10 December 2008

BBQ SAUCE OF THE WEEK: Salt Lick Bar-B-Que Sauce - Original & Spicy


Rob talked a while back about The Salt Lick and their dry rub. Today we look at their two signature barbecue sauces.

First: the Original Recipe. This sauce is definitely outside the box. The roughest of generalizations might label this a South Carolina mustard-based sauce, but that's not quite it. It tastes like a modified honey mustard sauce - mostly sweet, but a little bit tangy from the mustard. But it's more complex than honey mustard, with exotic notes of tamarind and garlic. And it has a smooth, almost oily mouthfeel that is very unique. This would be a delightful complement to many different things.

Grade: B+

The "Lauren's Spicy Recipe" version of the sauce is where this formula truly reaches its greatest height. It's very similar to its Original Recipe sibling, with the same sweet mustard base and same silky texture. But this version has had a healthy dose of Habanero added to it, and this is a good thing. The added heat is a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the original formula, and adds a needed extra dimension to the flavor. True flameheads, however, may not think this sauce is hot enough. It will definitely singe you, but it's not the kind of masochism-in-a-bottle that usually comes with something labled "hot".

Grade: A

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