Barbecue, no sauce

Eating barbecue without added sauce makes you

  • A purist

    Votes: 25 61.0%

  • A blasphemer

    Votes: 3 7.3%

  • A communist

    Votes: 8 19.5%

  • Something else (do tell)

    Votes: 5 12.2%
  • Total voters
    41
FormerHangie

FormerHangie

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FormerHangie
I'm getting to the point where I'm preferring barbecue without sauce, just a little salt and pepper. I'm not sure where this puts me on the mental health scale.
 
How about letting people put sauce on it if they want to and leaving it plain if that's their preference? I'm not judgmental when it comes to eating meat but put an ice cube in good bourbon or scotch and I get all kinds of annoyed.
 
I see two sides to the coin here. If the meat is cooked right, meaning it’s tender and falls apart, than I may be more apt to go lighter on the sauce. On the other hand, if it's on the tougher and dry side, than I’ll load it down with the sauce. The kicker is finding a place that has the right tasting sauce in the first place. A lot of restaurants have sauce that tastes like vinegar or too much pepper. The right sauce has a good mixture of tang and spice.

Man.. BBQ is sounding really tasty right about now. :drool:
 
Do you consider a dry rub a sauce?

I want to see the meat before I decide if I need sauce. I want to see if there's a smoke ring (real BBQ), and if the meat is sufficiently tasty, moist and smokey. If it isn't, BBQ sauce makes up for a couple of those qualities.
 
Timbeck2 said:
How about letting people put sauce on it if they want to and leaving it plain if that's their preference? I'm not judgmental when it comes to eating meat but put an ice cube in good bourbon or scotch and I get all kinds of annoyed.
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Because dipped ≠ glazed on.
 
mmmm....BBQ.

I prefer dry BBQ (brisket and ribs), with sauce on the side.

Pulled pork is the exception. Some places serve it wet, some serve it dry. At home, I serve it "damp". If its dry, I'll generally add a splash of sauce, but if it's already wet I don't bother. Either way, I'm going to stuff it in my face.

(Dry = no sauce, it does not mean it's dried out.)
 
Salt, Pepper and MSG for me. Ala South African style.
 
rtk11 said:
Do you consider a dry rub a sauce?
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Do you consider dust to be a liquid?

Really well cooked meat - slow, smoked and not over cooked - is good on it's own and doesn't need anything. However, a little bit of sauce can still make it better.
 
always liked the sauce on the side.can add according to taste.
 
bflynn said:
Really well cooked meat - slow, smoked and not over cooked - is good on it's own and doesn't need anything. However, a little bit of sauce can still make it better.
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Even on the most tender of meats, I have to add a little sauce. It just isn't the same without it.
 
Sauce is the tool to turn meat scraps into BBQ.
 
rtk11 said:
Do you consider a dry rub a sauce?

I want to see the meat before I decide if I need sauce. I want to see if there's a smoke ring (real BBQ), and if the meat is sufficiently tasty, moist and smokey. If it isn't, BBQ sauce makes up for a couple of those qualities.
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I do not. Salt is fairly important in the bbq process. There is a science to it. Yes I like dry rub seasoning.
 
rtk11 said:
Do you consider a dry rub a sauce?

I want to see the meat before I decide if I need sauce. I want to see if there's a smoke ring (real BBQ), and if the meat is sufficiently tasty, moist and smokey. If it isn't, BBQ sauce makes up for a couple of those qualities.
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I do not. What I was thinking of was sauce that was added by whomever's eating that serving, after the cook is done with it.

BigBadLou said:
Hangie, you are evil. I haven't had lunch yet. Now I am drooling for some brisket and sausage. You suck, sir! :(
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Sorry. If it makes you feel any better I had leftovers at my desk for today's lunch. My wife had made some boneless (?!) country style ribs in the Instant Pot, and I'd brought in a bottle of storebought Kansas City style sauce that I was going to douse them with. As I get older, I find I have less of an appetite for sweet foods, and decided I just couldn't do it. Even on these fairly bland ribs, the salt and pepper was enough to make them pretty appetizing.
 
bflynn said:
If it's all about the sauce, why not just pull out a spoon and eat the sauce?!

Sorry, getting into religion for me ;)
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When I was a kid, I would do that.

The storebought tomato based sauces are overpoweringly sweet to my aging taste buds, and I'm starting to move away from them.
 
Eat it the way you like it......end of story.
 
Getting ready for one of our two annual BBQ competions. It's this weekend.

The Kansas City BBQ Society (KCBS) sanctions most (?) of the BBQ contests around the world.

KCBS rules say sauce/no sauce is cook's choice. But, if you use it, it must be applied to the meat. You can't put it on the side or you get a points penalty. Most teams will add a glaze just before turning it in. Sometimes it's thick, sometimes, like I prefer, it's a light layer to add a nice shine.
 
Dunno.....consider beer on the side a “sauce”?....then definitely Yes.
 
WEnt to a Bar-Ba-Que place in Sacramento last week... Asked for everything dry... waitress look at me like I was crazy...
 
rtk11 said:
Do you consider a dry rub a sauce?

I want to see the meat before I decide if I need sauce. I want to see if there's a smoke ring (real BBQ), and if the meat is sufficiently tasty, moist and smokey. If it isn't, BBQ sauce makes up for a couple of those qualities.
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Back to my KCBS roots for a minute:

KCBS judges are specifically instructed to ignore the smoke ring. Some rubs or seasoning contain nitrates that can either generate or enhance the smoke ring. Without a way to know how the ring was created, it is not supposed to be part of the appearance score.

Some sauces complement the meat and the combination is better than each on its own. I like to try the Q with and without, then decide.
 
Of course, part of the question is:

What sort of BBQ and where you are.

In eastern NC, the barbecue comes swimming in a sauce that's mostly pepper and vinegar.
Out here, we have a redder sauce (but not the syrup they serve out in the western states) but it's always presented ON THE SIDE (and we call it dip).

In NC, barbecue is PORK.

Yes, if you HAVE to put sauce on something to make it palatable, the sauce likely isn't helping much.
 
Some barbecue needs sauce because it has no flavor otherwise I do not consider that great barbecue. Others prefer that "style" And judge a barbecue joint based on the flavor of its sauce. I vehemently disagree, but opinions are opinions.
 
Ventucky Red said:



a.) Fahrenheit 250 BBQ

b.) Next time, count on it.
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That place looks pretty good. I plan on trying it out next time I'm there. But - the best BBQ can be found at Jamie's Bar and Grill, they have a BBQ platter every Friday. And they make the best brisket I've had in the area, when they have it.
 
I make beef ribs with no sauce. Boil them in beer, dust with seasoned salt and pepper, and then grill for char.

Had a guy over who said, "is it okay if I put sauce on them?" and I'm like, "sure but you might want to taste them the way I made them first." No surprise they were dripping in sauce shortly thereafter.

He also puts A-1 on perfectly good steaks.

But he's a helluva nice guy.
 
A little added sauce on pulled pork. But for burgers and pork steaks, sauce on during grilling.
 
Sac Arrow said:
That place looks pretty good. I plan on trying it out next time I'm there. But - the best BBQ can be found at Jamie's Bar and Grill, they have a BBQ platter every Friday. And they make the best brisket I've had in the area, when they have it.
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Found an awesome place in Salinas.... Salinas City Bar-Ba-Que.... check that out if you're down there.
 
flyingron said:
Of course, part of the question is:

What sort of BBQ and where you are.

In eastern NC, the barbecue comes swimming in a sauce that's mostly pepper and vinegar.
Out here, we have a redder sauce (but not the syrup they serve out in the western states) but it's always presented ON THE SIDE (and we call it dip).

In NC, barbecue is PORK.

Yes, if you HAVE to put sauce on something to make it palatable, the sauce likely isn't helping much.
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I'm from Atlanta and I moved to Charlotte in 2003 and had never had vinegar based BBQ sauce. Georgia is your tomato based sauce. I never would try it because I just didn't think it would taste good. I finally tried it and loved it! I couldn't get enough for awhile. I still like the 'regular' sauce, but like that too. I even bought a bottle from the place I first tried it. They sold their own brand.
 
I used to like the Kraft original recipe BBQ sauce until they changed the ingredients and made it browner and sweeter. Heinz 57 sauce is close to the old stuff. It's fine for burgers and chicken. Maybe even the 'strange tasting burger' cited above.
 
Sac Arrow said:
I used to like the Kraft original recipe BBQ sauce until they changed the ingredients and made it browner and sweeter. Heinz 57 sauce is close to the old stuff. It's fine for burgers and chicken. Maybe even the 'strange tasting burger' cited above.
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Sauces I keep in my fridge: My own recipe (but I ran out and need to make another batch), Stubb's Original, and Sweet Baby Ray's. Some of the KC brands (Gate's, Joe's, and Hayward's) will rotate in and out. Also, Blues Hog and Tennessee Red make the cut. Sometimes I'll get some of that east coast vinegar or mustard sauce - I like those, too.

Life is good.
 
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