Origin of barbecue sauce: Is NC style the original?

Food writer Robert Moss of Charleston has a fascinating blog post this morning up on the Southern Foodways Alliance site: Barbecue sauce before the 20th century.

He points out that all the various red and sweet sauces were really a 20th century development and may be have arisen from restaurants. Before that, slowly cooking meat was basted with . . . Well, we'll let you read it.

http://southernfoodways.blogspot.com/2012/07/secret-history-of-barbecue-sauce.html

Barbecue Squabbles: Can't we all just get along?

"Charlotte, once again demonstrating its complete lack of barbecue relevance . . . "

"Fruit in barbecue sauces? It's official, we now live in South New York . . ."

"Slather sweet sauce over generic meat and call it barbecue . . . "

"Think of an out-of-towner coming across this story and thinking that this is what Carolina barbecue is all about . . ."

That last comment was the one that really made me start shaking my head. Seriously? It's actually a betrayal of our state to acknowledge the existence of anything beyond whole pig with vinegar mop?

Are we merely the sum of our Lexington and Eastern Carolina pigs parts?

I'm usually accustomed to the outbreak of hyperbole and hostility that passes for barbecue dialogue around here. I've written in newspapers, magazines, books and online for a couple of decades now and I know that simply typing (even thinking or saying) any word that involves the letters "B," "B" and "Q" is going to be trouble.

But I was still a little taken aback by the comments that broke out when we announced the winners of our barbecue sauce contest Wednesday. After all. we had been pretty clear that the contest was for homemade-sauce recipes. At the beginning and the end of the contest, we were specific that these sauces were for backyard cookouts, not for digging large pits and cooking whole pigs or shoulders.

Interestingly, despite the debate, most of the 30 or 40 recipes entered had some kind of sweet elements, often a jam, sugar or molasses. There were all kinds of styles of barbecue sauces, which is part of what made the contest fun. These are the things that people make when they're cooking at home, and it was pretty clear from the recipes that people make a huge variety of things.

Certainly, barbecue and grilling are not the same thing. I wrote a column on that subject very recently. But it's also true that when we are grilling, we do all kinds of things.

I love the tradition and the history that's represented by the classic barbecue restaurant of North and South Carolina. I've visited well over 30 of them.

But is it true that if we stand on Carolina soil, we're not allowed to rake anything else over the coals?

Sorry. As a cook and a writer and an avid backyard griller, I just can't agree with that.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/05/22/3259367/which-barbecue-sauce-is-the-winner.html#storylink=cpy

Cookbook Giveaway: Special Memorial Day Edition

If the rain holds off, some of us might find ourselves cooking outside this weekend. And if it doesn't hold off, well, some of us die-hards will still find a way to cook outside. I have been known to clamp the shade umbrella from an old beach chair to the smoke pipe of my grill.

Either way, let's see if I can get you in the mood, with a chance to win a copy of Steven Raichlen's newest book, "Planet Barbecue!" Raichlen stopped in Charlotte for a meal at Mac's Speedshop last year right after he'd completed his latest world grilling odyssey, this one covering 60 countries and 309 recipes.

Reply below and I'll enter you in a random drawing for the book (on Tuesday -- even food writers take a holiday weekend off now and then).

Until then, here are two very different sauce recipes for the book. One or the other ought to work with whatever the weekend weather throws our way.

Bourbon-Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce

From "Steven Raichlen's Planet Barbecue!" Raichlen calls this "the sort of barbecue sauce Kansas City pit masters have been swabbing on ribs for decades." Makes about 2 cups.

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup bourbon

3 tablespoons cider vinegar, or more as needed

3 tablespoons molasses

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke

1 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and whisk to mix. Gradually bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until thick and flavorful, about 8 to 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning, adding more vinegar if necessary. Transfer to a bowl or clean jars and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate, covered, up to several weeks. Return to room temperature before using.

Sparkling Barbecue Sauce

This is from Raichlen's directions for making Puerto Rican Pork Shoulder, or Lechon Asada. That's a major undertaking (it sounds great, though). But the sauce served with the pork grabbed my attention. You could serve it with grilled pork chops or pork tenderloin.

1 cup lemon-lime soda, suc as 7UP

1 cup ketchup

1 cup of your favorite sweet red barbecue sauce

1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Place the soda, ketchup and barbecue sauce in a saucepan and whisk to mix. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat and let it simmer gently until thick and richly flavored, 10 to 15 minutes.