The Tangy Ingredient That Makes South Carolina BBQ Sauce Unique
By MEGGAN ROBINSON
Food - Drink
To say that barbecue is just one thing is a serious understatement, as it's not only the name of a cooking method or food, it's a highly regionalized art form that genuine barbecue aficionados travel out of their way to enjoy. This is especially true in South Carolina, where the art of barbeque was invented.
While their neighbors in North Carolina, with its two distinct regional BBQ sauce styles, might disagree about the history, South Carolina certainly lays claim to one unique feature that distinguishes its most famous and distinctive sauce. That difference is the inclusion of mustard.
The added mustard gives the sauce its bright yellow color and tangy flavor, and it is sometimes tempered with brown sugar or honey for sweetness and usually kicked up with cider vinegar and black pepper. That’s what gives South Carolina BBQ sauce its perfect savory-sweet foil for unctuous, smoky pork.