BBQ Sauces

Kansas City style is thick, sweet and tomato-based with molasses, the most familiar style in Canada. Memphis style is thinner and tangier, with more vinegar. St. Louis style is sweet, tangy and a little thinner than Kansas City. Carolina sauces are vinegar- or mustard-based, and Alabama white sauce is mayonnaise-based. Cattlemen’s makes Kansas City, Memphis, St. Louis and Mississippi styles in 3.78 L jugs, which lets a restaurant offer several styles from one brand.

Plan about 60 to 90 mL (1/4 to 1/3 cup) of wing sauce per 450 g (1 lb) of wings for a full coat, which is about 10 to 12 wings. A 3.78 L jug therefore covers roughly 40 to 60 lb of wings. Toss wings in a bowl straight from the fryer so the sauce clings, and serve extra on the side. Thicker sauces such as honey garlic need slightly more than thin Buffalo sauces.

Brush sugary BBQ sauce on only during the last 10 to 15 minutes of cooking, or after the food comes off the heat. Most BBQ sauces contain a lot of sugar, which starts to burn at around 120 to 135 °C, so sauce applied too early chars and turns bitter. For low-and-slow smoking, apply a thin glaze in the final stage, and serve extra sauce on the side.

Classic Buffalo sauce is cayenne pepper hot sauce, such as Frank’s RedHot, mixed with melted butter or a butter-flavoured oil, usually in a ratio of about 2 parts hot sauce to 1 part butter for medium heat. More butter makes it milder and richer; less makes it hotter and tangier. Ready-made Buffalo wing sauces save the mixing step and hold a stable emulsion on the line, which is why most wing bars buy them by the gallon.

Opened BBQ sauce keeps about 1 to 4 months refrigerated, depending on its sugar and vinegar content; vinegar-heavy sauces last longest. Unopened jugs are shelf-stable until the best-before date. In a restaurant, decant sauce into clean squeeze bottles, date them, and never top up an old bottle with new sauce. Throw out sauce that has been brushed onto raw food.

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