BBQ Sauce - The absolute best I have found.

[treitz3]

http://www.oldmule.com/

Every once in a while in life, one stumbles across a slice of heaven here on Earth. I happen to have been lucky enough to find such a slice. For my birthday one year, my friends, wife and I went to the Watershed Cabins up in the mountains of North Carolina. I brought my typical big slab's-o-meat with me for some good mountaintop cookin'. One night we wanted to cook up 8 pounds of pork butt on the barbie'. Only issue was that we didn't have any BBQ sauce with us.

So, we went to a store early in the day and it was one of Bryson Cities worst hole in the wall dump of a store. I wanted some kind of BBQ sauce to go with the pork and I saw the cheap $1.00 kinds in the isles and I knew I didn't want those but that's all they had......until I strolled to the back of the store near the meat section and stumbled across this "Old Mule" BBQ sauce in a glass jar. "Hmmm", I thought. "We'll give this a whirl". It was made right here in the mountains of NC by a small family business, so it couldn't be that bad, right?

SCORE!!!

That pork butt turned out to be the very best pork butt I had ever had and we have since gone through gallons and gallons of this BBQ sauce. I would highly recommend that you try some of it out. The original [Half-kick] and hot [Full-kick] are my two favorites with the Full-kick being the most preferred by the masses at the large gatherings we occasionally have. They also have a mustard based sauce but I'll be honest, I have not tried it yet. Not a big fan of mustard based BBQ sauces here.

I have had nothing but positive feedback since I ran into Old Mule BBQ Sauce and I consider it my "reference" BBQ sauce. It's a little bit more expensive than your typical sauce but it tastes so much better than any other store bought sauce I have tried and I have tried every sauce all of the local [and some not local] supermarkets have to offer, no matter the price. When it hits your tongue, you can instantly taste the quality.

I'm always open to other sauces, so if you have any that you would consider your "reference", feel free to chime in. I'd love to try them out as well although I will admit, it's gonna be hard to top Old Mule in my opinion. It's just that good.

You can thank me later.

 

[Steve williams]

Here's what I use. My oldest daughter lives in Austin and always brings me Rub and BBQ sauce from the famous Salt Lick

http://www.saltlickbbq.com/products/Sauce-&-Dry-Rub-%2d-Full-Case-%2d-(12-Bottles).html

 

[Keith_W]

I make my own ... from this recipe. As published it is pretty kickarse but nothing to stop you from amping up the flavours a little

 

[Ronm1]

I may have placed something like this in another thread.

Personally, we only sauce cause others expect it. Mop sauce yes, finishing sauce served on the side to add as a condiment if so desired.
We make are own sauce no real recipe but peaches are the base, then proportions of typical ingredients. Brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, etc...3-4 chili powders mostly mild for layers of spice. Not all that much is used, a little goes a long way. We also make a green version for those that like that style. Tomatillos, 3-4 green chili powders are used with that one.

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

Contrary to popular belief, Canada is not the frozen wasteland some consider it to be , and during our 2-week span of Summer we go out and try to make the most of it. Some of those activities include swatting away humongous Black Flies that attack with Tora, Tora, Tora speed and have the bite of a Pitbull on a pantleg. Despite this obstacle, we find our way to the local beer store with the largest road-safety vehicle we can find and stock up on some traditional Molson Export and Labatt 50 two-fours. Yes, we drink Ale up here! But I digress!

We also love ribs (could be Moose, Deer...we don't care), and are in agreement with our southern American cousins that a good sauce for roasting, smoking, BBQ'ing is essential. As such, I went online and found a sauce some time ago that I quite liked from Billy Bob's Pork Basting Bastion of Beautiful BBQ. I have no idea where Billy Bob's place is located, but I tell ya'..the man makes a wicked sauce.

I should tell you that I made some changes as some of his ingredients didin't quite fit the profile of a sauce. Pickled Opossum inerts ground with garlic and nutmeg didn't quite cut the mustard.

Anyway, here's my version of a BBQ sauce as I always have these ingredients at hand.

BBQ Sauce:
1 cup Ketchup
6 TBS Brown Sugar
3 TBS Corn Syrup
2 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
2 TBS Cider Vinegar
2 TBS Keene's Dry Mustard
1 TBS Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper

This is super-easy to make and quite enjoyable.

 

[treitz3]

Pickled Opossum inerts ground with garlic and nutmeg didn't quite cut the mustard.

I wouldn't even know where to find such a thing.....not that I would want too....*cringes*

I have everything on hand for that sauce but the Keene's dry mustard but I'm sure I could substitute Colman's dry mustard instead. I'll have to give all of these homemade sauces a whirl as well. Keep 'em comin' folks! I'm always in the lookout for the "ultimate" BBQ sauce. Whether it be home made or store bought, I do not care. Just so long as it does the meat [when called for] justice!

BTW, I have no affiliation with the Old Mule BBQ Sauce. Just a big fan.

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

I wouldn't even know where to find such a thing.....not that I would want too....*cringes*

I have everything on hand for that sauce but the Keene's dry mustard but I'm sure I could substitute Colman's dry mustard instead. I'll have to give all of these homemade sauces a whirl as well. Keep 'em comin' folks! I'm always in the lookout for the "ultimate" BBQ sauce. Whether it be home made or store bought, I do not care. Just so long as it does the meat [when called for] justice!

BTW, I have no affiliation with the Old Mule BBQ Sauce. Just a big fan.

Twas my attempt at a joke (the entire post in fact)...no offense was intended. And yes, you could substitute the Keene's with the Colman's for sure.

 

[Greg_R]

I'm always open to other sauces, so if you have any that you would consider your "reference", feel free to chime in. I'd love to try them out as well although I will admit, it's gonna be hard to top Old Mule in my opinion. It's just that good.

What style of sauce is it? It looks like a western NC vinegar sauce (i.e. still vinegar but more 'sauce' than liquid)?

 

[Greg_R]

I like this Kansas City style sauce from Raichlen (I tend to use more spices):

Ingredients:
1 cup ketchup **** Real sugar, not corn syrup ketchup! ****
2 cups apple juice
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons chile powder
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1-1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Place the ketchup, apple juice, molasses, vinegar, brown and granulated sugar, chile powder, celery seed, cinnamon, and cloves in a large heavy saucepan and gradually bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking to mix.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer the sauce until thick and richly flavored, about 40 minutes, whisking often. Correct the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. The sauce should be highly seasoned.

 

[jazdoc]

These are my two favorites:

http://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com/index.htm

Akin to the Vatican for BBQ lovers and no visit to Kansas City is complete without a pilgrimage.

This was a cartoon in the local paper after Arthur Bryant passed:

My other favorite is this:
http://www.jackstackbbq.com/

 

[treitz3]

Hello, Greg_R. Old Mule is more like a tomato based sauce. You can tell that they take their time to reduce the sauce and the spices are just right. There may be vinegar in it [I would imagine that there is] but it's not like that liquid vinegar sauce you might typically find in a mom and pop BBQ shop in NC. It's much better than that. I'll put it to you this way, if you place a spoon vertically into the jar and lift it up, most of the sauce sticks to the spoon instead of falling off it.

 

[Steve williams]

Hello, Greg_R. Old Mule is more like a tomato based sauce. You can tell that they take their time to reduce the sauce and the spices are just right. There may be vinegar in it [I would imagine that there is] but it's not like that liquid vinegar sauce you might typically find in a mom and pop BBQ shop in NC. It's much better than that. I'll put it to you this way, if you place a spoon vertically into the jar and lift it up, most of the sauce sticks to the spoon instead of falling off it.

"molasses" Tom

 

[rockitman]

http://www.oldmule.com/

Every once in a while in life, one stumbles across a slice of heaven here on Earth. I happen to have been lucky enough to find such a slice. For my birthday one year, my friends, wife and I went to the Watershed Cabins up in the mountains of North Carolina. I brought my typical big slab's-o-meat with me for some good mountaintop cookin'. One night we wanted to cook up 8 pounds of pork butt on the barbie'. Only issue was that we didn't have any BBQ sauce with us.

So, we went to a store early in the day and it was one of Bryson Cities worst hole in the wall dump of a store. I wanted some kind of BBQ sauce to go with the pork and I saw the cheap $1.00 kinds in the isles and I knew I didn't want those but that's all they had......until I strolled to the back of the store near the meat section and stumbled across this "Old Mule" BBQ sauce in a glass jar. "Hmmm", I thought. "We'll give this a whirl". It was made right here in the mountains of NC by a small family business, so it couldn't be that bad, right?

SCORE!!!

That pork butt turned out to be the very best pork butt I had ever had and we have since gone through gallons and gallons of this BBQ sauce. I would highly recommend that you try some of it out. The original [Half-kick] and hot [Full-kick] are my two favorites with the Full-kick being the most preferred by the masses at the large gatherings we occasionally have. They also have a mustard based sauce but I'll be honest, I have not tried it yet. Not a big fan of mustard based BBQ sauces here.

I have had nothing but positive feedback since I ran into Old Mule BBQ Sauce and I consider it my "reference" BBQ sauce. It's a little bit more expensive than your typical sauce but it tastes so much better than any other store bought sauce I have tried and I have tried every sauce all of the local [and some not local] supermarkets have to offer, no matter the price. When it hits your tongue, you can instantly taste the quality.

I'm always open to other sauces, so if you have any that you would consider your "reference", feel free to chime in. I'd love to try them out as well although I will admit, it's gonna be hard to top Old Mule in my opinion. It's just that good.

You can thank me later.

Loved the review...just ordered two 1/2 kick and two full kick jars.......can't wait...

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

Treitz...I see you're from Charlotte NC. Are you new to the neighborhood? BBQ is a whole pig, smoked real slow, pulled from the bone by hand, and liberally mixed with a spicy, clear, vinegar-based sauce. We call that red stuff enhanced ketchup, and it ain't bad, but it ain't Q.

Tim

 

[amirm]

Treitz...I see you're from Charlotte NC. Are you new to the neighborhood? BBQ is a whole pig, smoked real slow, pulled from the bone by hand, and liberally mixed with a spicy, clear, vinegar-based sauce. We call that red stuff enhanced ketchup, and it ain't bad, but it ain't Q.

Tim

I like to combine both . For pulled pork, I like the NC-style vinegar based Coleslaw but then use the standard sweet BBQ sauce to offset the sourness. Amazing taste that way! Is the classic method sour sauce with sour 'slaw?

 

[Greg_R]

Treitz...I see you're from Charlotte NC. Are you new to the neighborhood? BBQ is a whole pig, smoked real slow, pulled from the bone by hand, and liberally mixed with a spicy, clear, vinegar-based sauce. We call that red stuff enhanced ketchup, and it ain't bad, but it ain't Q.

Tim

A classic Western NC style BBQ uses a thick sauce like the stuff Treitz describes + pork shoulders/butts (versus whole hog). Some people call this "Lexington style". The rest of NC is as you described.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

I like to combine both . For pulled pork, I like the NC-style vinegar based Coleslaw but then use the standard sweet BBQ sauce to offset the sourness. Amazing taste that way! Is the classic method sour sauce with sour 'slaw?

Yeah the classic throughout most of NC is vinegar base for both slaw and Q. I was just teasing Treitz. I've been here since '79, but grew up in the midwest, so I'm cross cultural; I like it all. Though I think my favorite is vinegar Q with creamy cole slaw. Slow-smoked pork is pretty wonderful stuff. I just don't want it buried in red sauce most of the time. Now red sauce with beef? That's workin'.

Tim

 

[treitz3]

"molasses" Tom

Hehe.....well, not quite that thick. You can actually pour about 85% of it out of the jar but you'll need a spatula to get what is still left. I noticed the ones you linked [your favorite] are the mustard based sauces. I've tried the "Award winning" mustard based sauces down here but I just can't seem to get to appreciate the taste. This is why I haven't tried the Old Mule mustard based sauce yet.

Loved the review...just ordered two 1/2 kick and two full kick jars.......can't wait...

Thank you for the kind words. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Treitz...I see you're from Charlotte NC. Are you new to the neighborhood?

Hello, Tim. I'm a transplant from my hometown of Springfield VA. I moved down to Matthews [just outside of Charlotte for those who do not know] about 23 or so years ago and I've been just south Charlotte in Rock Hill, SC for the past 9 years. I don't doubt at all that we have stomped feet in the same audio shops. Too bad most all of them are gone now. I think Audio Advice and Liquid Hi-Fi are the only shops left in town.

BBQ is a whole pig, smoked real slow, pulled from the bone by hand, and liberally mixed with a spicy, clear, vinegar-based sauce. We call that red stuff enhanced ketchup, and it ain't bad, but it ain't Q.

Whoa there partner! I learned a while back not to discuss what's in bold down in these parts. In some places down here, folks get so serious about there BBQ that fights can actually break out over what is or isn't Q. I don't ever think that will ever be clear. Kinda like the Chevy/Ford/Mopar thing, it just goes on and on and on. I will say this, the whole pig, slowly cooked is the best I've had pork taste. Just melt in your mouth type eatin' and this can be without any type of sauce. Makes me hungry just thinkin' about it and I just ate.

I like to combine both . For pulled pork, I like the NC-style vinegar based Coleslaw but then use the standard sweet BBQ sauce to offset the sourness. Amazing taste that way!

A man after my own taste buds! I prefer my pulled pork the same exact way...best of both worlds if you ask me. Yeah baby!!!

 

[rockitman]

Tried the half kick Old Mule on pork short ribs tonight. Best Q sauce I ever had.

 

[treitz3]

Hello WBF and good evening to you all. Christian, I'm glad you liked it and I can see that we are in complete agreement here. Well, I figured that I would go ahead and update this thread. I went and bought a gallon of the mustard based sauce and to my complete surprise......

I flat out LOVED it. Loved it, loved it, loved it.

At this point, I do not know which is my favorite. I will be the first to admit that this is NOT what I expected to be reporting at all. I will say this...I will definitely be incorporating the mustard based sauce into more recipes. Remember when I said this...

....I noticed the ones you linked [your favorite] are the mustard based sauces. I've tried the "Award winning" mustard based sauces down here but I just can't seem to get to appreciate the taste. This is why I haven't tried the Old Mule mustard based sauce yet.

Self admitted, I was a fool. These guys really know how to do a sauce and I only wish I had tried it sooner than this.

Tom