Western South Carolina Barbecue Sauce Recipe

This Western South Carolina barbecue sauce recipe is perfect for pork. It's rich, full bodied and with a ketchup base, the type of sauce that you'd find in the upstate and Savannah River areas.

Not to be confused with the heat of the Eastern North Carolina Vinegar Sauce, this Western South Carolina BBQ sauce has much deeper and more complex flavor thanks in part to a good dose of mustard.

It is also a bit more complicated to make (although still only 30 mins to prepare) with the ketchup going in as the sauce cools because mixing ketchup into a less viscous liquid can result in lumps. You've just got to be patient and keep stirring.

So for the Western South recipe follow these steps and you’ll get approximately 2 cups worth (just short of a pint) and you’ll need to get the food processor out.

Allergens:

Given that mustard is the signature ingredient in a South Carolina barbecue sauce you probably won't be surprised to find mustard on the list of allergens. In addition this recipe also contains gluten and fish courtesy of the Worcestershire sauce and note also that some ketchup manufacturers include celery in their list of ingredients.

Yield:- Just under 500ml or ½ pint

Preparation Time:-10 mins
Cooking Time:-20 mins

Total Time:- 30 mins

Ingredients:-

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
½ medium onion (loosely cut up)
2 medium garlic cloves
120 ml or ½ cup cider vinegar
120 ml or ½ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
235 ml or 1 cup ketchup

Method:-

Blitz the onion and garlic in a food processor until it’s well minced. Take a medium saucepan over a gentle heat and fry off the onion and garlic mince in the vegetable oil. You're looking for the mix to turn translucent in color - this will take about 3-4 minutes & take care not to burn.

Throw in the rest of the ingredients (apart from the ketchup), bring it to the boil and then turn the heat off.

Finally add the ketchup and stir gently as it cools and thickens, keep stirring until you've got rid of any lumps or until your arm falls off - whichever occurs first. If you've got a stick blender then feel free to use it and look smug!