Posted on 01/03/2002 5:04:58 AM PST by aomagrat
You heard it here first: Mustard-based sauce is best for barbecue. No, ketchup-based — no, vinegar-and-pepper . . . In S.C., the debate never ends. But here are some places to eat while you argue.
If you enjoy fireworks, just say the word “barbecue” in a crowd of Southerners and sit back and enjoy the show.
Barbecue rouses unshakable convictions about what’s the best, and most folks are more than happy to voice an opinion.
Yet, despite all the passion it arouses, the debate really isn’t even about barbecue, said Chuck Kovacik, a professor in USC’s Department of Geography and author of the “Barbecue Map of South Carolina.”
“This will never be about barbecue. The passion is about place. Wherever I’m from, it’s obviously the best. ... You’re not arguing about the quality of the barbecue. You’re arguing about the quality of the place,” he said.
The owners of local barbecue restaurants agree barbecue is about much more than food.
It’s also about family ties, said Fred Mathias, co-owner of Four Oaks Farm in Lexington. “We were all kind of raised on it. When families get together, it’s just a tradition,” Mathias said.
For Carolyn Myers, co-owner of Myers Barbeque House in Blythewood, barbecue represents a way of life. “(It’s popularity) has to do with the country-time atmosphere we’re in,” she said. “Lots of South Carolinians, in particular, are country at heart.”
The styles of barbecue are numerous. What someone likes often depends on where he grew up. Here in what’s known as the Barbecue Belt — North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas — the meat of choice is pork.
But travel the Carolinas and you’ll find a range of sauces. Toward the eastern shore of North Carolina, they finish their Q with vinegar sauce, while their neighbors on the western border favor a thick, sweet-sour, ketchup-based sauce.
In South Carolina, there are at least four barbecue regions, Kovacik said.
“The (barbecue) debate is even greater here than what we’ve been led to believe by our neighbors to the north,” he said.
“You hear so much about North Carolina barbecue. æ.æ.æ. They like to say that North Carolina is a valley of humility between two mountains of conceit. When it comes to barbecue, North Carolina is an incredible mountain of conceit.”
In South Carolina, vinegar-and-pepper sauces are popular in the northeastern corner of the state. In the Upstate along the border with North Carolina, tomato-based sauce combining sweet and sour flavors is the standard, while along the western border with Georgia, ketchup-like sauces reign.
Here in the middle part of the state running to the southern coast, mustard-based sauces rule, an observation borne out by the notes and e-mails we received when we asked for readers’ favorite barbecue restaurants.
“Mustard base is the way to go. ... (It) takes my vote for the best that there is,” wrote Marti Olivarri of Columbia in a note that summed up many of the recommendations we received.
But it takes more than good sauce to make a restaurant special. Many readers mentioned a family atmosphere, friendly service and touches such as checkered tablecloths.
“The country setting and friendly atmosphere, plus the great barbecue, combine for a winning combination,” Stacey Charles of Saluda said of Wise Bar-B-Q House in Newberry.
Please note the above statements are simply examples — and are not meant to be interpreted as any type of barbecue resolution. This debate will never be settled, so perhaps it’s best to heed one reader’s philosophical approach.
“Sauce is everything ... (but) different sauces for different sections,” said James Alford of Dillon, who prefers the “red gravy” at Country Cousins in Scranton.
Besides, if you don’t like the sauce where you live, drive a few miles, and it will change.
McRib?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, yer close TS...Kansas City IS the BBQ capitol of the world!!...but...the best in KC is Arthur Bryants, mah frien. The old place....downtown. Heheh - pig w/ mustard sauce..heheh...sounds like a ham samwich to me, not BBQ! Brisket's the ONLY way to fly. Around here we say: "If it don't MOO...it ain't Q" Pity dem poor folk dat think BBQ is a bunch of stringy pork swimmin' in watered down mustard!!
The results are alsways the same!!
The Lexington Collection is the ranking of top Q joints in the state. Not too many I see!
Methinks you need to talk to Wilber about real BBQ.. This boy sounds like he's been around the block a few times. He might even pass for a Texan.
I never said there was anything wrong with eating beef with some sauce on it; just don't call it a barbeque, at least not to a southerner.
Speaking of mustard, give this a try sometime when slow smoking ribs or something: After putting on your dry rub, coat the meat liberally with mustard, and just mustard. Somehow in the cooking process the mustard taste mostly goes away, and it turns into that crunch "bark" that so many barbecue lovers crave. I realize how hard it is to put meat on to barbecue that is bright yellow, but trust me and give it a try.
The author reveals his ignorance on the subjest of BBQ in this one sentence. He mentions a whole string of states, yet the one state, Virginia, that is the undisputed king of BBQ, was not mentioned . Yes, North Carolina was mentioned, but they were taught how to make BBQ when they were still part of VA. That is why the best BBQ is found from the central part of NC north to the southeastern section of VA. And you will find no stupid mustard sauce in the better BBQ places, either. Mustard sauce on BBQ is an abomination and insult to the pig on which it is placed. Please forgive my passionate response, but I really can't sit by and read this nonsense without commenting strongly.
Hehehe....ROTFL!! I wouldn't doubt it, although I thought you were gonna say that the pilot tried to pull over to prove it!
So you are saying that because people that dont eat barbecue would like your style best, that it is the best? Seems an odd way to present your argument.
Was it served on a flaky croissant with alfalfa sprouts & garnished with edible flowers?
Hey TS - been there, done that....many times! I live in Olathe, and for many years competed in the KCBS cook-offs. My team was: Swine Of The Times - AmRoyal too big for me...I like the Lenexa BBQ more better...although it's getting pretty big now too!! You live in Mission?
Mustard is fantastic for moping on pork, chicken and brisket before you throw it on the smoker. The night before you plan to cook, get your favorite mustard based sauce, I like Maurice's and mop it all over the meat. Then add your rub and spices. Wrap it in Glad and put in the fridge overnight. The Vinegar in mustard acts as a natural tenderizer and it really opens up the meat so the spices can sink in.
But I also really love Maurice's Piggy Palace of Columbia SC. Mustard based sauce on pork, keep it lightly sauced. Maurice Bessemer's taken a lot of flack in recent history for his pro-Confederate position and it has cost him most of his retail distribution as the PC grocery stores and Walmart/Targets remove him for his beliefs.
Anyone got a link to post?, ping me please?
Chuckling is unavoidable when a Texan is deemed "ignorant", and then lectured to on the subject of "barbecue"(barbeque aka BBQ).
Sort of like a mortal ascending Valhala to spread the good word.
I shall relent to your pickled-pig. Mmmmmm good!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.