There are almost as many Barbecue recipes as there are cooks, but there are some common basics and standards to start with and use as a basis for experimentations. The one thing they all have in common is a complex mix of flavors of at least two different catgories; sweet and hot (typical of deep south, such as Texas), sweet and sour, sour and spicy ("Buffalo-style"), etc, and many have the big three - sweet, sour, and spicy. Common sources of these flavors are
Sweet: molassas, honey, maple syrup (a relatively recent northern thing probably inspired by pancake syrup spreading onto spicy breakfast sausage), tomato ketchup
Sour: vinegar of almost every type has found its way into barbecue recipes, onions, lemon juice, mustard, tomato sauce or ketchup,
Hot: hot sauce, tobasco, jalepenos and other peppers
Spicy: Worcestershire, spicy mustard, tumeric, cumin, ginger, garlic, clove, mace, other spices, onion powder, herbs
My favorite for no-tomato barbecues is equal parts mustard, molasses, and cider vinegar.
My favorite for a basic tomato barbecue: equal parts molassas and mustard, half as much ketchup or tomato paste, and spices depending on the meat, guests, etc.
Most barbecue sauces can be used for marinating, basting, and dipping. If they are cooked with the meat, they will cause blackening (due to the sugars in tomatoes, sweet-sources, and other ingredients) but this is rarely considered a problem, and the meat will taste more strongly of the sauce so charge ahead and use it for all three unless the allergies you are dealing with among your meal guests is excessive or problematic. Cook longer at a lower temperature to prevent burning.
No comments:
Post a Comment