Mustard BBQ sauce is no longer just for South Carolina.
As a remnant of its German heritage, South Carolina is known for its BBQ sauces made with mustard (see South Carolina Yellow Mustard Sauce), especially in the belt between Columbia and Charleston. Most are simply yellow mustard, cider vinegar, hot peppers, and sugar. Others are variations on the honey-mustard theme. I love these classic South Carolina sauces, but I wanted something a bit more interesting and complex.
Savory herb flavors are great with pork, so I started with the classic SC barbecue mustard recipe and added layers of complexity by adding rosemary and other more subtle flavors. If the classic SC mustard sauces are trumpet solos, this is a full orchestra. There’s a lotta stuff in this recipe, but try not to leave anything out.
When I served it to Keith Miller, a good friend who has reviewed many of my recipes, he said “Wow, this is a mustard sauce for grownups!” And it had a name. Alas, it does not have the sheen of a typical tomato-based sauce, but it sure does taste good!
This sauce is fine for ribs but it is especially good on pulled pork, pork chops, and most anything porcine. I love it on baked potatoes, for dipping pretzels, on hot dogs and other sausages, or as a mustard substitute in most recipes. Make a batch and keep it on hand for whenever you need mustard.
If you use it on ribs, instead of using a typical rib rub like Meathead’s Memphis Dust, use my Simon & Garfunkel Rub.
Grownup Mustard Sauce Recipe
Makes:
About 2 cups/473 mlTakes:
Ingredients
- ½ cup onions finely minced
- 3 tablespoons sweet red pepper finely minced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- ½ teaspoon whole dried rosemary leaves crushed in a mortar and pestle
- 1 teaspoons celery seeds (not celery salt)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoons finely ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoons hot pepper flakes or mild hot sauce
- 1 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
- 1 cup prepared Dijon-style mustard
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup cider vinegar
- ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon powdered mustard
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules or 1 cube dissolved in 1 ounce (29.6 ml) of water
These recipes were created in US Customary measurements and the conversion to metric is being done by calculations. They should be accurate, but it is possible there could be an error. If you find one, please let us know in the comments at the bottom of the page
Method
- Prep. Mince the onions and peppers, and mince or crush the garlic. Crush the rosemary leaves into bits and powder. Lightly crush the celery seeds.
- Fire up. Put the oil into a 1-quart sauce pan, and warm it on medium-low heat. Add the onion and sweet red peppers and sweat them until the onions are limp, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook it for about a minute. Add the celery seed, black pepper, pepper flakes, and thyme. Cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes in order to develop and extract their flavors.
- Finish. Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Bring to a low boil for 3 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the sugar from burning or sticking to the bottom. Simmer on low for another 15 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients except the brown sugar. Cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes in order to develop and extract their flavors.
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