Avoid BBQ Boredom with These Top Regional BBQ Sauces
Avoid BBQ Boredom with These Top Regional BBQ Sauces
When the weather gets warm enough to start cooking outdoors there are a few things we always do to get ready for grilling season. But one of the most important is to make sure we've stocked up on enough barbecue sauces. Whether we're grilling ribs, or chicken, or making pulled pork, it pays to have a bevy of sauces available — and there are so many kinds! From super sweet ketchup-y sauces to soak-it-in vinegary sauces, to spice fests that'll send smoke out of your ears, there are sauces from all over America that are just made for adding flavor to backyard cooking, and different regions have different styles.
5 Great Regional Barbecue Sauce Styles
Kansas City Style
This thick, sweet, mildly spicy tomato-based sauce is probably what comes to mind first when you think of barbecue sauce, and it's far and away the most popular. It's like ketchup: you can put it on everything from grilled meat to french fries, to mac and cheese.
Alabama Style
This distinctive spicy white sauce was invented by Bob Gibson in the 1920s in Decatur, AL. A regional favorite, it deserves wider recognition. The thick, creamy sauce is delicious over any kind of smoked or pulled chicken, but is every bit as versatile as Kansas City sauce. Think of it as the mayo to KC's ketchup.
North Carolina
A case can be made that the Carolinas are where American barbecue originated, and the thin, bright, spicy, vinegary sauce that defines North Carolina barbecue is worth respecting. When used during cooking, it keeps pork tender and flavorful, but we love drizzling it over smoked meats of all kinds.
South Carolina
Though the Carolinas can reliably be said to have a multitude of regional barbecue styles, South Carolina has become well known primarily for a mustard-based "gold" sauce that can be fiercely peppery and flavorful. If you're a fan of that mustard kick, you simply must try this sauce.
East Texas
While many parts of Texas eschew sauce altogether on their barbecue, it's impossible to say any one thing about the Lone Star State except that they do things their own way. While East Texas sauce is also thick and tomato-based, we find it tends to be deeply flavored and smokier than many Kansas City sauces.
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Here are the best BBQ sauces, from slightly smoky, to blazing hot, to sweet. They're all so delicious, you won't be able to pick a favorite barbecue sauce.
