A good BBQ sauce can make your favorite proteins mildly sweet or very spicy. However, there is a right way and a wrong way to use a sauce. Use these grilling strategies and become a grill master.
Pair Your Sauces With Proper Meats
In order to develop rich flavors, you must pair specific meats and sauces together. Here are some guidelines:
- Vinegar and tomato-based barbecue sauces in North Carolina are good on ribs, pork shoulders, and whole hogs.
- Tomato-based sauces from Kansas City are great on briskets and ribs.
- Mustard sauces are fantastic on chicken and pork.
Consider the Styles
Texas BBQ is big, bold, and spicy. If you prefer this style, you’ll need large briskets, thick sausages, beef ribs, and a smoker.
Carolina-style BBQ is also cooked in a smoker. It requires oak or hickory chips, a light vinegar-based sauce, and plenty of pork.
In Memphis and Kansas City, most meats are smoked in a pit. To honor these cities, you’ll need a dry or wet rub and a sweet sauce.
Balance the Sauce
If you overuse a sauce, it will dominate the meat. In addition, if you only use a little sauce, the meat will be bland. Balance is the key to a saucy BBQ dish, so you should.
- Paint a quarter-cup of sauce on steaks, burgers, and pork.
- Paint a half-cup of sauce on turkeys, whole chickens, and roasts.
- Paint less than a cup of sauce on seafood.
If you’re a fan of barbecue sauce in North Carolina, you may want to try Cox Sauce. It’s great on chicken, ribs, beef, seafood, and vegetables.
