Georgia Sweet Barbecue Sauce and Carolina Mustard Barbecue Sauce2 Finger-Licking Good Barbecue Rib Sauces

For those of you out there that are big fans of saucy ribs, this blog is for you because I’m going to highlight two different sauces that bring a lot of flavors but in two different ways.

But before we get started on the sauce, you have a few important decisions to make when it comes to preparing pork ribs.

• Do you want baby backs, spares, or St.Louis? 
• How do you want season them?
• What to cook them on, do you want to use gas, charcoal or pellet? 

Now you’re faced with one of the most important decisions of all, do you want your ribs sauced or not sauced? I've got two great sauce recipes for you with very different flavor profiles.  

The first sauce is my take on Georgia Sweet Barbecue Sauce, which is going to be a red tomato-based sauce that brings a nice balance of sweet with a little touch of smoky that comes from the use of smoked paprika and finishes with a subtle backend bite from the apple cider vinegar. This sauce is great for those who like flavors a little more on the sweet side.

The next sauce is my take on the golden goodness that comes from the Carolinas, which is the Carolina Mustard Barbecue Sauce. This sauce has a nice tangy bite and really wakes ups the taste buds! This is a mustard-based sauce that will have a nice golden yellow color to it. This sauce has a nice bite from the combination of apple cider vinegar and mustard, with a subtle sweet note on the backend thanks to the brown sugar and honey.

You’ll notice in the sauce instructions that I said to slowly simmer the sauce using a burner and a small pot, the reason is so that all the ingredients really marry together and create a nice balance. I am also a big fan of straining the sauces because it helps to remove any chunks or large sediment, leaving you with a nice silky-smooth sauce.

Georgia Sweet Barbecue Sauce
By Jason Pruitt

Yield: 4 cups
Prep time: 20 minutes
 
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups ketchup 
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon ground mustard
¼ cup apple juice
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cane syrup
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Instructions:
1. Using side burner, simmer the ingredients together on low medium heat for 8-10 minutes.
2. Strain the sauce using a fine mesh strainer and allow the sauce to cool.
3. Sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks.  

Carolina Mustard Barbecue Sauce
By Jason Pruitt

Yield: 4 cups
Prep Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups yellow mustard
1 teaspoon ground mustard
¼ cup honey
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon chipotle powder 
2 tablespoon ketchup
2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons black pepper, fine grind
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion powder

Instructions:
1. Using side burner, simmer the ingredients together on low medium heat for 8-10 minutes.
2. Strain the sauce using a fine mesh strainer and allow the sauce to cool.
3. Sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks.  

• Prep your sauce ingredients ahead of time because it will make building your sauces a lot easier and save you time.
• Make sure to not let your burner get too hot, you just want to slowly heat up the ingredients, if you get your burner too hot you can risk burning the sugars in the sauces.
• Strain your sauce into a measuring cup with a pour spout, this will make transferring your sauce onto the ribs or into another container much easier. 
• You can substitute molasses for cane syrup if you need.

So, there you have it, Georgia Sweet Barbecue Sauce and Carolina Mustard Barbecue Sauce.  Hopefully, these sauces will bring a lot of finger-licking & lip-smacking joy to your next rib cook. 

Have fun with these recipes and please share your pics! We’d love to see what you grill! #StayInGrillOut