The most important rule about BBQ sauce is, Never add your sauce until the meat is fully cooked and ready to serve. If you mop on sauce while the meat is grilling, you run the risk of burnt exteriors because of the high sugar content in most sauces.

There are, in general, three main styles of sauce:

• Tomato- (or ketchup-) based sauces
• Mustard-based sauces, and
• Vinegar-based sauces.

If you look closely at the ingredients of your favorite off-the-shelf sauce, you’ll probably find it contains all three of these ingredients in some proportion.

Two more things you need to know about BBQ sauce right off:

1. Everybody’s favorite sauce recipe, even the commercial stuff, is a “closely guarded family secret.”
2. Every sauce recipe known to humankind is some combination:

• Tomato products (paste, sauce, ketchup)
• Aromatic veggies (garlic, onions, leeks, shallots)
• Something sweet (molasses, sugar, maple syrup, fruit glazes)
• Something sour (vinegar, lemon or lime juice, wine, Worcestershire sauce)

And various seasonings added to taste (salt, pepper, hot sauce, mustard, herbs, and spices) -- in short, not much of a damned secret after all!

You want to make your own sauce? Mix and match from the above categories in any reasonable quantities and season to taste. Or, if you need a good recipe, look here.

Different regions of the country have different sauce preferences. Southern folk seem to prefer thinner sauces. The farther north you go, the stronger the preference for thick, sweet, tomato-based sauces. In some parts of the Carolinas, a sauce is not considered real BBQ sauce unless it contains mustard. In other parts, the sauce is little more than vinegar and peppers. Texans often forget the sauce altogether and go for a spicy meat rub.

And don’t overlook the fabulous Chinese Barbacue sauce, hoisin, which is made from sweet plums and very savory, and is always served with moo-shoo dishes. Or try the Japanese teriyaki sauce--soy-based and very salty.

• Injectors
• Marinades
• Rating Sauces
• Sauce Recipes
• Sauce-of-the-Month Club

See also:

• The World's BEST BBQ Sauce!
• Buying A Grill
• Charcoal or Gas?
• History of BBQ
• Recipes
• Rubs
• Smokin'
• Styles of BBQ
• What is BBQ?