Doug D
TVWBB Hall of Fame
After finishing up 3 bottles of Scott's, I wondered if I couldn't make something similar myself, so I went on down to the lab.
A couple things I bore in mind as I experimented: One, that Tom Raveret had posted he heard that cider vinegars of a different acidity were used in these Eastern NC-style sauces. So I got out my trusty digital pH meter and checked to see if I could make any assumptions of my own as to that notion. My nose alone told me regular apple cider vinegar from the pantry was a lot more potent than the commercial sauce's. The meter confirmed it-- the Scott's was not nearly as acidic. Second, I wanted to establish a baseline that was palatable, and brought something to the flavor profile, but without quite the heat that some others, who had tried the Scott's, found undesirable.
This was going to be tough to concoct in vitro, because-- if you have seen these sauces in bottles-- the non-liquid ingredients settle out rapidly, and side-by-side comparisons are difficult, especially when the strong vinegar smell takes its toll on your nose. I finally had the opportunity to try some of what I made on some pulled pork (what else? Duh...), and used my familiarity with the commercial sauce as a benchmark, rather than trying to do a direct comparison.
Anyway, this is what I came up with-- it ended up kind of simple, actually.
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 Tbl. Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1-1/2 tsp. red (cayenne) pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1-1/2 tsp. ground red pepper flakes
You'll need your spice grinder for the last ingredient.
As I said, not the persistent heat of the Scott's, but I think the rest has the balance about right.
A couple things I bore in mind as I experimented: One, that Tom Raveret had posted he heard that cider vinegars of a different acidity were used in these Eastern NC-style sauces. So I got out my trusty digital pH meter and checked to see if I could make any assumptions of my own as to that notion. My nose alone told me regular apple cider vinegar from the pantry was a lot more potent than the commercial sauce's. The meter confirmed it-- the Scott's was not nearly as acidic. Second, I wanted to establish a baseline that was palatable, and brought something to the flavor profile, but without quite the heat that some others, who had tried the Scott's, found undesirable.
This was going to be tough to concoct in vitro, because-- if you have seen these sauces in bottles-- the non-liquid ingredients settle out rapidly, and side-by-side comparisons are difficult, especially when the strong vinegar smell takes its toll on your nose. I finally had the opportunity to try some of what I made on some pulled pork (what else? Duh...), and used my familiarity with the commercial sauce as a benchmark, rather than trying to do a direct comparison.
Anyway, this is what I came up with-- it ended up kind of simple, actually.
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 Tbl. Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1-1/2 tsp. red (cayenne) pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1-1/2 tsp. ground red pepper flakes
You'll need your spice grinder for the last ingredient.
As I said, not the persistent heat of the Scott's, but I think the rest has the balance about right.