Learning to Make Good Sandwich Sauce

[Will_Crump]

My name is Will. I am from Southwest TN about an hour east of Memphis.

I came to the forum wanting to learn how to make that wonderfully delicious thin hot barbecue sauce one finds when dining at a road-side barbecue shack on a bbq pork sandwich.

Someone put me on the right scent and I have spent yesterday and today cooking and applying what I'm learning. Yesterday I put a nice 6-lb Boston Butt roast on to slow cook in the crock pot. This is the fruit of my work thus far:

 

[73saint]

Looks good! I like a spicy thin bbq sauce! Never can seem to duplicate the good ones.

 

[Will_Crump]

What I did was start out with a bottled BBQ Sauce Base. I used Sweet Baby Ray's and slowly cut it with ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) to get it thinned out. I added celery seed, garlic powder, white pepper, molasses, a couple dashes of Accent, and cayenne pepper to the desired heat. The key is add these things slowly in small amounts and taste as you go.

 

[fivetricks]

Absolutely. Those thin BBQ sauces have a tendency to be very good. I could not agree more with cutting it with ACV because the best thin BBQ sauces usually have a great vinegar secondary flavor to them.

my favorite thing about thin BBQ sauces usually is that you can really ramp up the heat on them if that is what you prefer

 

[Will_Crump]

Starting with a bottled BBQ sauce is the way to go, it seems. I just wish I could get it identical to those sauces one finds at the various road-side BBQ shacks throughout West Tennessee.

 

[ab canuck]

There are some great sauces posted in here, And finishing sauces for PP as well. Check out some of the links people have with their signatures as well as the search menu. I know I copied some from old posts and chef jimmyj has posted some great sauces. Once you try a few from scratch you can tweak to your tastes.

 

[zwiller]

I think most of these road sauces are basically a blend of the sweet ketchup based (Memphis) and a NC style vinegar sauce. Makes sense geographically for TN to be a mix. ChefJJ's finishing sauce is easily the best vinegar sauce I ever had. All this being said, a good smoked butt doesn't need sauce or slaw and is good on it's own but I can imagine one done in a crock might need a little help :)

 

[Will_Crump]

There are some great sauces posted in here, And finishing sauces for PP as well. Check out some of the links people have with their signatures as well as the search menu. I know I copied some from old posts and chef jimmyj has posted some great sauces. Once you try a few from scratch you can tweak to your tastes.

Can you post some links to those recipes, please ab canuck?

 

[Will_Crump]

I think most of these road sauces are basically a blend of the sweet ketchup based (Memphis) and a NC style vinegar sauce. Makes sense geographically for TN to be a mix. ChefJJ's finishing sauce is easily the best vinegar sauce I ever had. All this being said, a good smoked butt doesn't need sauce or slaw and is good on it's own but I can imagine one done in a crock might need a little help :)

I'll have to try mixing the two and see what I get.

 

[zwiller]

The 2 popular ones here are:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/soflaquers-finishing-sauce-for-pulled-pork.51933/
and
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/jjs-finishing-sauce-awesome.122319/

Also, if you don't have them already get Jeff's rub and sauce recipes, get them. His sauce wipes the floor with SBR. The thought of combining the Jeff's sauce and JJ's... WOW. Definitely gonna try that one of these days!

Was never really a fan of PP and I had some "famous and local NC" stuff but after hanging here a while I learned to dial mine in and now might say PP is now my favorite.

 

[Will_Crump]

The 2 popular ones here are:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/soflaquers-finishing-sauce-for-pulled-pork.51933/
and
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/jjs-finishing-sauce-awesome.122319/

Also, if you don't have them already get Jeff's rub and sauce recipes, get them. His sauce wipes the floor with SBR. The thought of combining the Jeff's sauce and JJ's... WOW. Definitely gonna try that one of these days!

Was never really a fan of PP and I had some "famous and local NC" stuff but after hanging here a while I learned to dial mine in and now might say PP is now my favorite.

Thank you so very much for the links, my friend.

 

[zwiller]

Did some digging and maybe you are talking Lexington/Piedmont style sauce?
https://www.eater.com/2016/6/18/11966056/barbecue-sauce-styles

 

[KrisUpInSmoke]

What you're looking for reminds me of the Isaly's Chipped Ham bbq sandwiches I grew up with.
Here's the sauce recipe, https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/34510/pittsburgh-chipped-ham-barbecues/
Here's a link to buy the sauce prebottled,
http://www.pennmac.com/items/4689//isaly-homemade-gluten-free-barbecue-sauce

 

[Will_Crump]

thanks for the links. I'll have to look into the recipe from the chipped ham BBQ, but the second is a link to purchase a sauce. That might be a good base to work with but my aim is to make the sauce from scratch; to learn the secret to great PP sandwich sauce.

 

[KrisUpInSmoke]

thanks for the links. I'll have to look into the recipe from the chipped ham BBQ, but the second is a link to purchase a sauce. That might be a good base to work with but my aim is to make the sauce from scratch; to learn the secret to great PP sandwich sauce.

Sure, I see that you're trying to make the sauce from scratch. That's why I gave you the recipe. The second link is for your reference, so you can see the product, the ingredients they use and even taste it, if you deem necessary. Good luck!

 

[zwiller]

The "secret" is likely the PP itself and not the sauce. :)

Using my black belt google-fu I find: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jacks-old-south-competition-vinegar-sauce-recipe-1954359

Check out the reviews.

Here's one: "Been trying to find this for years! I am from West Tennessee-not talking about Memphis, but the rest of the region-this is the kind of BBQ sauce you could get at every little hole in the wall BBQ shack around, until a few years ago. If you are expecting a thick, syrupy, molasses type sauce-just pass this recipe on by. This isn't the one for you. If on the other hand, you want a flavorful non-sweet vinegar type sauce, this is the one! Even my daughter, who won't eat anything hotter than Worcestershire sauce, loved it! It was maybe 2 drops per bite, but still, that says alot about the flavor of it. I made Jack's BBQ chicken with the marinade, the rub, and the sauce. Family demolished it. The apple juice in the marinade and roasting pan helps to balance the spiciness and vinegary-ness without overt sweetness. This would be superb on pulled pork bbq."

Mixon sells the stuff and his book rocks too.

 

[Will_Crump]

LOL!! I thought I was the only one who had traveled the mystic path of "Google-Fu"!!

I have tasted the sauce separate from the meat. It's definitely the sauce. I get extra sauce separate from the sandwich and when it's a dine-in place, I eat several teaspoons of the sauce from the squeeze jar on the table.

Thanks for the link! I have all the stuff on hand to try this one out!

Will let you know how it turned out.