Mustard-Based Barbecue Sauce
A bright yellow South Carolina classic
November 15, 2017
Mustard-based sauce: an icon of South Carolina barbecue
Bright yellow in color and tangy in flavor, the barbecue sauce found in the Midlands of South Carolina is a classic. Visitors from elsewhere—accustomed to the orangish-brown tomato-based sauces popularized in places like Kansas City—tend to react to this unique condiment with a mixture of bewilderment and fear, but everyone should give mustard based sauce a shot. After a few plates of properly-sauced pulled pork that sharp but sweet flavor really starts to grow on you.
It's a snap to make, too. Sure, you could go uptown and use fancy whole grain or dijon mustards, but nothing beats the simplicity of plain old yellow mustard. You can go with either brown sugar or honey for the sweetener, but if you have both on hand you might as well use a blend.
Ingredients
- 2 cups yellow mustard
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- A few dashes of red cayenne pepper
- Black pepper to taste
Preparation
- 1Combine all the ingredients in saucepan and put on the stove over medium heat.
- 2 Stir regularly until the sugar and honey have melted and the mixture is just beginning to bubble.
- 3Remove from the heat, cool to room temperature, then put in a bottle or jar and refrigerate. Mustard based sauce will keep in the refrigerator for months.