Barbecue sauce facts for kids
The St. Louis barbecue style of preparation involves slow open grilling until done, then simmering in a pan of barbecue sauce that is placed on the grill.
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| Type | Condiment |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United States |
| Main ingredients | Vinegar, tomato paste, or ketchup |
| Ingredients generally used | Liquid smoke, onion powder, spices such as mustard and black pepper, mayonnaise, and sugar or molasses |
Barbecue sauce (or BBQ sauce) is a tasty sauce. People use it on meat cooked in the barbecue style. This includes pork or beef ribs and chicken. It can be a marinade (to soak meat before cooking). It can also be a condiment (like ketchup) or a topping.
BBQ sauce is very popular in the Southern United States. You can find it on many different foods there. The ingredients can change, but most sauces have a base of vinegar or tomato paste. They also often include liquid smoke, onion powder, and other spices. Common spices are mustard and black pepper. Sweeteners like sugar or molasses are also usually added.
The History of Barbecue Sauce
Some people think barbecue sauce started when the first American colonies were formed. This was in the 1600s. Writings about the sauce appeared in England and France over the next 200 years. For example, a type of barbecue sauce from South Carolina uses mustard. This sauce can be traced back to German settlers in the 1700s.
Early homemade barbecue sauces were very simple. They usually had only vinegar, salt, and pepper. In the 1920s, people started adding sugar, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce. After World War II, sauces became much sweeter. They also started to include many more ingredients.
The first company to sell barbecue sauce was in Atlanta, Georgia. This was the Georgia Barbecue Sauce Company in 1909. Heinz was the first big company to sell bottled BBQ sauce. They started selling it in 1940. Soon after, General Foods introduced "Open Pit" sauce. Kraft Foods joined the market around 1960. With lots of advertising, Kraft became the top seller.
Different Kinds of Barbecue Sauce
Different parts of the United States have their own favorite BBQ sauce styles.
- East Carolina Style – Most American barbecue sauces come from this style. It was common in eastern North Carolina and South Carolina. This was the simplest and earliest sauce. African slaves helped make it popular. It was originally made with vinegar, black pepper, and hot chili pepper flakes. People used it to baste meat while cooking. They also used it as a dipping sauce. This sauce is thin, spicy, and vinegar-based. It soaks into the meat and has a tart flavor.
- Western Carolina Style – This sauce is found in western North Carolina. It is similar to the East Carolina sauce. But it has tomato paste, tomato sauce, or ketchup added.
- South Carolina Mustard Sauce – A part of South Carolina is famous for its yellow BBQ sauces. These sauces are mainly made from yellow mustard, vinegar, sugar, and spices. You will find this sauce most often from Columbia to Charleston.
- Memphis Style – This style is like the Western Carolina sauce. However, it uses molasses to make it sweet. It also has more spices.
- Kansas City Style – This sauce is thick and reddish-brown. It is tomato-based and made with sugar, vinegar, and spices. It developed from the Western Carolina and Memphis styles. But it is thicker and sweeter. It sits on top of the meat instead of soaking in. Most store-bought BBQ sauces are based on the Kansas City style.
- Texas Style – Some older restaurants in Texas use sauces with lots of cumin and chili peppers. They also use black pepper and fresh onion. These sauces use less tomato and sugar. They are medium thick and can look like thin tomato soup. They soak into the meat easily. Bottled Texas BBQ sauces are often different. This is because they do not contain meat drippings.
- Alabama White Sauce – North Alabama is known for its special white sauce. This sauce has a mayonnaise base. It also includes apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, and black pepper. People mostly use it on chicken and pork.
See also
In Spanish: Salsa barbacoa para niños
