The fact is, if you were born in the South and don’t like barbecue, there is something wrong with you. Whether you will spell it “bar-be-que” or “barbecue,” the resulting product, if properly prepared, will be good.
Summer brings church cookouts, class parties, family gatherings, etc., and a barbecue is often the activity of choice.
The most usual meat for barbecuing is pork, but chicken, beef, goat and other meats can be used. The meat can be cooked on a grill over a pit of hickory chips, cooked on an outdoor gas or charcoal grill, or an indoor grill, or in the oven. The decision will be based on 1) if you have a grill or 2) if you like tending cooking meat.
For a large cut, some people use a marinade. The meat sits in the marinade, either in a covered pan or large plastic bag, for several hours. The marinade is poured off and the meat is put on the heat. A barbecue sauce is then used for basting. Sometimes people use the marinade for basting and then later, nearer the end of the cooking, baste with a barbecue sauce.
There is a lot of ingenuity, creativity and using what you have in barbecuing. Often, you start with one sauce recipe and end with another, adding your favorite ingredients along the way.
Barbecue sauces can be generally divided between those with a vinegar base and those with a tomato base. Both are good, and many recipes contain some of both. Some sauce recipes are hot and spicy; others more mild; some even having a slightly sweet taste.
It is the sauce as much as the method of cooking that determines the barbecue taste. The Internet has listings for 1,420,000 recipes for barbecue sauce, and both you and my editor will be pleased that I am not including all these. Instead, I am sharing with you several recipes from various sauces. Perhaps among these you’ll find one that will become your favorite. Maybe you already have a favorite that you will share with us, and we can share it with others who want to have a barbecue for … Sunday Dinner.
Marinade
¾ cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons dry minced onion
1 teaspoon dry mustard
⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons celery salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
Combine in a jar, cover, shake. Use as a marinade or for grilling.
Texas Hot Sauce
2 cups catsup
½ cup cider vinegar
⅓ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Dash of cayenne
2 tablespoons cooking oil
Combine ingredients in saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
Easy Barbecue Sauce
1 12-ounce bottle chili sauce
¼ cup vinegar
1 12-ounce jar orange marmalade
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1½ teaspoons celery seed
Combine all ingredients; stir well. Use on ribs and other meats. Makes 3 cups.
Piquant Barbecue Sauce
¼ cup water
1 cup catsup
¼ cup red wine vinegar
½ chopped celery
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
½ cup chopped onion
Combine in a small sauce pan. Cook and stir over low heat until onions and celery are tender. Makes 1½ cups.
Orange Barbecue Sauce
1 16-ounce can frozen orange juice
⅓ cup brown sugar
¼ cup honey
1 teaspoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon seasoned pepper
¾ cup water
½ cup wine vinegar
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
½ teaspoon salt
Thaw the orange juice, add remaining ingredients. Mix.
Tomato Barbecue Sauce
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ cup brown sugar
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons salt
¼ cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Cook the onion in the oil in a saucepan until tender. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Simmer 10 minutes.