How Sweet do you go?

[BillATL]

I had this question in a thread about dry/wet ribs. How sweet do y'all like your barbeque? I'm from the Carolinas and grew up with pork served with vinegar sauce or sometimes dip with a little ketchup in it. People would sometimes put something like a Kansas City style sauce on grilled chicken but sweet just wasnt the norm. The commercial sauces I see raved about just taste way, way too sweet for me.

Now I see people doing competition style ribs where they foil a rack of ribs with more butter and brown sugar than I'd put into a cobbler. I kind of understand the competition sugar bomb wars, but even there I'd think sugar/spicy/sour balance would be better received.

So, does anyone really cook like that for friends and family? What's your preferred sweetness level?

 

[BillN]

Everything I cook is with a dry rub only. My goal is to enhance the flavor of the meat so I rarely use sauce unless I screw up and the meat needs some help

 

[krex1010]

My wife and daughters like it pretty sweet...I'm not a huge sauce person but I like some spicy peppered vinegar at times. I usually serve a sweet sauce and a spicy vinegar sauce as condiments with my Q. I'd say half my guests like the sweet and half like the heat and actually quite a few use both sauces at the same time.

 

[KevinJ]

I don't really have a sweet tooth so I'm not into candied up BBQ especially beef, some of the best beef I've smoked was rubbed with just salt and pepper. Next slab of Full Spares I do, planning on going with just S&P and see how they turn out.

I almost never add BBQ sauce to anything before it's served, once in awhile I'll glaze Ribs for my wife, sauce is put on the table and if people want it, it is there to use. Sometimes I will put a little Blues Hog Tennessee Red which is a vinegar based sauce or Swamp Boys Boot Leg Red Vinegar BBQ Sauce on Pulled Pork. The Boot Leg Red only has 1gm of sugar per serving and is more of a table vinegar than a BBQ sauce, it's good on veggies too.

My wife likes sweet BBQ sauces especially Sweet Baby Ray's and Blues Hog Original, she puts sauce on almost everything I smoke be it beef, pork or poultry and would probably love Comp Style BBQ so hey to each his/her own.

 

[Bigbears BBQ]

I like sweet with a little heat on the back end. Not to sweet though

 

[Macky]

My family and friends tend to go for more fruity style glazes. Apricot and peach are probably the favorites!

 

[SirPorkaLot]

I don't eat sweet BBQ.
(hardly) Ever.

Like you i was raised on NC pork BBQ .
I just cannot stand sweet BBQ sauce.

:sorry:

 

[Kyle Serlington]

I'm kinda all over the place. for ribs I like sweet, for wings anything goes, but for any other part of the chicken I like a balanced sauce, not super sweet but sweet enough, and that's what I like on pulled pork too. Brisket is the one thing I prefer unsauced, but if I do end up saucing one I like something spicier with a little tang, I don't like super sweet on brisket

 

[thirdeye]

With few exceptions, the only time I eat BBQ that leans toward sweet is when I'm judging. The best thing is, the majority of cooks really balance the flavor to still highlight the meat... and for the most part the sauce that is used is not anything ordinary like a sauce sold in supermarkets. So, even though I personally use limited sauce at home, it's a treat to enjoy some of the special competition sauces.

 

[LMAJ]

I lean sweet on pork, but just sweeter rubs like SM Cherry and rarely is there a sauce involved. Often times I will layer a rub that has a little kick with one that is a little sweet. Beef is all savory.

 

[hurricanedavid]

Sweet elevates my A1C so I lean toward spicy and heat.

 

[mheston]

I appreciate both. I like it sweet, but I also like some heat sometimes as well.

 

[mrbill]

depends on the audience. wife and kiddo like sweet. i like a bit of tang or bite. when i'm asked to cook something for someone, i always ask questions to get an idea of what they're expecting so i can tailor the end result along the lines of what they think they need.

 

[bbqwizard]

In most cases I always lean towards tangy. I do however like and occasional sweet heat. My wife on the other hand likes it as sweet as she can get it.

 

[m-fine]

Ribs and Brisket get no sugars in the rub or in sauce.

Pulled pork has no sugars in the rub but the sauces I tend to use have some sweeteners. Not super sweet, but it is there.

Chicken, excluding wings, no sugars.

Chicken wings sometimes get sweet sauces after cooking.

 

[jermoQ]

I like to put sugar into my ribs before I foil them to balance the spices. Not a layer, just a heavy sprinkle. Aside from that I dont care if there is sugar in a rub or not. I dont like sauce to be very sweet, and would prefer tangy and spicy. I also dont use a lot of sauce except for with pulled pork. Vinegar sauce is my new go to but I live in central "sweet sauce" area Missouri so I am the only one in 500 or so miles who prefers that I think.

 

[JS-TX]

I don't discriminate what so ever... if it's good it's good be it simple S&P or some sweet candy ribs. I do like my sweet balanced though with a little pepper/heat. Depends on who's eating.. my GF and kids love candy sweet, my buddies love simple S&P. I'm all over the place though cause I'm often practicing different rub/sauce combos for comps. So that's sweet and some heat, even down here in Tx!

 

[Seefyre]

For me, I save the sweet for dessert. I'm savory all the way with meats

 

[Macky]

Friends in Houston swear its blasphemous to sauce a rib. If a rib needs a sauce then it wasn't cooked proper in the first place. They like to let the meat speak for itself. Guess I could never argue against that logic with them.

 

[Beer/Meat/Victory]

Like a lot of this crowd, it really depends. Butts I opt for tangy/vinegar sauce, Ribs maybe slightly sweet from time to time, Brisket is no sauce or a spicy tomato based sauce. However when I did pork belly recently I candied the ever livin' mess out of that. A savory piece of beef is always my favorite, but a sweet rib from time to time ain't bad either.