How to Use Barbecue Sauce
Barbecue sauce adds a lot of flavor to the meat and veggies you cook on your Big Green Egg or Traeger grill. Did you know that there are good times to add and not-so good times?
To help you have the best tasting food every time, lets look at how to use barbecue sauce.
Don’t Apply Too Early
Some grillers may apply barbecue sauce too early when grilling, or they may even apply it before putting the food on the grill. Others may wait until the food begins cooking, but doing this too soon is also not a great idea.
Because barbecue sauce contains sugar, you have to be careful it doesn’t burn. Sugar will burn at about 265 degrees Fahrenheit and give your food a bad taste.
Don’t Apply Too Late
Another casualty is applying the barbecue sauce too late. Many people apply the sauce after the food comes off the grill. Why is this bad? Your food doesn’t have a chance to absorb the flavor of your chosen sauce. Barbecue sauce needs time to soak into your food to impart the best flavor.
Special note: this doesn’t apply to marinades, rubs, and mop sauces, though.
Apply at the Perfect Time
Now you may be wondering what is the perfect time to baste your meat and veggies.
A good rule of thumb is to baste your food when it’s about 10 minutes away from being completely done. This gives the sauce enough time and heat to add flavor and caramelize without burning.
Start brushing on the sauce in the 10 minutes before completion. Do this at least two or three more times before taking your food off the grill.
Another note: if you’re cooking ribs, you can put this on during the last 30 minutes to about an hour of cooking. Build layers from several thin coatings of barbecue sauce for the most delicious ribs.
What If You’re Smoking?
It’s a different rule when you’re smoking your food. This is usually done at much lower temperatures than grilling. So, you don’t have to worry about your sauce burning and tasting bad.
Your sauce generally won’t burn, and your sauce will caramelize to deepen the flavor.
Final Thoughts
Not only can you baste your meat and veggies with barbecue sauce, you can also serve it on the side as condiment. This lets your friends and family add more or less to suite their tastes!
If you’re looking for some great barbecue sauce choices, be sure and stop by one of our stores. We have a lot to choose from!
