe more than 160 years ago. Today, Watts carries on the family tradition with his family company, Old Arthur’s Barbecue Sauce, which sells original varieties of hot sauce in addition to barbecue sauce.
“There was always an excitement in the house when we knew [growing up] that we were going to make Arthur’s sauces and spreads,” Watts says. “It was partly due to the anticipated hospitality, but also pride in the uniqueness of Arthur’s heritage that we still share today.”
So how did Arthur Watts, known as “Old Arthur,” develop his signature sauce recipe?Eudell Watts says Arthur was born into slavery on a Missouri farm in 1837. From childhood, his daily task was to prepare barbecues on the open pit of the estate with which he was associated. There, he first began making sauces and seasonings to accompany his barbecue.
Emancipated in 1863, Arthur made his living as a highly respected Pitmaster, serving large barbecues for city festivals, county fairs and large social events in central Illinois. His eldest son, Eudell, wrote down his father’s recipe, and future generations have continued the tradition to this day by making the same sauce.
“We made minimal changes to the original recipe,” Watts says, “and we were careful to keep it original. Our barbecue sauce is classified as Kansas City-style, which means it’s a tomato sauce.”
What is Memphis Style BBQ Sauce?
Kortney-Dewayne Powell is the executive manager of Pollard’s BBQ in Memphis, Tennessee, and the fourth generation of Pollard family barbecue chefs. Powell says Memphis-style barbecue has shaped his family’s traditions over the years.
“Barbecue is culturally representative of family,” he says, “and whether it brings us together or supports us financially, our journey into the barbecue business began at local slaughterhouses and meat processing plants in Memphis.” All the men in the Pollard family worked at the plant, initially as a way to survive financially and later as the basis for how the family discovered some of their most important knowledge about barbecue.
“Preparing the meat and preparing the fire was a teamwork process for the family – it was also a family tradition,” Powell said. “As a fourth-generation member of the family, I feel a sense of connection and pride when I trim the ribs, just as my uncle learned from his father, who learned from his father. The same goes for the sauce.”
According to Powell’s, Memphis barbecue consists primarily of ribs and pork shoulder, often broken down into pulled pork. It is different from other famous barbecue styles, such as Texas, a place known for its beef ribs and brisket.
Memphis-style sauces are thinner than other sauces and have an intensely vibrant flavor profile, categorized by their richness and semi-thin texture. “Every drop of our sauce is hand-blended from scratch,” Powell says. “The sweetness and viscosity of our sauces are tailored to the flavor profile of our bacon.”
But where did the original idea of dipping barbecue meats into barbecue sauce come from? Powell says it makes sense. “Sauces are versatile and can be used as a secondary or primary food supplement,” he says. “Therefore, dipping allows one to appreciate the smoked flavor of the meat, the flavor of the sauce and the combination of the two.”
What is Carolina-style barbecue sauce?
Rodney Scott is the founder and head of Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ, which has locations in Charleston, S.C., Birmingham, Ala. and Atlanta, Ga.
Scott has been the subject of the Netflix series Chef’s Table and served as a judge on two seasons of Food Network’s BBQ Brawl.
Since the age of 11, Scott has been roasting whole hogs over charcoal. He worked at his family’s barbecue restaurant in Hemingway, S.C., until opening his first restaurant in 2017. “There’s only one kind of barbecue we know in Hemingway,” Scott says, “and that’s a South Carolina-style barbecue known for its slow whole hog cooking.”
“We will always honor its heritage because as they say – if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” he added.
Scott shared in Carolina that barbecue is known for its vinegar and pepper sauces. Carolina barbecue sauce is acidic and vinegary, not thick and sweet like the Kansas City-style sauce that is known to be thick and sweet. They each have a place at the table: Carolina-style sauces are best served with pork, while Kansas City-style sauces are usually served with beef.
What is Alabama White BBQ Sauce?
Scott may be the master of Carolina-style barbecue, but in expanding his restaurant to Birmingham, the team had to add Alabama White sauce to the menu. The creamy sauce proved so popular that they added it to all of the restaurant’s menus.
“Alabama White Sauce is the only sauce that is mayonnaise-based,” Scott explains. “The flavor profile is usually creamier and more savory than the vinegary taste of Carolina sauce and the sweetness of Kansas City flavor. It’s best served over poultry such as smoked chicken or turkey.”
What is Texas BBQ Sauce?
Rayford Busch was born and raised in south Houston, Texas, and says the neighborhood he grew up in, Third Ward, is the “original birthplace” of Houston barbecue.
“Growing up in this community, you’re surrounded by barbecue lore and their style of barbecue has been passed down through generations,” said Busch, one of the owners of Ray’s Real Pit BBQ Shack in Houston. “Barbecue is everything to me: I watched my father work as a maintenance man at several barbecue joints in Houston, and as a young man I had the opportunity to work alongside him at these establishments and developed a keen interest in the art of barbecue. “
But in a state as big as Texas, it’s no surprise that barbecue means something different to everyone you ask. “It totally depends on what part of the Lone Star State you’re from,” Busch says. “Traditionally, Texas barbecue is dominated by brisket, ribs and homemade sausage.”
In Texas, Busch says, meat is traditionally smoked with a dry rub. When the meat is cooked, the sauce is not heavy. “We focus on a mild and sweet tomato-based barbecue sauce,” he says. “It leaves a little bit of heat when you’re done, but it’s very useful for all different types of smoked meats.”
What is Caribbean-style barbecue sauce?
Max Hardy, chef and owner of COOP Caribbean Fusion and Jed’s Detroit in Detroit, Michigan, is a contestant in the latest season of BBQ Brawl. At his restaurants, Hardy combines deep-rooted BBQ traditions with a passion for exploring flavors to share BBQ dishes with an island twist.
“It’s different because you don’t get to see a lot of Caribbean barbecue sauces,” he says. “You might see a jerk marinade or a mango chili, but to really get into it and bring all the island flavors together? I don’t think we see a lot of that.”
Hardy describes his sauces as “barbecue with an island vibe.”
It’s one of those things that we do that has a connection to a lot of different islands in the Caribbean,” he explains, “but we’re also paying homage to traditional barbecue. The mix between the red sauce and the vinegar sauce and then some jerk, guava and mango.”
Although he is a French-trained chef who specializes in many different types of food, for Hardy, barbecue is a true passion that connects him to his roots and the memories of cooking with his father. “For me, it’s probably my favorite thing to do, my favorite pastime,” he says. “Whenever I can, I go to the grill.”
Yahoo Lifestyle asked the Pitmasters for recipes to make different barbecue sauces at home.
The Watts Family’s Kansas City-Style Dr. Pepper Barbecue Sauce
Courtesy of Eudell Watts IV
Ingredients：
2 cups ketchup
1 1/2 cups Dr. Pepper
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 Tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons mild chili powder
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
A few drops of liquid smoke, optional
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions：
Collect ingredients.
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan.
Simmer over medium-low heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring often.
Remove sauce from heat and let cool for 15 minutes.
