Thin sauce for pulled pork

[Tricia]

I am looking for a thin sauce for pulled pork, ribs, etc. Not a vinegar I believe. I tried making those and it was not what I was looking for. The kind I am looking for I have had them is bbq places and they come in sweet, mild, and hot. I am not exactly sure what to search for to find this sauce. It is not think like a KC masterpiece...rather thin but not too thin like the vinegar ones. Any help would be great! TYIA! Tricia

 

[Rita Y]

Tricia, have you tried thinning down one of your favorite thicker sauces to give you a thinner sauce that still has a little body to it? I'm not a fan of thick sauces either. When I make a sauce, I don't reduce it as much, so it stays on the thinner side.

Rita

 

[Ben S.]

Tricia, try this one. I've been through dozens of sauces, homemade and store bought, and everyone always likes this one the best. It's a cross between Lexington Style and Western Style NC BBQ, used mainly for pulled pork.

Recipe Name: BEN'S BBQ SAUCE

Ingredients:
1 c apple cider vinegar
1 c ketchup
3 tbsp packed dark brown sugar
1 tbsp yellow mustard
1 tbsp molasses
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp red pepper flakes

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients well to blend in sugar. If you want thicker, cook and reduce it. Place in squeeze bottle and store in fridge.

 

[K Kruger]

Tricia--

It sounds like what you're looking for is a syrup-based sauce. These sauces are not unlike, say, a thinner version of KC Masterpiece or, more simply, a thicker version of Ben's above. But it's not really thickness per se--it's a more viscous mouthfeel--so it's not a reduction and not loaded with reduced tomato puree or tomato paste--am I on the right track here? This type of sauce depends almost equally on the solids in the sauce, emulsification and body provided by syrup--in commercial cases it is usually corn syrup, which you can use or you can make a simple sugar syrup. Additional viscosity might be provided by xanthan or carageenan but those products aren't necessary if you balance the others. Emulsification might be attained by the addition of prepared mustard and oil (recommended) but there are other means.

 

[Craig Castille]

Tricia,

You may just start with a store bought sauce that you like and "doctor" it up.

I frequently do this to cattleman's. I'll add components based on who's eating.

To thin a sauce, I'll add either apple juice or pineapple juice to the original sauce.

Other components I'll use are sugar, honey, molasses, rub, tabasco peppers, etc.

Takes 5 minutes, and most people are shocked when then find out it's not homemade (if I decide to tell them).