Barrister DEW's Pulled Pork Sauce

[Dewesq55]

This is a kinda, sorta Western Carolina/Lexington style sauce of my own invention:

1 1/2 CUPS KETCHUP
1/3 CUP DIJON MUSTARD
1 CUP WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
1 1/4 CUP BALSAMIC VINEGAR
1 TEASPOON LIQUID SMOKE
2 TEASPOONS HOT SAUCE
1 TABLESPOON BROWN SUGAR
1 1/4 CUP WATER

Blend all well, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. For a spicier sauce, add 1/2 cup chipotle pepper in adobo sauce pureed before cooking.

[HC in SC]

This looks similar to the recipe Bessinger's in West Ashley (Thomas Bessinger) uses - I have his in a Charleston restaurant recipe book where several famous local eateries gave up a recipe for the book.

I don't think his has chipoltes w/ adobo, but other than that it looks pretty stinking close.

[Dewesq55]

Interesting. I swear I have never heard of him, or them, never been to Charleston and did not use a recipe. My very first introduction to what I call "real southern barbecue" was in the early '90s at a roadside shack called Formey's in Painter, Va, on the Delmarva peninsula. I believe he also had a place down in the Newport or Virginia Beach area, though I never visited it. We loved his sauce, so when my brother and I first began smoking shoulders, I attempted to reverse engineer Formey's and this was the eventual result. My only guides were my taste buds and the ingredients list on the label of a bottle of his take home sauce I had bought.

[HC in SC]

Cool - I'll try and remember to get the Bessinger recipe and post it later today or tomorrow for comparison.

[HC in SC]

Here it is, not as similar as I was thinking, but here ya go:

[gcdmd]

This recipe and more:

https://www.bessingersbbq.com/recipes/

[Slim Pickens]

So you would use a rub and then the basting sauce?

[Dewesq55]

I use a rub, Memphis Dust. I don't baste with the sauce. I use it on the finished product.

[Thunder77]

Made this sauce today for my New Year's pulled pork. Everyone loved it! I really like the fact that it's not sickly sweet, like some sauces can be. It is also very nuanced. It starts out tasting like the Worcestershire, then the mustard comes in, and the balsamic vinegar finishes it off. A great compliment to pulled pork. Many thanks for the recipe!