BBQ sauce is short for barbeque sauce or bar-b-que sauce in case anyone
didn't know :) I had a friend from a foreign country who when she first came to
the US always said BBQ instead of barbeque because she always saw it written
that way :) Although we may write it as such, most people don't usually say "bbq"; we say "barbeque."
However, for brevity's sake, in this article I'll refer to my favorite sauce as bbq sauce.
When I was growing up, nothing had a better flavor than bbq sauce. I ate it on everything
from hamburgers to roasted chicken and sausages to onion rings.
Even awful
tasting vegetables became more tolerable after I added my beloved sauce to them.
Much to my mother's dismay, bbq sauce
embellished our dinner table every night. She didn't really appreciate the fact that I
covered up all of her good cooking with bbq sauce.
However, she never really
tried to discouraged me from doing it because the sauce always helped me clean
my plate which actually made her happy :)
As I entered into adulthood, I became a little more selective when it came to
bbq sauce. I can't really say I outgrew it. I still loved the flavor and bbq sauce was my favorite dip of choice
for French fries and even potato chips. However, my taste buds became more conventional when it came to my
use of bbq sauce.
I liked to dip my steak in it or make oven baked chicken basted in a nice
mesquite or hickory bbq sauce.
With my love of any meat cooked with bbq sauce, it was inevitable that I
eventually visit the South which is the barbeque capital of the world. I had
heard about the world famous barbeques in the Deep South and my mouth watered in
anticipation as I packed my bags. I tried to do a little research beforehand to find out
where the best bbq sauce was served. Everyone told me that I had to try a pulled
pork sandwich and wash it down with sweat tea if I wanted to experience true
Southern barbeque.
The day I arrived in Alabama, I hustled to the closest
bar-b-que joint. I could smell
the meat cooking a mile away and as I pulled into the parking lot, I inhaled the
mind altering scent. Just to give you an idea how crazy I was, I carried along
some moist towelettes and a spare
shirt. I was ready to take on a pile of pulled pork drenched in rich bbq sauce. I
placed my order and waited impatiently for my dinner to arrive. When the
waitress finally placed it in front of me, I just couldn't believe my eyes.
Without hesitation I told her she had
made a mistake.
"There isn't any bbq sauce on my pork!" I explained.
The waitress burst into laughter as she poured me a glass of sugary iced
tea. "Darlin' that is real Southern bbq. We don't use bbq sauce. The secret is
in how we cook the meat; we don't want to ruin it by drowning it!"
Seeing my disappointment and being the sweet southern belle she was, she brought me some bottled bbq sauce on the side. I
did try the traditional pulled pork minus the bbq sauce and it was good, but for
me, it tasted so much more familiar when I slathered it with my favorite sauce.
Having visited the Deep South, I actually fell in love with it and finally made
a decision to make it my permanent home. It wasn't just the bbq but many other
things as well, but that's another story for another time :) As for the Southern
barbeque, I can never get enough of it. Yes, I've even learned to enjoy it
without the sauce. But you would be crazy to think I would ever give up on bbq sauce
that has been my best friend at the table ever since I can remember :)
Credit: This
is an article written by Aiden Wangsa,
Editor and Webmaster at
Cool Info Lounge.
Aiden loves good food and warm weather, and in the South he enjoys
both and more.
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More resources:
SHACKS Secret Famous BBQ Sauce
BBQ Sauce Recipes
BBQ Sauce and Marinade
Delicious Beef Jerky
Romantic Restaurants
Salt Shaker
Cheese Pizza
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