Savory BBQ Secrets

Patch polled area residents and visitors on what makes the perfect blend of sauce to slather on their barbecue this Memorial Day weekend. Although the responses varied, most backyard chefs began their personal concoctions with commercial sauces.

Ken Griffey of Mehlville depends on his wife, Pat, to stir up the sauce, but he prefers a blend of Maull’s Original and a Catalina salad dressing.

Maggie Voss of Oakville usually barbecues chicken or pork steaks covered with either Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce or K. C. Masterpiece.

“I never mix them, it’s one or the other,” Voss said.

Oakville Dierberg’s butcher Jeremy Smothers is a purist and uses only Sweet Baby Ray’s when cooking at home.

“I don’t add anything. It’s perfect as is,” Smothers said.

Backyard chef Kevin Diehl prefers Maull’s Sweet and Smokey when he is at the grill.

Professional cook Mike Strobel begins with a base of Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce and then gets creative.

“I like it because it is a good base sauce both in flavor and consistency. You can add your own embellishments and make it spicier, sweeter or more pungent,” Strobel said. "As another variation, I reduce some Jack Daniel's whiskey and add it."

Hanna Latham likes to use K. C. Masterpiece sauce, but only the brown sugar variety. “I always use it for chicken, but for ribs I use a dry rub,” she said.

Gail Holley of Oakville has been using Maull’s, a local St. Louis brand, for years.

“I don’t like my barbecue spicy so I always buy the sweet and mild flavor, then I add a can of beer to it,” Holley said.

“I always use my Granddad’s recipe,” Melony Harrington said. “That’s Maull’s original with some added beer and fresh spices from my garden. I prefer sweet sauce, but not too sweet. I know when it is just right.”

Brian Smugala, owner of the new Smugala’s Pizza Pub at 6346 Telegraph Road, likes a honey mustard-based sauce mixed with hot sauce and his own blend of secret spices.

If you just insist on making your own sauce this year, here is a St. Louis-style base to begin your personal recipe. The good news is that you can make any additions or substitutions that you like.

• 2 1/2 cups ketchup
• 3/4 cup water or beer
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, or to taste
• 4 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
• 2 tablespoon onion powder or dried chopped onions
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or hot sauce to taste
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over low heat. Stir occasionally and simmer for 20 minutes. The sauce will be thin, but not watery. Allow to cool. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate. It tastes better if you prepare your sauce a day in advance and allow the flavors to blend.