Typed this one up for a random Wednesday post, because ain’t no way in hell I’m giving mustard the marquee Friday spot. And then per usual, I go ahead and make myself a second sauce and now we’re back to a Friday. Y’all know real quick what my favorite is without even reading – but let’s go through some of the process. This being a first run, these recipes will change over time – and by the time the ForensicBBQ truck/brick and mortar is up – these are the blends that remain a secret. How’d we do? Let’s see
Carolina Gold (Mustard Based BBQ Sauce)
Decided let’s get back into the laboratory and try something off the wall. Because it has a little bit of effort, I thought I’d at least showcase it, explain why I did it and go from there. I love me a spicy BBQ sauce. Generally, thin vinegar is my favorite. Then a thicker tomato based. But never mustard. Yet I’m posting about mustard. Read on, my friends – let’s go down the devil’s path.
Damn near every BBQ joint I’ve been to features a mustard-based BBQ sauce. Carolina Gold they call it. Well, Carolina – you lost me long ago with this idea. My BBQ sauce doesn’t overpower. It doesn’t disguise the meat. Hell, whenever I make a sauce – it sits for a LONG time (just ask MrsForensicBBQ). I like the taste of the smoky meat.
Whenever I decide to spice it up, it’ll be a slight acidic change. My favorite being a vinegar based BBQ sauce (read ahead, my friends). Thin, weak and just a little something. When I start doing the same meat over and over (i.e. Pork Butt) – that’s when I start to venture into the sauce game – what can I do to make things better. I’ve tried a number of recipes – some work, some drastically failed – but I’ve locked in a couple good’ins that are my go-tos. What I’ve never tried was the Carolina Gold. The mustard-based BBQ sauce.
As I type this, I know I’m not going to try this. This was a perfect time to get opinions since we have two events to attend and I can have others try it for me. A good BBQ joint always has sauce on the side, and this is always one of them.. so will this be one of them?
Because I have a serious disdain for mustard, nothing about this entertained me at all. Especially when I added the heat and let the vapors permeate the home. I put a good whisk on the ingredients, then let it simmer on the stove top and then we’re going to let them chill out in the fridge for the day. I mixed this up on a Friday.. have events both mid-day Saturday/Sunday so we’ll get the full opinion from two very diverse groups. After the simmer, we jarred them up!
The first jar went to a group of friends and I got a warm response. Wasn’t bad, but wasn’t great. And we want great. It was recommended to add a little more heat, a little more seasoning – and I will probably wholeheartedly agree if I tried it. Just looking at the jars, they look boring and unwelcome. But they said the taste was good, so we have our base.
Second jar went to family, and they surprisingly liked it as well. Surprisingly, because I can’t believe I spawned from mustard lovers. As with any BBQ venture, we start somewhere and build on it. And that’s what we’re doing here.
Piedmont (Vinegar based w/ Tomato)
Now we’re back into my comfort zone. If you skipped past the mustard – and I don’t fault you if you did – I told you that this was my favorite style of BBQ sauce. I usually throw a version of this on a pulled pork shortly after shredding while it’s still hot and it adds that acidity that I love. What I haven’t done was add a little ketchup to my mop/soak/finishing sauce and really calling it a BBQ sauce – or what they’ve been doing forever in Piedmont/Lexington.
Naturally, I ran out of ketchup. Even more naturally, the only jug I had in the fridge was some new “extra hot habanero Heinz” I found one day. (Well, not the only one – I this Ghost Pepper Ketchup (Pepper Palace) in there too – but that sumbitch kicks hard. Didn’t need that right now.
Throw it into pot and cook it down and let the flavors blend. Wife’s friend was getting rid of all these water bottles, so I kept them all for this particular reason. Now, I found out quick that the tops aren’t great and really should be used with just a water – but that won’t stop me from using the other half-dozen or so. Thanks for the donation!
If I’m going to bottle and sell, we’ll throw a label on this and I won’t worry so much about the look – but it still looks kinda boring to me. I’m a definitely throw in some pepper next time around and we’ll see how it evolves from there – but this was by far better received than the mustard sauce. Maybe because I hyped it, or maybe because it was just that damn good.
It was that damn good I’m sure.