Vinegar-Based Sauces For Grilling & Barbecue

Fire Up The Acid: Grilling with Vinegar

Anyone from the Carolinas knows in their heart—and in their stomach— that north and south aren’t just directional. Where you are or who’s cooking will be the determining factor for which kind of sauce to use when it comes to whole hog or pulled pork barbecue. While each state’s sauce can be used for dipping or dressing, the real question to ask yourself while grilling this summer should be: do I want a piquant, red pepper flake–flecked sauce sweetened with ketchup and brown sugar, as they do in North Carolina? Or the mustardy mop with a worcestershire tang that South Carolinians love?

Regardless of the direction you take, the recipes from both states rely on a very basic barbecue principle, respected around the world: fat needs acid. And there’s no better foil for sticky, glistening barbecue than vinegar. Further south, in Alabama, you’ll find white sauce (made from vinegar-thinned mayonnaise with cracked black pepper) alongside chicken wings. The most important part of any of these sauces is making sure there’s enough vinegar to cut through the fat, without overpowering the flavor.

Whereas in the States, we expect our barbecue sauce to be sticky and sweet, in Argentina, where steak rules the grill, chimichurri is made from fresh parsley and oregano mixed with red wine vinegar and olive oil for something herbaceous and tangy that resembles a vinaigrette. Brazilians top grilled fish with their signature pico de gallo, a salsa that swaps citrus for vinegar.

Classically found around the world as French aigre doux preserves and Italian agrodolce, a tart and tangy technique of reducing sugar (often honey) with vinegar with fruit, vegetables, and sometimes even nuts. It can be drizzled liberally, served on the side, or used as a finishing glaze for cooked meats coming off the grill. Katz, an artisan vinegar maker in Northern California’s wine country, leaves a little residual sugar in most of its vinegars, and is the perfect ploy to add more flavor without getting too saccharine. Using an “Orléans-style” vinegar method, Katz’s vinegars have age and depth like a fine wine. This concept comes from Martin Pouret, the centuries-old French vinegar company that found its origins in Orléans, France, home to Joan of Arc. The company uses oak barrels throughout the process for sharp stinging vinegars, which have been the base of many French canon mother sauces for eras.

Vinegar has played a large part in pre-prep too — by way of marinades. In the Philippines, plump pork chops are doused in adobo sauce, traditionally a cane vinegar and soy sauce infused with aromatics, like garlic, whole black peppercorns and bay leaves. In Japan, nanbansu is a versatile sauce (it can be used as a dipping sauce or dressing as well), that was brought across the oceans by Portuguese missionaries in the mid-16th century, finding iterations of itself left behind in Goa, India and Macau, China. The contemporary ratio is nearly equal parts rice vinegar to mirin (a sweet Japanese cooking wine) to soy sauce and sugar, but can alter slightly depending on your locale. This balanced sweet-and-sour palate pleaser is ideal for yakitori, or grilling hearty chicken thighs or juicy chicken breasts, as the sugar caramelizes for crispy charred grill marks. Vinegar transforms food both texturally, as well as from a flavor perspective. Who knew acid would be such a base ingredient for creating balance in barbeque?!

RECIPES (adpated from “ACID TRIP: Travels in the World of Vinegar”)

North Carolina BBQ Sauce

2 tablespoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1-2 tablespoons red pepper flakes

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup ketchup

3½ cups apple cider vinegar

In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients together, adding the vinegar last. Transfer to a jar, cover, and let it sit overnight in the fridge for the flavors to bloom. It will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

South Carolina BBQ Sauce

2 ½ cups yellow mustard, like French’s

1 cup cider vinegar

¾ cup brown sugar

½ - 1 tablespoon paprika (regular or smoked)

⅔ tablespoon worcestershire sauce

½ - 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper

⅔ tablespoon cayenne

In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients together, and transfer to a jar or container. It can be served immediately, though the flavors will come together more if left to sit overnight. It will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Adobo marinade

1/2 cup cane vinegar, preferably Datu Puti brand

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup water

3 medium cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1 bay leaf

In a saucepan, mix vinegar, soy sauce, water, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaf together and bring to a boil. Let marinade cool to room temperature before using.

Nanbansu

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup mirin

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup sugar

In a saucepan, combine soy sauce, vinegar, mirin, and sugar and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved. Once cooled, either use right away, or it can be kept covered, in a refrigerator, for 1 month.