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If you like variety in your bar-b-que you can find it by trying various types of barbecue sauces. You can simply find them lining the grocery shelves! Obviously, if you like exclusive flavors you might like to create your own sauce to use.

Whether you’re cooking beef, pork or chicken you’ll find marinades, sauces, rubs and glazes that improve the distinct flavor of the meat on the grill.

Almost all of the popular barbecue sauces are derived from cities like Kansas City or Memphis. But don’t allow that to fool you. Nearly every region of the country features its own flavor choices concerning outdoor cooking. As expected, many people assume BBQ sauce is invariably red.

In some of the southern states the sauce is yellow or pretty much clear, such as Alabama White Sauce. South Carolina bar-b-que experts use a lot of mustard in their sauces and in Memphis, where purists claim the only great barbecue is rubbed with spices, many restaurants serve the meat wet or dry, based on the customer’s choice.

While it can be a test to get your sauce “just right”, the rewards are large when you take time to make your own. This is a recipe for Kansas City style bar-b-que sauce that gets thicker the more you cook it.

Start with a large sauce pan on medium heat. Combine, in order, in the warming pan:

  • 2 cups of ketchup
  • 2 cups of tomato sauce
  • 1-1/4 cups brown sugar
  • 1-1/4 cups wine vinegar
  • ½ up molasses
  • 3 teaspoons of flavored liquid smoke (Many prefer hickory flavor)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • ½ teaspoons of:
  • garlic powder
  • Onion powder
  • Celery seed
  • Cayenne pepper
  • Chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon of ground pepper

When it begins to boil, quickly minimize the heat. Enable the mixture to simmer approximately 20 minutes. If you want thinner sauce, simmer for significantly less time or put in a little water. For thicker sauce, simmer for a longer time.

Remember, never brush the sauce onto raw meat. Brush the sauce onto the meats during the last five to 10 minutes of grilling over a wide open flame.