I have tried lots of sauce recipes over the years and this is my favorite. Bev Goldman is the wife of a golf buddy of mine. I know, I know: A Jew that lives in San Francisco and smokes pork?

What's your favorite?

Alabama BBQ Sauce (courtesy of Bev Goldman)

1 minced onion
1 minced garlic clove
½ C. catsup
½ C. cider vinegar
⅓ C. honey
¼ C. worcestershire
2 tsp. Dry mustard
1 tsp. Ground ginger.
1 tsp. Salt
Juice 1 lemon

Saute onion, add rest of ingredients and simmer until reduced to your liking. Strain if you wish.

My tweaks:
I like tangy and hot, so I add more vinegar and some cayenne.

Sawsee? Sauze? Soowais?

What is this thing of which you speak?

Good BBQ shouldn't need dressing up with sauce. The meat and spices should stand on their own.

Dry rub for me, please. And if it's Texas-style beef BBQ, just salt and pepper.

I only apply BBQ sauce when I'm presented with dry, bland quasi-BBQ, and I need some help to be able to choke it down.

About the only sauce I use on a regular basis is buffalo wing sauce on grilled/smoked chicken wings.

I do enjoy mostly just dry rubs, can't say the same for the rest of the family. BBQ sauce and lots of it. I usually doctor up store brand honey sauce with garlic, white vinegar, brown sugar and dehydrated onion.

The locals here love their pulled pork, it isn't fit for dogs, the only flavor is the sauce in it.

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
The locals here love their pulled pork, it isn't fit for dogs, the only flavor is the sauce in it.

If their pulled pork is flavorless, and requires adding sauce, they're definitely doing it wrong!

I've got a recipe that is hands down the best blend of the ketchup/vinegar/sweet trio and is incredibly simple. It's very close to what you've posted, but without the honey and onion, a tad of sugar in place. Always gotten rave reviews and requests. Not just for the recipe, but for the stuff to be on the table! Have a friend who makes a HUGE vat each Christmas, jars and gives as gifts to clients and family. If he stopped there'd be an uprising.

Don't use it on beef, but for chicken and pork it's the bombdiggity.

Oh - I can't share the recipe. It's only in my hands, one sister and two friends.

The recipe is a lot like mine but instead of lemon
I use bourbon, and instead of cayanne I add a local hot sauce "Gator sauce" that adds lots of zing, and will add guava, and mango puree, its great with chicken too. When I do something for a beef I leave out the sweet stuff and go with a big pepper blend, and some balsamic glaze

I'm making sauce in about 15 minutes ... that much cider vinegar! And honey instead of brown sugar, wow, I'll try it.

I subscribe to the "if the meat can't stand alone with a good rub/smoke, then your doing wrong" camp as well.
However, a slight dip into a small cup of good bbq sauce can enhance the overall experience. My family and friends love this one and is great with dry rubbed Baby Back ribs and Butt.
The first recipe is a good quantity to try it out. I make small quantities when trying to get my sauces and rub right. If you like it, jump up to the 1/2 gallon and keep some in refrigerator.

Mustard BBQ Sauce (3 Cups) (Bulk)
2 Quarts
1 Cup Prepared Yellow Mustard 4 Cups
¾ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar 3 Cups
½ Cup Sugar 2 Cups
¼ Cup Light Brown Sugar 1 Cup
¼ Cup Chicken Stock 1 Cup
2 Tbls Chili Powder ½ Cup
1 tsp Course Black Pepper 4 tsp
1 tsp White Pepper 4 tsp
½ tsp Cayenne Pepper 2 tsp
Simmer above ingredients for 30 minutes over low-medium heat, stirring to not burn the sugars.
2 Tbls Butter ¼ lb stick
1 Tbls Liquid Smoke ¼ Cup
½ tsp Soy Sauce 2 tsp
Stir in remaining 3 ingredients and simmer for another 10 minutes.

South Carolina Mustard Sauce (3 Cups)

1 Cup Prepared Yellow Mustard
¾ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
½ Cup Sugar
¼ Cup Light Brown Sugar
¼ Cup Chicken Stock
2 Tbls Chili Powder
1 tsp Course Black Pepper
1 tsp White Pepper
½ tsp Cayenne Pepper
Simmer above ingredients for 30 minutes over low-medium heat, stirring to not burn the sugars.
2 Tbls Butter
1 Tbls Liquid Smoke
½ tsp Soy Sauce
Stir in remaining 3 ingredients and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Sorry. I screwed up the formatting when copying the recipe. The one above is more readable.

I've settled on this one.

2 Tbs chili powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup yellow mustard
1/8 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup Heinz 57
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp Tabasco
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 medium cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
2 tablespoons Tamarind paste