Just after I posted my Sweet, Tangy & Crunchy Slaw recipe I had an epiphany. I was outside thinking about the ingredients and flavors of the slaw dressing when an idea struck me like a bolt of lightning. I thought to myself, “Self, this could be the base of many barbecue recipes!”
What follows is the extrapolation of that thought.
My epiphany was wondering how many barbecue derivations I could make using the slaw dressing as the base. At first the goal was to only change three of the ten ingredients, but that became unworkable. I then expanded the rule to allow only four changes. I had initially set the goal at ten other sauces and/or dressings, but in the end I was able to dig up twelve.
To add a little more fun to this experiment I recruited the younger two of our three daughters – Shelby and Chloe (the eldest, Hailey, is at church camp) to do some “kitchen chemistry”. I thought that they might enjoy seeing the morphing of flavors with just a few changes. I was right. They dug it down to their shoes and said, “Daddy, can we do this again? It was fun!” That's about all a foodie daddy needs to hear to make his week.
Here's what we came up with:
Base Recipe
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Distilled vinegar
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp Celery salt
1/2 tsp Ground mustard (powder)
1/2 tsp Ground white pepper
1 tsp Granulated onion
1 tsp Black pepper, ground fresh
Juice of 1 lemon (approximately 2 Tbsp)
Creamy Slaw Dressing
1 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp Lemon juice
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp Celery salt
1 tsp Granulated onion
1 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Ground mustard
1/2 tsp White pepper
Mustard Slaw Dressing
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Yellow mustard
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp Lemon juice
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp Celery salt
1 tsp Granulated onion
1 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Ground mustard
1/2 tsp White pepper
Asian Slaw Dressing
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Pineapple juice
1/4 Apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp Soy sauce
2 tsp Sesame oil
2 tsp Celery salt
1 tsp Granulated onion
1 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Ground mustard
1/2 tsp White pepper
Eastern Carolina-style BBQ Sauce
1 cup Distilled vinegar
1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup Dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp Hot sauce
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp Celery salt
1 tsp Granulated onion
1 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Ground mustard
1/2 tsp White pepper
Western Carolina-style BBQ Sauce
1 cup Distilled vinegar
1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup Dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp Ketchup
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp Celery salt
1 tsp Granulated onion
1 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Ground mustard
1/2 tsp White pepper
South Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce
1 cup Distilled vinegar
1/2 cup Yellow mustard
1/4 cup Dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp Ketchup
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp Celery salt
1 tsp Granulated onion
1 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Ground mustard
1/2 tsp White pepper
Memphis-style BBQ Sauce
1 cup Ketchup
1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup Molasses
2 Tbsp Yellow mustard
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp Celery salt
1 tsp Granulated onion
1 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Ground mustard
1/2 tsp White pepper
Kansas City-style BBQ Sauce
1 cup Ketchup
1/2 cup Dark brown sugar
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp Honey
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp Celery salt
1 tsp Granulated onion
1 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Ground mustard
1/2 tsp White pepper
Texas-style BBQ Sauce
1 cup Cocktail sauce
1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup Dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp Chili powder
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp Celery salt
1 tsp Granulated onion
1 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Ground mustard
1/2 tsp White pepper
Asian-style BBQ Sauce
1 cup Hoisin sauce
1/2 cup Pineapple juice
1/4 cup Rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp Minced garlic
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp Celery salt
1 tsp Granulated onion
1 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Ground mustard
1/2 tsp White pepper
Island-style BBQ Sauce
1 cup Pineapple juice
1/2 cup Dark brown sugar
1/4 cup Guava nectar
2 Tbsp Hoisin sauce
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp Celery salt
1 tsp Granulated onion
1 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Ground mustard
1/2 tsp White pepper
BBQ Mop Sauce
1 cup Apple juice
1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup Canola oil
2 Tbsp Molasses
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp Celery salt
1 tsp Granulated onion
1 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Ground mustard
1/2 tsp White pepper
Method
Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
The idea here isn't to give you the be-all-end-all recipe for each style of sauce or dressing, but, rather, to demonstrate how a simple base recipe can be the starting point and/or inspiration for a completely different recipe.
Recipe adaptation is your friend!
Note: The ingredient amounts you see in the picture were scaled-down for experimentation.