Garlic Aioli
- 1 cup mayonnaise (we used a light mayo)
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely mined
- 1 tsp hot sauce (we prefer Franks, but use whatever you like)
- ½ tsp freshly ground coriander
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Pinch of salt and pepper
Mix above ingredients and adjust to taste adding more or less hot sauce or garlic as per your tastes. Store in fridge for at least one hour to allow flavors to mingle and blend.
North Carolina-Syle Vinegar Sauce
Not being from the East and having never traveled there, I didn’t have any clue as to what pulled pork was supposed to taste like or what went into it. I’m from Texas, for goodness sakes. Beef, especially brisket, rule here. Years ago, I joined The Barbecue Bible Forum and was reading a bunch of posts about pulled pork. It got me interested and motivated to try and smoke some myself. I’ve tried various recipes through out the years and have stumbled on this one that I like from Steve Raichlen’s BBQ USA. This sauce is a mouth puckering sauce – all vinegar and heat, but mellows nicely when mixed in with the fatty pork.
Ingredients
- 5 cups distilled vinegar
- 3 tbsp salt, or more to taste
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp red pepper flakes, or more to taste
- 3 tbsps hot sauce
Mix all the ingredients in a large, non-reactive bowl, add 1 cup of water, and whisk until the salt and sugar dissolve. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. The sauce can be refrigerated for several weeks. Bring to room temperature for serving.
In addition, use 1.5 cups of the sauce along with one head of green cabbage, finely chopped, to make a simple North Carolina Coleslaw to be served with your pulled pork. This can be made up to 4 hours ahead and stored in the refrigerator, covered.
BBBQ Sauce
(Bourbon Based Barbecue Sauce)
I’m not a huge fan of barbecue sauces. I’ve always firmly believed that good barbecue should be able to stand on its own. You should be able to taste the flavor of the meat and the smokiness that it picked up after spending untold hours in a pit with a live fire. I don’t want the flavor of the meat drowned out by some overpowering, sickeningly sweet sauce like people do in some parts of the country (I won’t point fingers here). But sometimes sauce can be a good thing….in moderation. Kind of an accent to go along with the meat…not fighting it out to see which is more powerful. All that being said, here is a sauce that I have been toying with on and off for a few years….to the best of my recollection. (I really should write these things down so I know exact amounts.) Feel free to use it and tweak it to suit your own pallet.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, diced fine
- 2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 cup of chili sauce
- 1 cup of ketchup
- about a half cup of bourbon, whatever brand you happen to be drinking at the time, but Wild Turkey works best
- 1/4 cup of cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup of lemon juice, fresh, not from the bottle
- 1/4 cup of honey
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar
- coupla tbsp of Worsey sauce
- coupla tbsp of mustard
- at least 4 dashes of your favorite hot sauce (personally I can’t stand Tabasco, find another brand)
- anywhere from a couple of tsps to a couple of tbsps of drippings from a brisket (or whatever else you are smoking) I guess you could use liquid smoke if that’s all you have
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes (more if you like heat)
- coupla tbsps of whatever rub you are using on your brisket
Directions
- Melt the butter in a saucepan and saute the onions until soft, but not brown. Throw in the garlic when the onions are almost done.
- Add the rest of the ingredients (except the meat drippings) and stir to mix. Allow them to come to a boil over medium heat, then reduce and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring often.
- I generally do this the night before when I have started my brisket. It gives the ingredients time to blend. The next morning I will collect the drippings from the brisket and add into the sauce and bring it back up to a simmer.
- Serve warm or at room temperature. Sauce will last about 3 days (due to meat drippings)
Getting excited as I type this as I know that I will be making this tonight to go along with a brisket I will be smoking overnight. Going to be served up in time for the Baylor Rice game tomorrow. I’ll go by the recipe I’ve posted here, but any additions or corrections I make, I’ll try and note and let y’all know. I’m thinking I might see what Sriracha does to the flavor or maybe some chili garlic sauce. We’ll see….
A Simple Central Texas BBQ Sauce
This is a simple sauce, as most BBQ joints in Texas only think of sauce as an afterthought, that is loosely based on a famous BBQ joint in Central Texas that shall be left unnamed
Ingredients
- 1 cup of meat drippings (or chicken stock)
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 2 or more tbsps hot sauce
- coarse salt and fresh pepper to taste
- coupla tbsps of your favorite rub, preferrably whatever you are using at that time on your meat
Combine all the ingredients except the salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue cooking for about 30 minutes, stirring often. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature. Sauce will last about 3 days. (due to meat drippings)
