Try These 10 Popular Brisket Barbecue Sauces (2024)

FAQs

What are the 4 types of BBQ sauce? ›

A good, rich barbecue sauce adds flavor to smoked brisket whether it is sliced to chopped, but the most important benefit is the moisture it adds. Barbecue brisket can dry out quickly, either in the smoker or more likely once it is cut up for serving.

The secret to making a delicious brisket is smoking at a consistent temperature, cooking with indirect heat, and, most importantly, monitoring the brisket's internal temperature to determine when to wrap it and when it is done. It is critical to know when to wrap the brisket.

Kansas City BBQ sauce has a thicker consistency and is sweeter than a classic BBQ sauce. Made with onions, spices, ketchup, and molasses, other ingredients are often also added to give it a variation of flavors, such as liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, or soy sauce.

The five mother sauces are hollandaise, tomato (sauce tomat), bechamel, Espagnole, and veloute. French chef Auguste Escoffier identified the five mother sauces, forever associating them with French cuisine. However, mother sauces are relevant in all modern cooking practices.

Set the temperature to a low heat, around 225°F to 250°F (107°C to 121°C), and cook the brisket slowly. You can wrap it in foil or use a roasting pan with a lid to help retain moisture. Slow Cooker Method: Using a slow cooker is a convenient and hands-off method.

Keeping a water pan in the smoker is the best way to retain moisture. After the first 2-3 hours start spritzing your brisket with water, apple juice, hot sauce or apple cider vinegar every 30 minutes to an hour. This helps keep it moist and stops it from burning.

Grill/Roast 5-8 hours, depending on the size of the brisket, or until meat thermometer registers 185°-190°F in the thickest part. I like to wrap the brisket in two layers of heavy-duty foil when it reaches about 170°F. That way, the brisket steams and tenderizes even more as it finishes cooking.

Often used for other meats that require long, slow cooking on the barbecue, such as ribs, the 3-2-1 method essentially involves firstly smoking the meat as it is for three hours, wrapping it for the second two hours, and finally finishing the cooking unwrapped for the last hour.

What not to do when smoking a brisket? ›

When buying a brisket, look for one that's fresh and has good marbling. The marbling is the fat that runs through the meat, and it's what gives brisket its flavor and tenderness. A good rule of thumb is to choose a brisket that has a 1/4 to 1/2 inch layer of fat on top.

Even though Memphis BBQ sauce is tomato-based and contains brown sugar like Kansas City BBQ sauce, it also includes mustard and vinegar. Because the BBQ sauce is thin, it makes a great marinade. It can also be mopped or basted on pork shoulders, butts, ribs and fresh pulled-pork sandwiches.

1. Jones BBQ. This family-run joint has been serving up the best BBQ in Kansas City since opening in 1970.

St. Louis BBQ sauce is thinner than Kansas City sauce, and it has a tangy and slightly sweet flavor. The base often consists of ketchup or tomato sauce combined with vinegar, brown sugar, mustard and an array of spices.

St. Louis BBQ sauce is thinner than Kansas City sauce, and it has a tangy and slightly sweet flavor. The base often consists of ketchup or tomato sauce combined with vinegar, brown sugar, mustard and an array of spices.

Ingredients vary, but most include vinegar or tomato paste (or a combination) as a base, as well as liquid smoke, onion powder, spices such as mustard and black pepper, and sweeteners such as sugar or molasses.

Memphis, Tennessee

The barbecue in Memphis is tangy and thin, which makes it starkly different from its Kansas City competitors. While the sauce is also tomato-based and contains brown sugar, it includes mustard and vinegar among its ingredients as well.