Stuck somewhere between ketchup and a dry rub is barbecue sauce. While not as common as ketchup, barbecue sauce has become a complex American condiment that is prepared differently across the country and heightens the flavor of meat.
The ingredients typically include: ketchup, vinegar, sugar, garlic, onion and mustard. But, it's the consistency and variations that create regional differences coast to coast.
History
There are three landmark periods in the history of barbecue sauce. While there is no exact time, place and person to be credited with its invention, historians link its use back to America in the 1600s with its spread to Europe over the next 200 years. The original uses were to mask harsh gamy flavors in foods that were new to the colonial settlers.
The Louis Maull Co. marketed the first bottled barbecue sauce to Midwesterners in 1926. Pittsburgh's H.J. Heinz Cos. nationally distributed its sauce in 1948.
A burgeoning consumer food culture of the 1990s led to a third boom for sauces. Spurred by the growth of the Food Network television channel, specialty sauces came on the market. These sauces employed differing levels of spices, sweetness and flavors, ranging from teriyaki to smoke-flavored.
Significance
Many large supermarket chains and regional restaurants capitalized on the opportunity to bottle their own sauces. Stubb's Bar-B-Q is one of the pre-eminent restaurant brands that is distributed nationwide. The sauces are based on recipes used at a restaurant of the same name based in Lubbock, Texas. Dinosaur Barbque, based in Syracuse, N.Y., bottles and distributes its products primarily on the Eastern seaboard.
Identification
Barbecue sauces vary regionally. Depending on where you shop, you may see sauces that say "Kansas City-style" or "North Carolina-style". The styles refer to the recipe and consistency of the sauce (the following list is in order from thickest to thinnest).
Kansas City is tomato-based and made with molasses, making it one of the thicker sauces.
St. Louis has a sweet and spicy flavor. It is tomato-based, but is slightly thinner than Kansas City, due to a higher vinegar content.
Texas is often the same thickness as St. Louis, but is made with hot chile peppers and cumin.
Georgia is ketchup- and brown sugar-based and is heavily spiced.
Memphis is considered the middle ground. It is tomato-based with medium thickness with garlic and onion flavors.
Arkansas and most Alabama is a thin tomato and vinegar mixture sweetened by molasses.
South Carolina is generally thin and mustard-based, a tradition that stretches back to 18th century Germany.
North Carolina is typically a thin, vinegar-based sauce with tomatoes and red pepper flakes.
Function
Barbecue sauces are generally used with fish and meats. Thinner sauces are used in the marinading process to keep the meat moist during cooking and extra sauce is usually served with the meat. Thicker sauces are usually used in the final minutes of cooking to apply an extra glaze to the meat. The meat is usually coated in a dry rub, cooked and the sauce is slathered on the meat with a brush or mop.
Geography
Barbecue sauces have moved to include international flavors. Typical sauces are now enhanced with flavors like soy sauce and honey to create Asian or teriyaki sauces. Other manufacturers are using Jamaican jerk flavorings to create Caribbean-flavored sauces.
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