First Pass…
at duplicating Pete Wheless’ barbecue sauce…
Basically this, doubled, plus 3/4 cup of sorghum and 1/3 cup of lemon juice
Tomato Barbecue Sauce
INGREDIENTS:
* 2 T brown sugar
* 1 T dry mustard
* 1 T celery salt
* 1 T cayenne
* 1 T pepper
* 1 T paprika
* 2 T cornstarch
* ½ t allspice
* 1 large can tomato juice
* 1 /2 t Worcestershire sauce
* 1 c white vinegar
* 1 T grated onion
Verdict thus far–touch too much heat, touch too much celery salt.
The real question is why you’re bothering with a tomato-based sauce in the first place, but then again, if the question even has to be asked, why bother asking it?
Ah. I cook a pig each July 4th. Eastern NC sauce, aka “real barbecue sauce,” is a given. I also chop some pig without sauce up for those who prefer to dose it themselves. But, since the Sainted Wife is from South Carolina, I also use a sauce from her home town for yet another platter–Pete Wheless. We didn’t get a chance to buy any this year, so I tried cloning it.
I’m impressed – a pig/year. My experience with SC sauces has been a good one, although I seem to recall that what I had was mustard based. I could be wrong on that score, though.
So, how do you do your pig? Do you dig a pit? I’m interested in doing one myself sometime, and am interested in your experience with it.
There are four based SC sauces that I’ve heard of; heavy tomato, light tomato, mustard and a vinegar-based. The area around the wife’s hometown typically serves the light, I think. I’ve never had the mustard.
Cooking the pig is the easiest part of the whole experience, though making sure the temperature stays in the correct range is nerve-wracking until you’re sure of your cooker. I use a natural-gas cooker rather than a pit. I don’t think the wife would forgive the damage to the lawn, and I’m not brave enough to attempt a charcoal cooker yet.
I follow the guide found here–it’s not let me down yet.
Cool. I’ll check it out. This is making me hungry…
Good lord, what is it with the Carolinas and mutant BBQ sauce? I’ve been here for three years now and haven’t had a good BBQ yet.
But then, I’m one of those degenerates who prefers the Georgia style. I should be happy to HAVE BBQ, considering what folks eat for “traditional” food back home in the Midwest. (Lutefisk. Good god.)