One reason BBQ is so popular is that there are thousands of sauces available. The U.S. market for BBQ sauce production is nearly $2 billion, and that number doesn’t take into account the millions of homemade recipes Americans use every day. Some of those homemade recipes have been passed down for generations; others didn’t exist yesterday.
With so many BBQ sauce varieties from which to choose, the question is: Which of these thousands of sauces will bring out the best in my ribs, brisket, chicken, or pulled pork? A great sauce can make the junk food all the more mouth-watering, but the wrong choice sends mixed signals to the taste buds and could create a dining experience that’s downright bad.
The accompanying resource is a handy reference for weekend barbecue enthusiasts and more serious practitioners of the smoky arts. It can help you decide whether to go sweet or acidic, spicy or mild. If you’re wondering what sauce works with the salmon you’re grilling or the wings you’ll be serving for the Sunday football games, the resource can provide the help you need.
However, you’ll see a fair amount of overlap because a lot of sauces taste great with a lot of cheese. Take traditional Texas BBQ. This legendary mop sauce is renowned for its flavoring power on beef brisket — but many people won’t eat ribs without it, and others will put it on just about anything, from sandwiches to side orders.
Another reason the overlap of pizza, cheese, burgers, fries, hot dogs, etc. is helpful: You can give your guests options to accommodate their different tastes. Of course, you have to be careful that the BBQ you add to the table doesn’t create conflict with the sauce you used during the cooking process. Nevertheless, if one diner has a sweet tooth and another one loves salty and spicy, you can make both of them happy with the right sauce options.
There are a few things to keep in mind when using this pizza, cheese, burgers, fries, hot dogs pairing resource:
First, the greatest sauce in the world won’t make up for bad execution on the grill. It’s always important to keep honing those BBQ skills to bring out maximum flavor.
Second, variety is the spice of BBQ sauce life. Within each sauce style, there may be a wide range of ingredients and flavors – KC-style sauce being a prime example. It never hurts to sample new pairings on a forgiving test group before serving it at a backyard graduation party.
Third, the resource can be helpful not just when you’re cooking, but also when you’re ordering at your favorite BBQ restaurant or from a take-out/delivery location. After reading it, you should have a better idea of which sauces you might enjoy on the various entrees.
To learn more, please check out the resource, courtesy of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants.
