Made 2 Meathead sauces the last 2 days

[gardenfish]

I wanted to make the Kansas City Classic BBQ Sauce recipe and had everything except the steak sauce. So tuesday I made the Brigit Binns' Steak sauce and want to say I would NEVER think to put steak sauce on a steak and ruin it. Well think A-1 type. Just not me.

Well after tasting this homemade one the first thing I said to the wife is "I could definitely see this on a steak". So tonight I have 2 NY's and I am having them with this steak sauce.

Forward to Wednesday..... I made the Kansas City Classic BBQ Sauce and used 1/2 the vinegar as suggested and the rest exactly as stated. When I first mixed it I thought "never going to buy KC Masterpiece again". After I simmered for 20 mins the taste changed and it's not as perfect as when first mixed. After careful tasting I think I cooked the onions a little too long and that flavor profile is not as good. So although I still love it I think next time I will put raw finely minced onions in the sauce and then simmer 20 mins. This will give the onion flavor I think I will like better than the cooked onion flavor I have now.

I have a few racks of beef ribs from the prime ribs I bought and plan to smoke them this weekend and use the new Kansas City Classic BBQ Sauce I made on them. Can't wait .


Rick

[Breadhead]

gardenfish .

When I try one of Meathead's recipes for the first time... I ALWAYS cook it EXACTLY the way he wrote it. If you've read his process of testing a recipe and then having other people test it before he publishes it, you would know that his recipes have been approved by many people before he gives it it's final approval. With Meathead's background and the team he has around him that give us these great recipes I feel they know a lot more than I do. Rarely do I feel the need to riff on one of Meathead's recipes unless I'm out of an ingredient. I'm just sayin...😎

[gardenfish]

I totally agree. As I said I did make the recipe exactly. I just didn't like the cooked onion flavor.

[bbqoaf]

I totally agree with you on the onions in the KC Classic, I make the recipe exactly except that I do not cook it at all and I do not add the onions. It is the greatest, bottled glop can't hold a candle to homemade.

[Breadhead]

gardenfish .

Forward to Wednesday..... "I made the Kansas City Classic BBQ Sauce and used 1/2 the vinegar as suggested and the rest exactly as stated."

Vinegar is a strong ingredient. Using half of that ingredient would make the onion flavor more prevalent possibly. I'm just sayin😎

[gardenfish]

It may mask the onion a bit but it is the cooked flavor I do not care for. It is, Im sure just a personal preference.

[gardenfish]

Meat head is the one that said to half the vinegar in his notes.

[Breadhead]

Hmmm... I stand corrected. Sorry for questioning your decisions.

[FLBuckeye]

I did two pork butts last weekend and made a double batch of the Eat Carolina BBQ sauce (my go-to sauce for pulled pork), a batch of the Tennessee Hollerin' Whiskey sauce and a batch of the KC style sauce. One of my guests told me he had been a KCBS judge in the past and he loved the pork and especially the Tennessee Whiskey sauce. I follow all of MH's recipes to the letter usually. I have altered the Controlled Burn hot sauce a bit looking for more heat.

@gardefish I have not had anyone comment on a strong onion flavor in my KC sauce. I have made it probably ten times. You might want to consider straining the sauce through a fine mesh after a few days. I do that with the Controlled Burn sauce.

[gardenfish]

Its not really a strong onion flavor it is just a "cooked" onion flavor I dont care for. I have made the Mustard sauce and love it on the pork and I have been looking at the Tennessee Hollerin' Whiskey sauce , so that one may be next. There are so many good recipes here .

[gardenfish]

Just had the NY's with the steak sauce . I ordered bottles from SKS from a thread here and the family is getting some Meathead recipe filled bottles for christmas this year .

[FLBuckeye]

That might have been my Controlled Burn thread where I mentioned SKS. Just ordered 4 more cases (less shipping) for holiday gifts

[Mosca]

Don't forget that because you are mixing these up yourself, there will be variations from batch to batch. Embrace the difference!

[FLBuckeye]

I use my digital scale to weigh each type of pepper after stemming and seeding. That's way I was able to increase the heat to where I like it

[gardenfish]

FLBuckeye I too use a digital scale. It is necessary if you want to exactly replicate something later on. Started using grams when I made beer and wine, then in soap formulas and baking. I have a smaller scale for beer and wine that does grams to the tenths. In cooking breads and such I just use grams. If you grind more finely one time than another weighing should give you the same flavor each time.

[jholmgren]

I make the KC sauce but swap the ketchup for Sriracha. If you like heat, I'm told it is fantastic. I'm more of a sweet sauce fan but pretty much everyone I cook for goes for the hot stuff.

My favorite is the Tennessee Hollerin' sauce but I used Jameson's Black Barrel Irish Whiskey as the base - great stuff!

[gardenfish]

Ok I have been thinking about this a lot. I figure the best way for me to decide what I like best is for you all to make your favorite sauces and send me a sample and then I can judge them


Rick

[gardenfish]

I just took out a cup of the sauce and added a t. of chipoltle powder to make a "spicey" version for me. I will let it sit a couple days and see how it is. Maybe I'll need more .

One thing I think Meathead could state in recipes, as with most things that have multiple ingredients, is that time is usually a factor in tastes. As something sits awhile and the flavors all have a "time" to meld and do their magic, flavors can change. As much as Meathead says in a lot of recipes about something tasting a certain way when you make it, but it will taste fine or different when on _________, letting things age can make a big difference.

My first response to the KC Classic was I loved this sauce, would not change a thing. The second day I was overpowered by the cooked onion flavor and said maybe I will cook less or put in raw onions.

Now that it has been in the fridge about a week The cooked onion flavor is gone and it is fantastic as is. So as a base starting point for me I will make the recipe as stated, and for future "riffing", I will wait the week before customizing for my own tastes.

I was a Chef for the first 15 years of my working life, and next to gardening, my favorite thing to do. I have many recipes that I have perfected through the years ( I may someday have my own restaurant) and I am always looking at recipes and usually never make as stated for as Meathead has stated, anyone can post a recipe on the web and they are usually untested. But having been a chef I feel confident in looking at recipes and pulling out the good parts and fixing the rest to my preferences.

This KC BBQ sauce here ( as well as all the other recipes I have done so far) is top notch. I am going to make another double batch and then wait for the magic melding to take place then start, what to me is fun, "riffing". I have ideas using Tamarind, coffee, expresso, cinnamon, boiled cider, chocolate, About 6 different chili's and a few other ideas.

I have seen a lot of "make it my way first" recipes before but this place is probably the only site where I follow that advice. Thanks for everything.

[SteveinLFP]

I have made and enjoyed several of Meathead's sauces - all made exactly according to the recipe - and all waaaaayyy better than anything out of ANY jar or bottle. This is the one that currently has my taster buds standing at attention: "East Carolina Kiss & Vinegar Barbecue Sauce & Mop". YUM!!!

I only find it desirable to modify the recipes i f I am out of one particular ingredient and feeling to lazy to go shop, then I try to get as close as I can to the ingredient called for (smoked paprika in place of Hungarian paprika as an example). Sometimes I will double up on things like garlic powder or onion powder, but then it becomes my recipe not the one I am following...

[FLBuckeye]

The East Carolina sauce is fantastic. That recipe, along with the Controlled Burn hot sauce, are my favorite recipes on AR

[Meathead]

Thanks guys! I have a lot of new recipes to post soon.

[Polak]

Just made the KC sauce for the first time last night. It's now my favorite beverage with Saw Mill Gravy being a close second!

[Juddlight]

My fav aND everyone i feed loves the eves apple butter pig paint....yummy 🍻